2019 Ethan Hopson

This summer, with the help of the Hal Tayloe enrichment award, I was able to continue with my previous Hal Tayloe project with the added goal of building a bamboo fly fishing rod. When I began this project, I started to research what I would need to make a bamboo fly rod. To learn more about how to build a rod, the materials that I needed, and my next step, I met up with Mr. Rick Robbins, a professional bamboo fly rod builder in Lexington, Virginia. Mr. Robbins invited me to his workshop and walked me through steps to build a fly rod, showing me many of the tools and machines I would need. He also gave me access to a book on rod building, and gave me spare bamboo rod segments, as well as 4 poles of Tonkin cane bamboo, a special bamboo used for fly rods. Mr. Robbins showed me a movie on the history of fly rod building as well as the community which surrounds the rod building. It was an amazing experience to learn from an expert rod builder and to hear the advice he had to give me. While I discussed with him what my next step should be, Mr. Robbins suggested that I try and find a rod building class to enroll in, as they would give me all the proper tools, machines, and materials and walk me through the process one step at a time. After I met with Mr. Robbins, I saw that building a fly rod in one summer as a novice builder would be challenging. With this in mind, I have decided to take a bamboo fly rod building class in the spring of 2020.

Along with trying to build a bamboo fly rod, my project also included researching the entomology in fly fishing and developing my skills as a better fly tier. I learned about insect habits, ranges, and behaviors and how these factors can affect a fly fisherman’s hook choice. Prior to this project, I was aware that fly fishing flies were made to resemble insects, however, after reading up on fly entomology and design I realized that many fly fishing flies are designed to resemble many different types of organisms and use very unique materials. After this, I found some of the best flies for use in Virginia, chosen for their efficiency and seasonal use, and researched how to tie them. With that information I was able to tie some of the most popular flies in Virginia including the Wooly Bugger, Adam’s fly, and the God-Ribbed Hare Ear. I look forward to using my newly acquired skills when I go fly fishing this fall. This project helped to better my research skills, patience, and determination. I will be continuing this project over the next year by honing my fly tying skills, continuing to research bamboo fly rods with the final goal of building my own by next year.