Bamboo Rod Building Classes & Related Clinics and Events

Looking for fly rod building classes near you? You're in luck. Our six-day immersive workshops offered in the heart of downtown Pagosa Springs, Colorado will transform your angling game. With class sizes limited to just four participants, we guarantee a personalized learning experience.
 

Understanding the Workshop Schedule

The workshop is designed with an engaging and effective structure that spans over six days to complete a build of a bamboo fly rod from scratch. Each day covers critical stages of rod building, making it one fun-filled educational journey.

This hands-on approach ensures every participant walks away as a competent rod builder. We focus on skills like fitting grips and reel seats to spining your rod—everything you need to create custom fishing rods tailored for any angler's style.

Crafting a Bamboo Fly Rod from Scratch

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Imagine crafting your very own bamboo fly rod, starting with nothing more than a full culm of Tonkin Bamboo. This might seem like an intimidating task at first, but we're here to guide you every step of the way when you take one of our courses.

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Working with Tonkin Bamboo

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The process begins by torching and hand planing the bamboo into six 60-degree angled strips. Why Tonkin Bamboo? Because it's known for its resilience and flexibility—key traits in any high-quality fishing rod. Tonkin bamboo has been used to build bamboo fly rods for over 150 years; graphite and fiberglass rods continue to try to imitate its natural parabolic curve.

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We'll help you master traditional techniques used by seasoned rod builders to transform this raw material into precision-cut pieces that will form the backbone of your custom-made bamboo fly rod.

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Mastering Hand Planing Techniques

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You'll get hands-on experience shaping each strip accurately using tried-and-true hand planing methods.No prior experience? No problem. We've seen beginners turn out some truly stunning rods under our guidance. So, don't worry if you haven't even held a hand plane before; we guarantee that by the end, you’ll have a gorgeous rod to enjoy fishing with. PJ never lets a participant leave with a rod he wouldn’t fish himself.

The Benefits and Appeal of Custom Fishing Rods

For an avid angler, there's something magical about casting a line with a custom bamboo fly rod. But why is this experience so unique? It boils down to three main reasons: personalization, quality materials, and the satisfaction of creating something yourself.

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The Personal Touch of Custom Rods

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A custom rod reflects your style. This personalized touch makes each cast feel more like you. Furthermore, using higher-quality materials results in a superior piece of fishing equipment. Tonkin Bamboo—used for crafting these rods—offers resilience and flexibility that far surpasses conventional rods.

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The result? A fly rod that feels like an extension of your arm rather than just another piece of recreational equipment.

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Last but not least is the satisfaction derived from making something with your own hands. Building your own fly rod deepens the connection between you and nature during those serene moments by the river. You leave our class with an heirloom quality fly rod that you will love fishing with for the rest of your life and will proudly hand down for generations to come.

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Remember though: as appealing as they are, handcrafting these beauties isn't easy-peasy lemon squeezy—it's more difficult-difficult lemon-difficult. That’s where our classes come into play. With expert guidance at hand and high-quality tools provided—you too can create such marvels. Enjoy the benefit of learning from our rodsmith’s countless hours of learning the craft and building custom bamboo fly rods every day.

Learning the Art of Rod Building

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If you've ever been awestruck by the intricate details of a fishing rod, this is your opportunity to gain insight into the craft of bamboo rod building. Our basic rod-building class will give you an understanding of each component's function and how they all come together to create something truly special. Our rodsmiths offer extensive history of the art of fly fishing and craft of bamboo fly rod building to each class.

Understanding the Components of a Fishing Rod

In our hands-on workshop, we guide participants through every part of a fly rod. From learning about reel seats and grips to mastering the spacing of striping guides – it's all covered in detail. But don't worry if these terms sound alien now; by the end, not only will you understand them but also have practical experience fitting them on your own custom fly rod.

We go beyond just telling you what things are; we make sure you know why they're important to the quality of your custom rod too.

Preparing for Your First Class

No need to fret about bringing tools, supplies or materials; we have that taken care of. We provide everything you'll need to handcraft your bamboo fly rod masterpiece right here in our workshop. So, reserve your spot soon. 

A custom fishing rod isn't just another piece of gear. You now know it offers superior performance due to its tailored design and high-quality materials.

If you're asking yourself "Where can I find fly rod building classes near me?" remember this guide! Be ready for expert instruction, hands-on learning...and most importantly: your own personalized fishing experience.

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Custom Rod Upgrade Options
 

Powder Coated Rod Tube: The rod you build in our bamboo fly rod building class will come complete with an 2" aluminum rod. For a premium look and less scratching you can upgrade to a moss colored powder coated rod tube.

Leather Rod Tube: For the complete heirloom quality bamboo fly rod package, upgrade your rod tube to a handcrafted leather rod tube. Leather rod tubes require a minimum of six weeks notice.

Stabilized Exotic Wood Spacer: Our standard student rods will come with a manufactured impregnated Rosewood reel seat spacer. We also make in-house stabilized, exotic wood reel seat spacers that participants can upgrade to for a high custom finish.

Stabilized Grip & Reel Seat Spacer: In addition to the above reel seat spacer, participants can upgrade their Flor Grade Cork Grip to a matching stabilized wood grip and reel seat, handcrafted in-house from a single piece of exotic wood giving it continuous grain structure through the grip and reel seat.

Engrave Nickle Silver Hardware: A beautiful personalized touch to any bamboo fly rod is having the hardware (ferrules and reel seat)  hand engraved by Master Engraver, Wade Oliver Wilson. This upgrade requires two months advanced notice.

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Second Rod Tip: Class rod will be built as a two piece, one tip rod of the weight of each participant's choosing. Should you wish to have a second tip made for your rod from same culm of bamboo one will be crafted by our Rodsmiths and sent to you after the completion of the class. A second rod tip is an insurance policy against car doors and will elongate the life of the rod from developing a set. We are happy to repair or replace the tip on any rod made in our shop, however, we will never be able to perfectly match the caramel color or node spacing  from the original culm of bamboo after the class has ended. Adding a second tip at the time of your class is the only way to get an exact replica of the first tip.

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