What about line weight?

Five weight is the best all around for most settings. It can be gentle on the streams and still handle the big fish. Most of the large fish you see in site pics were on a 5 wt. Also, most fly rods can handle a variety of lines.

Is bamboo slow?

In a manner is speaking, yes (or maybe). But fast and slow do not mean powerful and weak. It relates more to how deeply the rod flexes. A “slower” rod can cast quite far, but its power comes from closer to the handle, requiring a slight difference in casting.

If cucumbers are bad, are apples bad too?

One of the problems fly fishermen have is comparing old, long, cheap production bamboo rods with great modern graphite rods. We compare rods only for the sake of description, but when doing so we need to compare great bamboo with great graphite.

What about rod weight?

The difference between good graphite and bamboo rods is the weight of a couple grapes. An unspooled reel weighs more than either rod. A standard graphite length is 9 feet. A standard bamboo length is 7 feet 6 inches. The 18 -inch difference is really taken from the butt of the rod, where most of the weight is.

What about strength?

It must be kept in mind that prior to graphite and glass, there were a lot of big fish being caught on bamboo. If it were fragile, it is unlikely that fly fishing would have developed at all. Tensile strength needs to be sufficient for the task and in the case of Tonkin cane, it is.

What about “hand-built”?

The modern world of manufacturing may have made cynics of us all and definitions of “hand-built” can mean a lot of things. In the case of these rods, the Tonkin cane arrives in Helena as a pole (or culm). It is split, prepared, planed, tempered, planed more, glued, assembled with hardware, and varnished in Helena with Duane’s hands. Hardware parts are generally outsourced to businesses that specialize in these areas.

Are these rods the “Finest Bamboo Rods”?

While there is a lot of confidence in the beauty and function of Little Blackfoot Rods, one may rightly view with suspicion any claim of “finest” in this area. There are many fine show cars, old and new, all of which look wonderful and run superbly. It would be a little silly to compare them in these terms. The rods are great and you will enjoy fishing with them.

What about the extra tips?

Here is a point where I may differ from other builders. Fine bamboo rods often come with two tips standard. This tradition is rooted in a little marketing and a little practicality. While early bamboo was plenty strong, the early glues had a higher likelihood of seam failure. Likewise some tips were more prone to taking a set. In those cases, having a backup tip was nice. Additionally, some manufacturers would provide a different tip with a different action. While I am happy to build a second tip in conjunction with the rod, it often seems like an unneeded standard expense. These rods are not prone to breaking and modern glues are quite good. For this reason I leave the decision up to the buyer.