• Becoming a member is completely free!

    • Join the community and start contributing to a large source of sea angling information.
    • Become an active member and you can enter member exclusive competitions.

    REGISTER FOR FREE HERE

Budget off the ground casting for everybody.

Necessity is the mother of invention as they say. However lets just take a look at fishing and where it has dragged anglers... right into a fashion led consumer society ! There is no thought along the lines of how can I achieve something it is more a case of heading to the tackle shop or go on line to buy something. So often ideas get laughed down not because they are bad or wrong, more because the notion is that fishing has moved on and homemade or make do and mend attitudes are stupid when there are shops to buy stuff out of.
 
Cfish said:
Cool,Cornish bamboo canes,sell them to the tackle tarts for a couple of hundred quid!!! Call them kernowzippyflex!!!
Click to expand...

I have a stand of bamboo at the back of my garden and there are some very long stems there... defo conti style bamboo. Now is it best to get the bamboo really green and strap it to a straight rod ;;; maybe a length of rebar so it dries out nice and straight? Believe it or not I have seen bamboo rods for sale on Leboncoin !
 
jambop said:
I have a stand of bamboo at the back of my garden and there are some very long stems there... defo conti style bamboo. Now is it best to get the bamboo really green and strap it to a straight rod ;;; maybe a length of rebar so it dries out nice and straight? Believe it or not I have seen bamboo rods for sale on Leboncoin !
Click to expand...
I have a friend who has a veritable forest of bamboo growing in her willow farm, funnily enough its in Cornwall Cfish !
Every year I cut a good 20 x seven foot poles , and after stripping back the loose bits , down to the good bamboo, I cable tie them all together tightly with a bit of scaffold tube down the middle of the bundle. I leave the bundle in the wifes airing “ cupboard” ..... its more of a small room than cupboard really, and leave them for six months, when dry I make rod rests, landing net handles etc from them.
I always try to find mature bamboo that has lost a lot of its “ greenness “ however, green bamboo will dry to a pale buff colour which is revealed when scraped or sanded back.
They usually dry straight and true, but its easy to straighten them if they have a bend, just heat the bamboo pole up with a hot air paint stripper in the area of the bend , it goes very pliable and you can straighten the cane pole easily.

A word of warning Jambop, I have cut bamboo in France on my last visit, it was full of very small spiders which I did not know of until they decided to go out to play when I bunged it in the cuboard to dry, so make sure it isnt infested ..... my good lady was not impressed when she found several thousand of the little buggers marching off taking the washing with them ??

Dave
 
Last edited:
I use a lot of it in the garden for supporting beans, tomatoes and peas . I also weave it through my fencing to add extra strength. You do need to keep it in check or it can become a problem.
 
The Third Earl said:
I have a friend who has a veritable forest of bamboo growing in her willow farm, funnily enough its in Cornwall Cfish !
Every year I cut a good 20 x seven foot poles , and after stripping back the loose bits , down to the good bamboo, I cable tie them all together tightly with a bit of scaffold tube down the middle of the bundle. I leave the bundle in the wifes airing “ cupboard” ..... its more of a small room than cupboard really, and leave them for six months, when dry I make rod rests, landing net handles etc from them.
I always try to find mature bamboo that has lost a lot of its “ greenness “ however, green bamboo will dry to a pale buff colour which is revealed when scraped or sanded back.
They usually dry straight and true, but its easy to straighten them if they have a bend, just heat the bamboo pole up with a hot air paint stripper in the area of the bend , it goes very pliable and you can straighten the cane pole easily.

A word of warning Jambop, I have cut bamboo in France on my last visit, it was full of very small spiders which I did not know of until they decided to go out to play when I bunged it in the cuboard to dry, so make sure it isnt infested ..... my good lady was not impressed when she found several thousand of the little buggers marching off taking the washing with them ??

Dave
Click to expand...
Is it possible to straighten an old split cane rod using the technique you have described Dave?
 
that's cool bet it's hard to get right !
 
5lbs sea bream while taking the pictures just noticed it says !
 
had1lost2 said:
that's cool bet it's hard to get right !
Click to expand...

If it all you have and it is all you have ever known then its is natural? I once saw a program on the tele about a couple who were both victims of Thalidomide . I watched in absolute awe as the woman was filmed preparing dinner peeling potatoes with a paring knife using her feet as dexterously as I would my hands! Then change a nappy and put the safety pin through with out trouble... casting a bait with a bamboo pole seems a doddle by comparison :ROFLMAO:
 
Same ish principal of how I used to worm and minnow fish as a lad with a fly fod anf fly reel with nylon on it. You took as much line off the reel for as far as you wanted to cast and lay it at your feet.
Everything else is pretty much the same after that.
 
Kine262 said:
Is it possible to straighten an old split cane rod using the technique you have described Dave?
Click to expand...

Yes Kine, carefully though, I have straightened many split cane rods with a “ set” that I have rebuilt for myself and others . Gentle heating and tensioning the section in the opposite direction to the set is a fairly easy operation, do not overheat though as it can release the adhesive that holds the sections together.

Dave
 
The Third Earl said:
Found this elsewhere.

Nothing new in the world really .

View attachment 5737

Dave
Click to expand...
Anglers in the North East used to fish rough ground for cod with 'Burma poles' and wooden Scarborough reels. I had both, though I lived on the South coast!. The Burma pole was heavy with very little give in it, and had thick pink porcelain rings, but strap a multiplier to the bottom of the butt instead of the centre-pin and it would cast surprising distances! PH
 
Kine262 said:
Is it possible to straighten an old split cane rod using the technique you have described Dave?
Click to expand...
Just soak them in water then tie them something straight and strong.
 
Beach said:
Just soak them in water then tie them something straight and strong.
Click to expand...
Not a good idea at all, soaking a split cane rod is asking for trouble , the water ingresses via the ferrules and other areas which makes the whole rod, or parts swell up and in extreme cases this can split the ferrules, split the sections etc etc..

DONT DO IT.

I do know what I am talking about, I have had to rescue rods that have been left in damp/wet places, it is an expensive and time consuming reoair that sometimes is just not possible.


As far as soaking a bamboo pole, well you can try, but it is a quicker method to heat it up.... have a look at youtube, lots of info on there.

Dave
 
The Third Earl said:
Not a good idea at all, soaking a split cane rod is asking for trouble , the water ingresses via the ferrules and other areas which makes the whole rod, or parts swell up and in extreme cases this can split the ferrules, split the sections etc etc..

DONT DO IT.

I do know what I am talking about, I have had to rescue rods that have been left in damp/wet places, it is an expensive and time consuming reoair that sometimes is just not possible.


As far as soaking a bamboo pole, well you can try, but it is a quicker method to heat it up.... have a look at youtube, lots of info on there.

Dave
Click to expand...
Another question (or two) then Dave, if you don't mind?

I have an old eight foot, two piece split cane rod that used to be my fathers, so it has sentimental attachment. It is a bit stiff for most types of fishing but I have decided that I would really like to use it again for some type of fishing if possible. It is probably going to need a strip down and new eyes whipped on, and the metal ferrule has stuck together and pulled off the top section, so unless I can separate the two parts it will need a new one too. The two pieces of cane are completely straight and have no marks or splits.

So, first question. Is it practical to add a third section to make the rod longer and of more use, but if not, is it practical to plane/sand the rod down to make it less stiff?

Second question. If the above options are not practical and I just keep have to keep the rod at 8ft, how easy is it to get hold of new eyes etc for a rebuild? I would want to use similar to what is already on there.

Cheers

Will
 
The Third Earl said:
Not a good idea at all, soaking a split cane rod is asking for trouble , the water ingresses via the ferrules and other areas which makes the whole rod, or parts swell up and in extreme cases this can split the ferrules, split the sections etc etc..

DONT DO IT.

I do know what I am talking about, I have had to rescue rods that have been left in damp/wet places, it is an expensive and time consuming reoair that sometimes is just not possible.


As far as soaking a bamboo pole, well you can try, but it is a quicker method to heat it up.... have a look at youtube, lots of info on there.

Dave
Click to expand...
Agree with the split cane, I was just jesting :ROFLMAO: I have a split cane fly rod at home, metal ferrules and cork handle, approx 5wt.
I have some bamboo which I cut down when in the Caribbean, it grows near water so the roots can have a drink. Mind you these were around 75mm (3"in old money) and grew to around 10metres (30ft) tall, 10mm dia at the top.
 
Kine262 said:
Another question (or two) then Dave, if you don't mind?

I have an old eight foot, two piece split cane rod that used to be my fathers, so it has sentimental attachment. It is a bit stiff for most types of fishing but I have decided that I would really like to use it again for some type of fishing if possible. It is probably going to need a strip down and new eyes whipped on, and the metal ferrule has stuck together and pulled off the top section, so unless I can separate the two parts it will need a new one too. The two pieces of cane are completely straight and have no marks or splits.

So, first question. Is it practical to add a third section to make the rod longer and of more use, but if not, is it practical to plane/sand the rod down to make it less stiff?

Second question. If the above options are not practical and I just keep have to keep the rod at 8ft, how easy is it to get hold of new eyes etc for a rebuild? I would want to use similar to what is already on there.

Cheers

Will
Click to expand...
Will, send me a picture or two of the rod and I will advise the way forward by PM.

Dave.
 
Back
Top