Casting a Spell: The Bamboo Fly Rod and the American Pursuit of Perfection

by George Black

Thirty-five million Americans–one in eight–like to go fishing. Fly fishers have always considered themselves the aristocracy of the sport, and a small number of those devotees, a few thousand at most, insist upon using one device in the pursuit of their a handcrafted split-bamboo fly rod. Meeting this demand for perfection are the inheritors of a splendid art, one that reveres tradition while flouting obvious economic sense and reaches back through time to touch the hands of such figures as Theodore Roosevelt and Henry David Thoreau.In Casting a Spell, George Black introduces readers to rapt artisans and the ultimate talismans of their uncompromising handmade bamboo fly rods. But this narrative is more than a story of obscure objects of desire. It opens a new vista onto a century and a half of modern American cultural history. With bold strokes and deft touches, Black explains how the ingenuity of craftsmen created a singular implement of leisure–and how geopolitics, economics, technology, and outrageous twists of fortune have all come to focus on the exquisitely crafted bamboo rod. We discover that the pastime of fly-fishing intersects with a mind-boggling variety of cultural trends, including conspicuous consumption, environmentalism, industrialization, and even cold war diplomacy. Black takes us around the world, from the hidden trout streams of western Maine to a remote valley in Guangdong Province, China, where grows the singular species of bamboo known as tea stick–the very stuff of a superior fly rod. He introduces us to the men who created the tools and techniques for crafting exceptional rods and those who continue to carry the torch in the pursuit of the sublime. Never far from the surface are such overarching themes as the tension between mass production and individual excellence, and the evolving ways American society has defined, experienced, and expressed its relationship to the land.Fly-fishing may seem a rarefied pursuit, and making fly rods might be a quixotic occupation, but this rich, fascinating narrative exposes the soul of an authentic part of America, and the great significance of little things. George Black’s latest expedition into a hidden corner of our culture is an utterly enchanting, illuminating, and enlightening experience.From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 8, 2006

Reviews

[JAMES AKER · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always had a fondness for the split cane fly rod. It was that sort of rod with which I began my career in angling. I must admit it was my father’s idea to put a bamboo rod in the hands of a ten-year-old. Such a thing was not generally regarded as a good practice by the wise. However, he had fished a greased silk line on bamboo since his father had placed a cane rod in his youthful hand in the early part of the twentieth century. I suppose he felt that it was now time for me to learn the disciplines and idylls of tea stick bamboo; of course under his very watchful eye.

It took me some time to master the eccentricities of the cast with bamboo. The slow and deliberate pickup, the seemingly endless wait for the loop to straighten and the feel of that slight tug backwards. Then the deliberate yet effortless cast forward pointing the rod tip toward the target water. It was love at first cast and although I strayed during the years that fiberglass and graphite rods held sway, I have always returned to the lovely reed.

Today I am pleased to be a collector of fine bamboo rods from many legendary makers who practiced wizardry with these sublime leaves of grass. Unlike many, I use them exclusively for all my angling endeavors except for deep winter fishing for steelhead and salmon. Ice is most unkind to bamboo. It is from this experience of collecting and angling that I have come to appreciate George Black’s latest book on the profession of creating such masterpieces and the men who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of perfection.

George Black is the author of the well-received The Trout Pool Paradox and several works on geopolitics and history. Black joined us recently at a luncheon given by the Theodore Gordon Flyfishers in New York City, to discuss his latest offering to fly-fishing literature. In Casting a Spell, Mr. Black has taken a different tack than many of the authors of much of the wit and wisdom written about bamboo and its use in the ancient sport of fishing with an angle. This is not a “How To” book or a study of one or two favored makers, nor is it a history of the cane rod industry in the strictest sense of the word. It is more a biographical history of a discipline, a philosophy, a way of life that is swiftly and tragically disappearing, with few exceptions, from the American foundation of craftsmanship.

Mr. Black takes us on a journey across the country, around the world, and back through the last one hundred and fifty years to the beginnings of the split cane fly rod. He introduces us to that extraordinary group of journeymen that strive to create something useful and something perfect in the same artifact. Names familiar to any serious angler like Leonard, Hawes, Thomas, Edwards, and Payne figure prominently in this treatise. Sam Carlson, Per Brandin, Doug Merrick, and Glenn Brackett are here as well. The author escorts the reader from the craft’s beginnings in the gunsmith’s shop of Samuel and Solon Philippe in Easton, Pennsylvania to the Sweet Grass Rod Company, Glenn Brackett’s post Winston endeavor to carry on, in the face of corporate greed, mass production, and the global economy.

Black examines the discipline of bamboo rod making by examining its artisan’s common dedication to that golden thread of the quest for perfection and their oft times difficult lives because of this dedication. These were and are, for the most part, secretive men who, to this day, maintain one of the last apprentice systems in existence in America. A system that attracts men and women from all walks of life to keep the craft alive. The occupation of master rod maker can be personally demanding and sometimes a cruel taskmaster as Black illustrates in his book. Nevertheless, the reader comes to an understanding that the practitioners of this skill would carry on their chosen work to the highest standards possible regardless of consequence. Like the great violin makers and great cabinetmakers of old, skilled rod makers are uncompromising in their efforts to capture perfection in a useful thing beautifully made.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book for it was difficult to put down. I can highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in craftsmanship. It is indeed, in microcosm, a study of that and of pride in the product of ones labors, and the exercise of personal creativity. Three vital qualities rapidly disappearing from our mass-produced, mass marketed, profit driven, throwaway world.

(c) 2008 J.C. Aker

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a very good read which traces the lives of a select group of craftsman as they pursue their white whale in the form of a uniquely American art form. This book is for anyone interested in what drives an artist to do what they love (or in one case, tolerate) in spite of personal and financial hardship.

Other reviews of this book have brought up the other's political remarks in the book. There are a few included which are very out of place and not at all in keeping with the spirit of the subject. I actually side with the author politically but offhandedly referring to Republican's as "neanderthals" is childish at best. If he seeks to contrast Republican cane rod builders with the Buddhist rod builders he profiles then he couldn't be further from the mark (I've known several Buddhists who happen to vote the GOP line). I'm disappointed in both the author and the editor for letting petty feelings break up the rhythm of an otherwise fine book. And this is why I've given it 3 stars instead of 4.

[Ross Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black’s book is a lovely paean to a marginal craft, and as I read, I found myself captivated by the stories of such a motley crew of “‘boo boys.” My only complaint is summed up by Jim Frank himself: “Here’s my thing about fly rods. They’re built to be bent. Fished, not fondled” (p. 221). At times, Black seems to forget this, and he has a tendency to get lost in the weeds of financial and “art object”-type speculation instead of offering insights into what it’s actually like to fish with a beautifully-crafted bamboo rod.

[Dennis Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of the bamboo fly rod told in a readable and intimate style. It highlights the struggle to make something for the sake artistic perfection.

[Jason Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's rare that i'll read a book as quickly as I read this. Engrossing is an adjective I use modestly, but this truly was an engrossing read. George Black takes you on the hunt for the definition of perfection through the annals of bamboo fly rodmaking history; starting with Leonard and weaving a path to Eustise Edwards, Thomas, Sam Carlson and eventually to the present with Bill Abrams, Dana Gray, Glenn Bracket, and Per Brandin - a virtual who's who in bamboo rodmaking over the last 150 years. In essence, it's a story about Fathers and Sons and the passing of knowledge from one to another. All of these individuals have one thing in common - the search for perfection.

Stops are made along the way with Henry David Thoreau and the history of the outdoor movement in Maine and the Catskills, the commodification and marketing of the outdoor lifestyle by Abercrombie & Fitch, Orvis, and LL Bean; logging and the impact on our natural environment; globalization; and Zen Buddhism are all touchstones throughout this incredible read.

As a fly fishing enthusiast and high school teacher of Marketing, I found this to be a unique exploration of two seemingly unrelated topics and their impact on American culture as a whole.

Fabulous - highly recommend.

[Ants · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fly fisherman, can you smell the aura of money and history when you see a highly prized, collectable split bamboo fly rod? If not, read the book. The keys to understanding are there for the price of an enjoyable read and some time.

Part 2 - what the big deal with these current bamboo rod makers and search of excellence? The secrets come from these exalted builders (maybe not such an exaggeration), not from a table of tapers that anyone can follow. OOps, did I spill the beans.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the cult of bamboo rods in the US. Not for those that aren't already reading everything they can on the subject... but a great read if you do!

[Tom Sadler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing tale. Will read again as I know there are more gems to find in this one.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read it once, but now I'd like to read it again and pay more careful attention. Just like the bamboo rod itself, the history of bamboo rods is a beautiful thing.