Oyster Bamboo Rods

I have had a dream of owning an Oyster Bamboo Rod for years.  I have been by Bill Oyster’s store front in Blue Ridge GA many times while fishing the trout streams of the Southern Appalachians.  His rods are true works of art.  There is something special that stirs in me when I hold a fine bamboo rod akin to the same feeling when I have an antique English made side by side shotgun in my hands.  I like the connection to the past and there is something about the purity in something that is handmade, from natural materials that you cannot get from something that is made from modern manufactured materials. 

Bill Oyster builds 40 to 60 rods a year at his shop in Blue Ridge Georgia and he runs workshops that teach students how to build their own rods.  I had a 6wt, 8 ft rod made for me.  It is a three piece with extra tip, in honey brown cane.  The wraps are amber orange with black trim, and it has an Amboyna burl reel seat spacer with down locking seat, blued ferrules with a western grip.  This is a rod I am sure to get years of enjoyment out of and I look forward to it being a family heirloom that can be passed down through the generations. 

I have taken it out to fish a few times since it arrived last month.  It preformed flawlessly when I fished for white bass on the Coosa River here in Alabama.  The rod has a nice taper, a nice action and strong backbone for fighting the bass in deep water.  I plan on going to North Georgia in the early fall and try it out on the Soque River in Georgia to fish for big browns and rainbows.