bamboo fly rods,    colt rod company,    fishing rods,    fly fishing stuff,    fly rods,    six-sided fishing rods

Everything Old is New: Yesterday's Bamboo Fly Rod Is Today's "Revolutionary" Rod Concept

By Tom Chandler 8/23/2010

The bamboo fly rod truly is a marvel of engineering - its six-sided construction (or four-sided in the case of a quad) offers strength, exceptional resistance to crushing, and good resistance to twisting.

That's why I wasn't wholly surprised to stumble across the Colt Rod Company and its "revolutionary" technology:

We give you... the "Revolutionary" six-sided fishing rod:

Colt Rod Company

I don't know who Colt Rods are; I've never seen one in person, and while they're currently selling conventional rods, they haven't yet brought their fly rods to market. (When they do, we'd be happy to receive a dozen or so in a plain, unmarked package for revenue enhancement testing purposes.)

Still, I can't help but smile a bit at the labeling of better than century-old technology six-sided construction as "Revolutionary."

You could argue that Colt's "I-beam" technology was different from bamboo's solid structure, but I'd also suggest that the work of cutting edge bamboo hollowbuilders like Wayne Maca, Per Brandin, Thramer, Reams and Raine offers some striking similarities.

In any case, I frankly think Colt's rods look interesting - maybe even cool, though again, you'd expect someone like me to think that. (It's possible I have a taste for the different when it comes to fly fishing tackle.)

Colt Rod Company Technology

You'd have to figure they'd be heavier than regular cylindrical graphite rods, but then, I've always thought weight was more important to marketers than fishermen (being a bamboo/fiberglass guy, I would think that).

From the outside, they look a lot like the old Hexagraph rods, but those were carbon strips laminated atop foam - essentially a solid-built construction.

Want proof that this isn't anything like your grandfather's bamboo rod? Read this:

After being finished, the rods then go through a final step where the new owner's information is electronically loaded on to the visible RFID chip located above the handle of the rod.

I get the feeling these rods won't be cheap.

Once Colt ships us a large package containing many rods for testing, we'll let you know how their revolutionary concept holds up.

See you in science class, Tom Chandler.

UPDATE: A couple people have suggested (via social media channels) that I'm exposing something here. In truth, I find the technology and rods pretty interesting, though I have to admit to finding the "revolutionary" tagline a trifle amusing.  Good luck to Colt...
AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

15 comments
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Tom, I saw this picture of a bamboo rod with internal beams ... http://clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com/topic/39180?page=2 Not sure how it influences the casting action, but its cool looking. BTW, I enjoy your site. Thanks, Greg
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You've been reading the Apple and Oracle's Playbook For Success, haven't you?
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My idea, which is to say, the idea which is mine is: Fly rods are long and skinny, and we should taper them as we approach the tip. It's called TaperFlex. I will vigorously litigate any trademark infringements. I also have trademarked all rotating-spool reels. Advanced Rotational Technology is also trademarked. Also trademarked are curved wires, sharpened at one end at a wire loop or "eye" is formed ... more at the other. Look under BiteMeTech. When I can trademark string, I will.
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Good point. Colt arms probably could make a case for dilution.
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Hmmmmm...How the heck did they get the right to the 'Colt" moniker?? Last I knew a very prodominant arms company had been using it for,what,150 years now?? If Lockheed was getting their tighty whiteys in a bunch over the 'Skunkworks' name,I'd think Colt Manufacturing may be looking askance at this....Unless the fly rod wars are about to heat up.....
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Quick Note: A couple people have suggested (via social media channels) that I'm "exposing" something here. In truth, I find Colt's technology and rods pretty interesting, though I have to admit to finding the "revolutionary" tagline a trifle amusing. In any case, good luck to the company, and yes, I'd love to test one if they ever release a fly rod...
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Interesting - the technology and buzzwords are very similar. Good find.
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Cape Fear Rods have (had?) what appears to be a virtually identical product. http://www.mudhole.com/docs/cape.htm Don't know if Cape Fear is still in business, but I remembered seeing their products previously. Most of the information I found is pretty dated. Maybe Colt is a resurrected version? JB
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I have it on good authority that Scientific Anglers is about to debut a braided horse hair line that you dress with glass beads and silicone - dubbed the Horse's AssSkin.
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Powell did that 20 years ago (ish) it was called hexagraph I think these are fundamentally different in the interior. The Hexes were essentially filled with solid foam strips and surfaced with graphite - essentially synthetic versions of a solid-built bamboo fly rod. These (apparently) replace the foam with thin I-beams (for want of a better description). I kinda liked the casting action of the Hex ... more rods, but never had the spare cash to buy one - even when Raptor Rods in Chico offered me one in green instead of the bamboo-colored paint jobs that drove me nuts. I think the uber-fast graphite rods of today grew popular for two reasons. As you noted, they work well in parking lots, and people often bought the rod that cast the farthest in fly shop's parking lot. And second, fast, stiff, light rods are ideal for nymphing two beadheads and a couple split shot - a style of fishing that has grown enormously popular the last three decades.
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Marty- I was thinking of the same thing. http://www.hexagraph.com/HTMLarticles/HexHistory.html The Hexagraph concept had its roots and early development in the 1980's in two rod-building houses. In England, Jim Bruce and Ken Walker of Bruce and Walker, Ltd. were looking to create a light-weight but strong and castable alternative to the long and heavy two-handed salmon Spey rods that were popular ... more on their rivers. Most of those rods were made of wood at the time. At about the same time Walton E. Powell, son of the legendary American bamboo rod pioneer E. C. Powell, and a highly respected and innovative rod-builder through his own life, was continuing his life-long quest to replicate the unique casting characteristics of cane by using contemporary construction materials. Walt was striving to create an attractive and strong casting piece with the traditional actions. These actions were lost as rod-building evolved into one of predominantly hollow tubular rods.
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Wow talk about marketing .......Powell did that 20 years ago (ish) it was called hexagraph and like almost all graphite fly rods less than stellar. Not even a new idea for graphite...... Bamboo is really the best fly rod material followed closely by good glass....graphite is a far distant third......quads in theory put more power fibers along the axis of the cast and therefore transfer energy better ... more and as you said resist twist...in practice not so much but a nice quad is a thing of beauty......the casting quality of the rod has more to do with the taper and execution....and there are some spectacular quads, pents, and hexes............ The marketers also cooked up the whole uber fast rod thing to appeal to the masses ....you don't have to actually learn how to cast to fish one somewhat successfully.......broad appeal and allows a newbie or duffer to feel less frustrated and buy more stuff when most of them should probably get back to golf and off the water......... rods with action actually do the work for you and protect tippets..... Bottom line is that fly rods are made of bamboo or glass anything else is a plastic imitation!!!!!!
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...Exactly! - I mean, I guess a hex graphite rod with the "I beam" inside would resist twisting more than a round hollow rod?...Maybe?..
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I think the quads are supposed to track well because they resist twisting so much (almost nobody's casting stroke is straight forward and backwards). Naturally any bamboo rod geeks are free to add their $.02 on this one. In any case, the rods seem interesting, for no other reason than I'm interested in seeing someone shake up the industry a bit.
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They might be on to something- It works for hollow builders, as you mention, and the not-round thing?-The angles might impart enhanced directional tracking of the flyline?...the way that some folks claim a quad bamboo rod is"more accurate" than a hex due to the alignment of the of power fibers more directly along the axis of the rods flex?....(or something- I got confused there myself....)
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