Testing my No. 4 bamboo rod...

I finished this 6wt rod a few months back but have yet to test it out in the field.

 

Finally I managed to test this in fish farm in Bedong. I caught a few Barramundi of decent size... but this one was of good fight... and good size too..

It was a good 45 minutes fight and I landed this.. and my integrated bamboo ferrule bamboo rod is still holding well...

A broken "BLACK"

Sigh....  As I have expected, the over toasted bamboo blank is too brittle. Lawn casted "Black" and it snap.
Another lesson learnt...  Do not over 'cook' the bamboo...

A clean break on the strip and crack through.

Tried to look for ways to repair it but the damages done was beyond repair. I think I will cut the butt section and make a spigot at the end for the connection to the tip section... and turn "Black" to a kid rod...

"BLACK"

Finally it's done..... and it's time for testing 'Black'...........

Completing "BLACK"

It is ahead of schedule....  Completing "Black" faster than I thought. Yup, I named that rod "Black" because it's black... over toasted. Well, "Black" is a 6'5" 2pc , integrated bamboo ferrule bamboo fly rod.

The rod felt abit brittle, slightly stiffer than I imagine it would be. I taped the guides on the blank for testing and find it cast well with a DT3, I think better with a WF4. It throw a 30' of DT3 with ease. Just hope that it will not break when fishing with it.

Done up the grip, reel seat and all the guides. But it still need a coat of finish..

Completed bamboo fly rod blank

Finally.................
I managed to completed my No. 5 bamboo blank.
This will be my 2nd rod for the year 2010. I didn't know it took me that long to get another one done. Hope I can finished it by this year..

It's already July and I have 6 months to go..