The Art of the Fly Rod

I recently started fly fishing. Part science, part art, part determination, this hobby is called the thinking man's sport, and rightfully so. Here's a piece about an artist who makes great fly rods. I can't afford one yet, but maybe someday... 

Thousands of miles from Rolf Baginski's workshop in Bremem, Germany, slender but strong strands of bamboo known as arundinaria amabiles grows in Kwangsi and Kwangtung, coastal regions in China.

The bamboo, also known as Tonkin cane, is one of this master craftsman's most important elements in his creation of Baginski Bamboo Fly Rods. The other elements are natural materials, a unique workmanship, tradition, and history.

An only child, Baginski started fishing when he was four years old, and he fell in love with the strong strand from China. "I can remember fishing with my father and I was using a bamboo rod. We were on a little river that runs through my grandfather's farm," he says. "While the fish were small, to me, a young child who loved nature, they were beautiful as any fish could be."

As he progressed through life, Baginski never forgot his first loves, that of the beauty in nature, fishing and bamboo. Before becoming a professional full-time rod maker he worked as a German history teacher , a manager of a community social center and a guitar player in a band called Westwind. Westwind recorded the music for the Marlboro cigarette commercials in Europe.

Today fly fishers around the world, many from the United States, are purchasing Baginski's rods and, as he says, enjoying "the rod of a lifetime".

"Split cane rods have seen a resurgence of popularity during the last few years and they are gaining more admirers all over the world," Baginski says. "The reason for this development is quite clear and obvious to me. Most products are industrial products, mass produced by the thousands in an automatic mechanized process. My rods are hand-built."

Baginski's Tonkin rods take many hours of work. Laboring seven days a week, 10-14 hours a day, to keep up with orders, this craftsman uses only select raw materials and the finest manual workmanship to produce a rod with superb appearance and an outstanding finish.

According to Baginski, more than 1,000 kinds of bamboo are known to science but only one, arundinaria amabiles, unites all the characteristic qualities for the production of split-cane rods. Also known as "the lovely grass" this special bamboo was named by F.A. McClure. It matures only in these regions of coastal China where the climatic conditions, including monsoons, perpetuate its growth.

"All of the rod makers of the past, through trial and error, found out that this material, the Tonkin cane, is the best for rod making. I think that was about 50-70 years ago. At first they used a kind of bamboo from India and it wasn't that good," he explains. "Every modern rod maker uses this material. It's especially great for it's fibers. It has 53% power fibers in the bamboo. Other bamboos do not have that much."

The Tonkin cane is the beginning a Baginski's long process, a process he continues to look at closely and change if he feels his customers demand it. "I lot of people are asking for a rod that uses a lighter weight line. It's hard to make a rod like that because the taper is so thin so I've been thinking about these tapers. I found a new way to make them. It was an easy solution after all. If you put more power in the tips of the rods and make them a little bigger, and build the other part a little thin, you have more weight in the tip."

Baginski's rods come in two types, Harmony and Horizon. The Harmony series come in lengths: 6', 6'6", 7", 7'6", 8'; line weights: 3, 4, 5; all have amboina wood reel seats, German silver/Argentine fittings, bushings, ferrules; natural, light flamed, dark flamed finishes, come in two pieces and cost between $1,120-$1,300 which includes rod, bag and shipping from Germany. The Horizon series come in the same lengths, and have the same features as Harmony but the line weights are 4, 5, 6 and the price range is different ($1,180-$1,360).

"People have asked me if they should buy a new fly rod every time a new model comes out. They tell me they want to find one rod, for them, for their lifetime," he notes. "This is the kind of rod I make."

A perfectionist, Baginski tries all his rods until he is satisfied. His fastidiousness produces a harmonious entirety that is a work of art. The process begins with the Tonkin-cane from China which, by the time it reaches Germany, has been cut, transported twice in China, and pre-dried over fire, giving the bamboo its characteristic straw yellow color. Once Baginski gets the bamboo, there are two ways he could go: 1) sawing and milling by machine; or 2) splitting and planing manually. He uses the second method which is essential to produce a first-class rod. "I split the Tonkin cane manually along the natural direction of the fibers to achieve the raw splices," he says. "During the production procedures the splices are straightened and adjusted as well as planed manually until the final shape is achieved."

Because the rod is made in this fashion, Baginski notes, the power fibers of the cane are perfectly straight and consequently fulfill the desired function. Meticulous? Check out the numbers: From the raw bamboo to the final product Baginski uses more than 200 working steps which usually takes him 40-60 hours. A rod that casts in an excellent way should also look the part, so this German artisan uses a triple dip coat lacquering process to make it shine line a bright star in the sky.

Baginski travels around the world and often to America to attend fly-fishing expos and talk to people about his rods. He attracts many fly fishing aficionados. After understanding the man behind the rods and his long intensive manufacturing process, some serious fly fishers become very interested in Baginski's rods. "I have a customer who is a producer for Sony and recently I got contacted by Donald J. Trump Jr.," Baginski says.

When he first started making bamboo rods Baginski did it as a hobby. The year was 1976 and eventually he ran out of money with which to buy more materials. He had taken some classes and collected some old cane rods but he was at a roadblock. Then he spotted a book by Dr. George Parker Holden titled "The Idyl of the Split Bamboo". The book changed his life. "After reading Holden's book I decided to sell my entire rod collection and use the money to purchase equipment necessary to make cane rods myself," he recalled. "At that time in Germany there weren't any professional bamboo rod makers so finding help was difficult but through trial and error I slowly learned the craft. Since there were no other rod makers and no shops I had to make many of my own tools."

The tools he made include specialized tools for splitting cane, pulling out ferrules, and for rounding the edges of the Tonkin-cane prior to putting on the ferrules. To him, it's all worth it, and, as a fisherman himself he does not want to make a customer wait a long time to get the rod. "It's an honor to have a customer who wants to order a rod to fish with, " he adds. "So I want to produce the rod as quickly as possible."

Baginski said there are several unique features in his rods including a special technique in wrapping the guides. "I use white silk and when I varnish the silk for the first time I heat the wrappings to dry them because silk has a lot of moisture. After they are heated I use a tongue-oil varnish on the wraps and the color disappears. That way one can see everything behind the wrappings. Also, I use a special functional design in my ferrules. I serrate my ferrules along their end."

When he is in the United States attending expos Baginski does take time out to go fly fishing. Where are some of his favorite spots? "I like to go to Henry's Fork on the Snake River in Idaho," he says. "I also like to go to a place called the Gunnison River. It is about four hours away from Denver."

When he occasionally gets out of his shop at home he fly fishes in his favorite spot in Denmark, where he catches brown trout, salmon, and sea trout and the season never ends. "I like using my 7 foot rod for a 4 to 5 weight line," he says. "This rod is compact so I can bring it on the airplane and it's tapered so I can fish both dry flies and nymphs."

If he is not in his workshop crafting the perfect fly rod, fishing or attending expos around the world, Baginski teaches. "I teach a few classes in Bavaria," he says. "But most of my time is spent making rods."

WHERE TO GET A BAGINSKI ROD

You can purchase a Baginski Bamboo Fly Rod through his U.S. distributor:

Richard Recchia

R.D.R. Services Inc.

342 Havanna Ave.

Long Beach, CA 90814

Tel: (562) 494-1402

E mail: drecchia@ultimateflyfishing.com