Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

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Bill Terry
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#21

Post by Bill Terry »

Three rainbows, each about 5 pounds (estimated). The first was a steelhead on the Deschutes, caught while fishing dry flies for the resident redsides rainbows with my 8’ 6-wt Farlow. The fish took with a toilet-flush rise and put up quite a battle. At 24”, that was the largest trout I ever caught for many years.

I caught the other two, both about 22”, this August on the North St. Vrain, fishing nymphs with my 7’ 8” 5-wt Walton Powell. These fish were on a private section where the owner feeds the fish mice he traps in the crawl space of his house. Cheating a little bit, maybe, but they sure were fun. And the little rod handled them with aplomb.
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mrampant
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#22

Post by mrampant »

97cm queenfish on a 11wt I made
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He who shall not be able to make a trout fly, after studying these diagrams and directions, must be deficient either in brains or in manual dexterity. : Edward Fitzgibbon 1853

mac7x
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#23

Post by mac7x »

A grilse of about 5 lbs. in the Stewiacke, back when you could fish the Bay of Fundy rivers. On an 8½' FET Browntone Streamer. My buddy fished his then new T&T 8½' Grilse cane rod; we both preferred the Streamer. I must confess that I normally fish graphite for salmon. The Streamer is a great rod for smaller rivers and grilse, but I wouldn't want to tangle with a big salmon with it.

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teter
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#24

Post by teter »

Just the baddest: Amazon River piranha on an E.C. Powell

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Cimarron
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#25

Post by Cimarron »

On Easter Sunday morning a few years ago, I hooked a fish on the San Juan below the dam. I knew it was good size, but when I finally netted it, I spontaneously exclaimed "Jesus!" because it was about 23" +/- in the markings in the net. Definitely the biggest trout I've caught there and I always refer to it as the Jesus fish making its Easter appearance. Maybe it proves the book's point that there is no clear distinction between religion and fly fishing.

Doug K
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#26

Post by Doug K »

Bill Terry wrote:
11/24/21 09:49
I caught the other two, both about 22”, this August on the North St. Vrain, fishing nymphs with my 7’ 8” 5-wt Walton Powell. These fish were on a private section where the owner feeds the fish mice he traps in the crawl space of his house. Cheating a little bit, maybe, but they sure were fun. And the little rod handled them with aplomb.
OK that's a great story ;-)
I trap the squirrels that attack my bird feeder, don't know of any local pike/big browns I could feed them to though, sadly..

my biggest fish on cane are much smaller than all the torpedos in this thread..

19" LM on SB 359 9' 6wt,

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skinny 30" pike, Heddon 2 1/2F Lucky 13,

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19" Montana brown on late season hopper, SB 290,

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wrong66
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#27

Post by wrong66 »

24 lb. Striper trolling out of San Pablo Bay, CA. in 1961. Hit like a freight train.

RSalar
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#28

Post by RSalar »

wrong66 wrote:
12/01/21 19:24
24 lb. Striper trolling out of San Pablo Bay, CA. in 1961. Hit like a freight train.
Wow! That’s a hell of a fish. Nice job
Testimony is like an arrow shot from a long-bow; the force of it depends on the strength of the hand that draws it. Argument is like an arrow from a cross-bow, which has equal force though shot by a child.” Bacon.

bassman
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#29

Post by bassman »

Gosh guys, have to remind you I only got into bamboo late in life. Sorry to say my biggest fish was a brown out of the White that was a nice fish but would not have made 18", probably a bit past 16". Was a lot of fun on a 3wt Jeff Hatton Penta rod though. Big fish in the past were on plastic rods so they're great memories but not for this site.

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spruce grouse
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#30

Post by spruce grouse »

King salmon (jack approx. 10 lbs.) caught on an 8'6" Orvis Shooting Star. He was quite tasty after being smoked.

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Drossi
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#31

Post by Drossi »

Mine's not that big but its wild and came from a creek I can jump across, scared me cause it was completely unexpected. Pretty cool for Dirty Jersey. Taken on a Recker 4wt.
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chsparkman
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#32

Post by chsparkman »

Last summer I caught six of these big boys (common carp) on my version of the Payne 400. 9 wt, hollowed. The biggest was 18 lbs. I was on the Shenandoah River guided by William Heresniak of Eastern Trophies during the height of the cicada Brood X hatch.

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...as for us we pin our faith and fealty to the silk-wound PENTAGONAL rod cunningly yet simply devised of its FIVE subtle, individual triangular strips of cane throughout...

Holden, George Parker. (modified by me) Idyl of the Split Bamboo

adrien schnee
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rodeN fro

#33

Post by adrien schnee »

Chris, those carp are tremendous! That’s some enviable fishing on surface flies, I’m sure they were very powerful. Great rod for such fish, and even from your own hands. Outstanding!

Btw, did you hook up with any smallmouth one the cicada’s on that outing also?

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chsparkman
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#34

Post by chsparkman »

Adrien, yes, a few smallies also came up for the show, but no big ones.
...as for us we pin our faith and fealty to the silk-wound PENTAGONAL rod cunningly yet simply devised of its FIVE subtle, individual triangular strips of cane throughout...

Holden, George Parker. (modified by me) Idyl of the Split Bamboo

mlarocco
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#35

Post by mlarocco »

While the Chinook is the largest pacific salmon, the Chum wrecks more fishing gear (baddest).


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oddsnrods
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#36

Post by oddsnrods »

No me, but a friend of mine (who visits these pages..) managed a 110lb marlin in Costa Rica a few years ago, on a double built bamboo fly rod, of his own making..

Malcolm

RSalar
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#37

Post by RSalar »

oddsnrods wrote:
12/05/21 17:26
No me, but a friend of mine (who visits these pages..) managed a 110lb marlin in Costa Rica a few years ago, on a double built bamboo fly rod, of his own making..

Malcolm
That’s amazing…. Not many people fishing for marlin with bamboo these days! It’s funny but at one time it was the latest and greatest fly rod material and lots of world records were set with it.

Do you know what length the rod was and what line weight it was? It would be interesting to know the whole story
Testimony is like an arrow shot from a long-bow; the force of it depends on the strength of the hand that draws it. Argument is like an arrow from a cross-bow, which has equal force though shot by a child.” Bacon.

mlarocco
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#38

Post by mlarocco »

Do you know what length the rod was and what line weight it was? It would be interesting to know the whole story
I agree. Some personal thoughts having bill fished in latin america for over 3 decades

1. Sailfish and Marlin usually are brought close to the boat by trolling gaudy teasers with no hooks. A long cast may not have been required
2. A hookup takes place in both horizontal and vertical spaces
a. Horizontal: With conventional gear, marlin are usually 'pumped' towards the boat. Raise tip, drop tip and quickly reel in slack. Repeat. This required a rod with some back bone. However, skippers have the ability to pick up line by backing down on the fish. Can eliminate allot of pumps.
b. Vertical: You can't back down on a fish if it goes deep. It needs to be pumped towards the surface. A rod with backbone is important.
Tuna and Black Marlin will sounds. Seems like most other billfish species fight in the horizontal space though I am not an expert.
3. I have fished for 150lb+ tarpon with graphite fly rods. Used a 12 wt and felt a 14 wt would not be over kill. Know people who fished sails in Guatemala and used a 14wt
4. Allot of people break graphite rods playing large fish by high sticking the fish when it's deep, close to the boat, or by moving their hands off the cork higher on the blank for leverage. Bamboo might be more tolerant of user errors
5. Most people don't realize how important a skipper's boat management is to landing a billfish
6. I have brought 12 wts on board when I have gone marlin fishing. Generally don't see enough marlin to have a shot with it. I have been lucky enough to experience schools of striped marlin schooling over bait in the Cabo area (Gordo Banks near San Jose Del Cabo and the Golden Gate Banks NE of Cabo). A zoo with the number of concentrated boats pitching live baits to cruising fish. Did not have a fly rod with me but wished I had Really should go with a boat that has a strong history fly fishing for bill fish.
7. a 100 lb fish is a big fish on a fly rod, but actually small for Pacific Sailfish, Striped, Blue, Black Marlin. Atlantic Sailfish and White Marlin tend to be smaller

Good and rare accomplishment by your friend. Really sounds like an interesting story.

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GerardH
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Re: Biggest baddest fish you’ve landed on a bamboo fly rod

#39

Post by GerardH »

Last weekend of the 2020 Wisconsin inland trout season, plethora of creek chubs that were challenging the brookies in size and aggressiveness attacking the fly -- and that's where the fun ended. Caught on a Perfectionist clone, this one may have actually put up more resistance than bringing in a wad of weeds....but you know how memories get exaggerated over time.

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