Jon Lyman has been building bamboo fly rods since 1999, when he learned the craft in Ralph Moon’s shop on the banks of the Henry’s Fork. Day after day, Ralph would measure the taper on Jon’s planed strips and remark, “Plus one-thousandth, Plus one-thousandth- oops! Two thousandths, better plane that a bit more!” An 'old saw" Ralph taught Jon is that you need to build a hundred rods before you begin to understand the 600 individual steps necessary to build one great rod. “I have come to appreciate that everything I do, from the choice of the bamboo culm to the final wraps of silk, is visible in the finished rod,” he says. “Building beautiful rods has become as much a passion for me as fishing.” There are about 200 dedicated bamboo rod builders world-wide. Many are fine engineers, some are artists. Jon’s passion for all things fly fishing places him squarely among the artists.
Jon came to rod building as the Education V.P. for the Federation of Fly Fishers. For ten years he wrote a column on the history of fly fishing for their magazine Flyfisher and published papers on fly fishing and catch and release in fisheries journals worldwide. “My rods reflect our sport’s history,” he said, ”with traditional ring and cup reel holders made of sterling and nickel silver from the gilded age. Silk windings, agate stripping guides, and exotic hardwoods from across the globe help me turn my hand-planed bamboo blanks into art.” Jon’s rods, with tapers derived from the golden age of fly fishing as well as his own, also fish beautifully.
He offers several favorite tapers and custom work at this time. He prefers to build blond, tiger, and ginger rods. He focuses on building six-strip bamboo rids because of their proven longevity, " I build custom rods to be passed down through fly fishing families for generations yet to come." Rods from 2 to 9 weight, in three piece/two tip, or two piece/ two tip configurations, from seven feet four inches to eight feet in length compose his build. Jon’s Alaska Traveler tapers are for trout, salmon, and grayling in five to eight weights. “My favorite rod is based on a taper I found on a scrap of paper in the back of an old copy of Hoagy Carmichael’s book on rod building,” Jon said. “Much of the beauty of fly fishing is found in such little mysteries.”
Jon has built over 200 rods to date. Each rod is crafted as a unique work, taking over 60 hours to build. His bamboo rods are in the hands of anglers and artists from Alaska to Florida and beyond. He continues to donate rods to conservation organizations to help fund education and restoration projects, but now builds about one rod per month for sale. With his focus on perfecting detail and incorporating the history of the sport in his work, Jon believes, “If your passion is fly fishing, fish beautifully: Fish Bamboo!”
All rods come with double-lined rod sock in a brass capped/aluminum tube, with a lifetime limited warrantee. Custom orders require six-months to complete.
Contact Jon at [email protected]
Jon came to rod building as the Education V.P. for the Federation of Fly Fishers. For ten years he wrote a column on the history of fly fishing for their magazine Flyfisher and published papers on fly fishing and catch and release in fisheries journals worldwide. “My rods reflect our sport’s history,” he said, ”with traditional ring and cup reel holders made of sterling and nickel silver from the gilded age. Silk windings, agate stripping guides, and exotic hardwoods from across the globe help me turn my hand-planed bamboo blanks into art.” Jon’s rods, with tapers derived from the golden age of fly fishing as well as his own, also fish beautifully.
He offers several favorite tapers and custom work at this time. He prefers to build blond, tiger, and ginger rods. He focuses on building six-strip bamboo rids because of their proven longevity, " I build custom rods to be passed down through fly fishing families for generations yet to come." Rods from 2 to 9 weight, in three piece/two tip, or two piece/ two tip configurations, from seven feet four inches to eight feet in length compose his build. Jon’s Alaska Traveler tapers are for trout, salmon, and grayling in five to eight weights. “My favorite rod is based on a taper I found on a scrap of paper in the back of an old copy of Hoagy Carmichael’s book on rod building,” Jon said. “Much of the beauty of fly fishing is found in such little mysteries.”
Jon has built over 200 rods to date. Each rod is crafted as a unique work, taking over 60 hours to build. His bamboo rods are in the hands of anglers and artists from Alaska to Florida and beyond. He continues to donate rods to conservation organizations to help fund education and restoration projects, but now builds about one rod per month for sale. With his focus on perfecting detail and incorporating the history of the sport in his work, Jon believes, “If your passion is fly fishing, fish beautifully: Fish Bamboo!”
All rods come with double-lined rod sock in a brass capped/aluminum tube, with a lifetime limited warrantee. Custom orders require six-months to complete.
Contact Jon at [email protected]
