This is a bamboo taper by my friend Shane Gray from Graywolf Fly Rods. In the beginning of this fall, he contacted me and asked if I was interested in building out two bamboo blanks for him. One for himself, and one for me. Shane used to build a lot of bamboo rods before he went into fiberglass, but with his current business he hasn't got the time to work with bamboo anymore. These blanks are made after his specs by another builder, and the quality is top notch. It's a smooth progressive 7'6'', 4wt rod with a swelled but. The balance is perfect, and it's dead calm when pushed a bit. This blank is flamed, and is a tad faster than the other blank. I have appointed it with chestnut silk, dark nickel guides and a bronze skeleton. The grip is a thin Ritz style, and it has been finished with two rounds of epoxy. I will keep this for myself.
