Bamboo rods for flymphs

[letumgo]

Jon - Well done!

If you send me a private message, with your email address I will send you a handy reference I am working on to answer many of your questions. It is a two page list of sources for materials, and web links, and book listing. I started it to help out folks new to soft hackles. You can let me know if it is of any use. I hope to improve the document over the next few months and have it available at tying demonstrations.

[tie2fish]

Jon - Well done!

If you send me a private message, with your email address I will send you a handy reference I am working on to answer many of your questions. It is a two page list of sources for materials, and web links, and book listing. I started it to help out folks new to soft hackles. You can let me know if it is of any use. I hope to improve the document over the next few months and have it available at tying demonstrations.

Absolutely fantastic idea, Ray! Let me know if you'd like some source info to include.

[William Anderson]

Right on, Jon. This was well worth your effort to share it. We all find our own Flymph style and this is going to be deadly. That body is excellent. Finding your groove for photographing and sharing is a very quick learning curve and please don't let it take to much time that you would rather not share because of the trouble. Karsten has done some exceptional spots just with a single light and a camera phone. Others have done the same. A quick app crop and send it directly to your chosen photo library (photobucket app), copy the http and load it. Or a dozen other methods. It's just that the sharing and the conversation are the important part. It's all good. Thanks again.

[William Anderson]

I certainly didn't think I would have anything to offer on this thread, having almost no experience casting bamboo, certainly not fishing it...yet, but in Boiling Springs last weekend I met up with Tom to see his rod making craftsmanship in person and learned a great deal about the process and his own particular experience. Extraordinary. He was kind enough to bring two rods designed with a special taper/construction to suit a soft hackle presentation rather than the more common dry fly boo. I couldn't possibly judge against other rods with so little experience but the casting was strangely soothing. Very relaxed and as I had just finished a casting lesson with my fast, light graphite 9-5wt, the rod seemed to know what to do with less help from me. Just a real pleasure. Bitten? Maybe. Let's just say I've removed the limitation that has always kept me from go down this expensive slope. It's very exciting.

Special thanks to Tom for being so gracious, and for turning out to be an immensely likeable guy. Looking very forward to meeting up again.

That's a lot for someone with so little too say. =)

[jong4029]

Ray
Again, thanks to you and all the folks with encouragement.
William, you are very lucky getting to go visit a great Rod Maker. If Tom is available, I would really like to meet/talk with him also. Since I started thinking about rod making, I have gotten a mentor who is a master, and my encouragement toward the old style flies and rods. He really pushes me to read all I can find, along with his extensive library. He has some really rare books. He is also the one who got me to go to Denver and see John Shaner, and introduce me to all the Colorado Rod makers. Now it's become an obsesion. Rods and Flies, can't get enough. Thinking about a Flymph for soft hackle bamboo rod taper is exciting. I already have most of the rod making books available, and of coarse the rod taper library. Got to look and see which would fit the soft hackle idea. Just more to clog my brain. Got to read more of the forum about actually fishing the Flymph, and types of rods that work best for them. Will be getting out Next week fishing. Got Dr. apointments 2 days then freedom again. Thinking about just going to my local mountain ranges and just camp in the middle and run and find streams and hidy holes this year. I do have some really nice fishing near by. Northern NM, and southern CO.
Again Thanks all of you for the suport
Jon

[letumgo]

Jon and Bill - I sent you a copy of the reference sheets. Constructive feedback is welcome.

[jong4029]

OK. Now the questions of rod making. I am searching all over for info on Flymph/soft hackle fishing and casting. Reason, what makes a good soft hackle rod? I have studied am studying all the great rod makers of the past, and talking to rod makers today, so learning many tapers and thoughts on tapers, but none really specific to soft hackle. I started studying soft hackles and flymphs a year and a half ago so just getting to the point of really getting down to fishing them this year.
Looking for thoughts on soft hackle length and action. What is the normal way that one will fish the soft hackles. Learning curves get long when stacking them together. Soft hackle fishing with rod making together. I think I have a good idea, but not sure.
Ray
Worked over your list a bit last night. Printed the list and it now sits on my end table where I read the computer.Went to Donald Nicolson's sight, and the Flymph.com sight. Lots of good material there. Also looked at some of the feather sights a bit. It is a great list. Helps find a lot of sights without hours of searching the web. I can see a really good thing started and building up here.
later
Jon

[Tom Smithwick]

Hi Jon - My take on what is needed to fish soft hackles is a moderate progressive taper, with a full flexing, easy loading action. You need just enough butt strength to turn the tip over with some authority, because at times, you may be laying out a longer line on a big riffle. You need enough butt strength to lift and mend the line easily. The easy loading part becomes critical when fishing in close, and even more so to make effective roll casts. Wet fly fishing is a relaxed method, and the rod should encourage that. All rod tapers are a compromise, and different makers will balance things out differently. None of my designs are a secret, and I do not mind sharing them with interested parties.

[jong4029]

Thanks Tom
Have been buisy with everything other than rod making for some time, but looking to get back at it very soon. My first rod is going to be a perfection taper, but then gotta get to a flymph rod next. Tough part is to fish or to make rods. Weather is great and the trout are calling. I am signed up to go to the CRR this year also, so a lot going on.
Thanks for the reply and offer. Will be looking forward to picking your brain soon.
Jon

[Boris]

Tom, great to see you on this board.

I recently had the opportunity to cast a few more PHY tapers. At the time I couldn't help be reminded of wet/flymph applications. I haven't made a Martha Maree yet but from my casting it was a very good example of what you've described. In fact one of the rods I took an immediate liking to was a MM variation, which was essentially the same except stretched to 8'. The maker uses it to fish lakes in Tasmania. Although he uses it for a team of wet flies and some dry fly fishing it seemed a really good rod for wets/flymphs.

If you're familiar with Tasmania you'll know that wind is very often in the picture and that rod was definitely up to it too.