I’m convinced that more than 90% of fly fishers out there today look down on bamboo rods. Being in that same boat, I totally understand how photos of split cane rods on social media make your brain hurt. They make you think about fishing in medieval times, or perhaps even prehistoric times, like a Neanderthal would’ve thought it’d be a great idea to pick a reed to catch fish with? I mean, we did this as kids and man were those stick-rods flimsy, often snapping in half.

A RAB tied by Tony Biggs on a Freestone Rods split cane rod that was custom built for him by Stephen Dugmore many years ago; he recently parted with the rod, and I was the lucky chap to buy this gem.

Let’s face it, most of us would rather pick up that latest carbon technology G-Loomis, Hardy, Orvis, Sage, Thomas & Thomas and/or Vision #New model 3-weight to head off to the Cape streams, absolute no-brainer…So, I was definitely one of them for sure, frowning upon the thought of catching fish in modern times with a wooden rod – madness, right!? Wrong.

The image in my head of an old fart wearing a checkered, tweed flat cap and whisky hipflask, waving a floppy reed with ferrules and rod guides was shattered when I watched a veteran land giant smallscale and largescale yellowfish on bamboo. Initially, I wrote this ludicrous way of catching big fish off as pure luck while farting around (using something different to catch fish with out of pure boredom of course), but then it happened again, and again, AND again…I got properly outwitted on several outings, landing merely a handful of smallish fish while Garth Wellman walked away with easily ten plump fish, some tipping the scale at 8 lb that he landed on 6-7X tippet and a ‘piece of reed’.

A plump largescale yellowfish that came out in record time on a bamboo rod, Garth Wellman’s favourite stick for these fish.

I was sold on the idea of catching bushveld small- and largescale yellows on split cane rods after Garth landed this pig of a smallscale yellowfish on his ‘piece of reed’.

Slowly, over time, my mind was converted from hate to admiration whenever I saw a photo of a split cane rod. I also started asking carefully thought through questions, so that I wouldn’t sound like a foolish fella: “How come I get smashed up on a graphite 3 wt while you are able to land them on a bamboo 4 wt, same tippet ‘n all?”

A master of the art, Garth has fine-tuned his setup for bushveld yellowfish over decades by switching to micro nymph patterns in #20 and smaller on light tippet and combining this with bamboo rods.

“Bamboo does not try to correct itself or ‘recoil’ like carbon, it simply gives and keeps on giving under pressure, protecting fine tippets” Garth replied. “You must try it, you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

After seeing Garth’s success and hearing him out, I obviously couldn’t help myself and bought a bamboo rod to try this ‘new’ concept of fly fishing with a wooden stick. All kitted, I headed off to the nearest Cape stream to test the outfit and man was I blown away. I experienced a red-letter day, hooking one wild rainbow after another on 6X tippet, and while some of the bigger trout over 20 inches long went berserk at the end of my line, I hardly felt the pressure at the rod end. None of these fish managed to snap the relatively fine tippet either, even though some dragged me over rocks and into bankside sticks and grass.

Utterly stoked after experiencing my best day of trout fishing in the Western Cape to date, and nogal on the bamboo rod, I sent Garth a text message with some photos and explained how I couldn’t believe the efficacy of the split cane rod in fighting such nice fish in such tight surrounds, full of snags (and without losing a fish). I mean, it was so good it would be hard for me to pick up a graphite rod for trout fishing again…

Garth responded with an interesting analogy (which is fact by the way, I checked!); “Bamboo groves and palm trees can withstand hurricanes, they flex in the wind, absorbing the energy. This ability to absorb energy is why bamboo rods are so effective in protecting super light tippets and small flies.” This, of course, also explained why the bamboo rod handled those big rainbows so well, without me feeling under gunned…

“This is also why bamboo rods cast so accurately if you slowly just allow them to transfer energy. There is little to no erratic movement about them. Absorb and release.” he continued.

To be honest, while still not over the experience of that trouty day, I feel somewhat bamboozled by modern trends that make bamboo rods seem ‘old fashioned’ and outdated. Split cane rods in lighter weights are obviously a ‘thing’, and not just a fad. Just like modern, faster action carbon rods can punch a line into wind, bamboo clearly has a huge advantage in lighter weights on calm days, protecting fine tippets from snapping and small hooks from bending under pressure from relatively big fish. You should try it, and you’ll see what I’m talking about…