THE IMPECCABLE MR BARDER Clement Booth When it comes to split-cane fly rods and me, utterly besotted is probably as accurate a way as any of describing our relationship. For me, they’re right at the epicentre of my fly fishing life, closely allied to the alpha and omega of what it’s all about.
on my beloved River Avon, there’s no doubt that it will be a split-cane rod that gently paints the tiny dry fly onto the watery canvas. In the right circumstances, I’m truly convinced that cane is a superior material but let’s not start a controversial discussion!
This is not to say that I don’t on occasion reach for a graphite fly rod - absolutely I do and in point of fact, a couple of those are also very close to my heart. When the wind gets up in Patagonia, my Burkheimer graphite rods do the business brilliantly and my affection for them runs deep.
It’s really just a matter of taste, actually it’s an intensively personal decision; mine has been made and it will be split-cane for as long as I’m blessed to fish these waters.
One wonderful thing about a fly fishing life is that you really don’t have to choose. So, although my heart belongs to bamboo, my flirtations with graphite and even fibreglass really aren’t that infrequent! But, when it comes to a rising brown trout
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Today, there are a number of really first class split-cane makers around the world; some are very serious part-timers but there are also a tiny handful of hardy souls who make cane fly rods for a living. Not many mind you; this is surely not an easy “calling” although that said, not many jobs in our modern world seek to create something that with reasonable care will see out a hundred or more years.
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