In the history of angling, bamboo played a very important role. Because anglers realized that they needed that something else "more adequate" to catch a fish: a tool not too rigid, not too brittle not too heavy, and not too expensive.

Bamboo, and the best of it!

Here is a nice text on the history of angling by Prof. David A. Bainbridge, an expert in ecocomposite (we would also say he is an "ecologist", one those person with good-will and knowledge who try to use Nature for our benefits without damaging it nor our economy).

 "Fishing poles were once a willow stem or a whittled down sapling, and often broke at the tip under heavy loads. The use of bamboo tips on wood rods apparently originated in England, perhaps from someone who had seen bamboo rods in action in India or China. Bamboo is lighter, more flexible and stronger than solid wood, and eventually fishermen began making the entire rod entirely of bamboo. Charles Murphy of New York is credited with coming up with the hexagonal design used today in the late 1800s.
 
"Tonkin bamboo" or "Tonkin cane", Arundinaria amabilis, is preferred for fly rods. This bamboo is grown in Kwansi and Kwantung Provinces along the Sui River in southern China. The culm should be 5-7.5 cm (2-3 inches) in diameter at the base, and may come off a stem that is 15-20 meters (45-60 feet) tall. Culms are cut, floated down river, and then scrubbed and dried. Tonkin bamboo has excellent flexibility and fiber density and the long distance between the nodes makes it ideal for fly rods. One 4 meter (12 foot) culm provides enough material for one rod.

Note: Arundinaria gigantea was the only native bamboo in North America. The tall and extensive cane brakes of Kentucy and Tennessee were made up of this bamboo, which can reach 7+ meters (20+ feet)."

So, by the mid-late XIX century bamboo started to be used in fishing, firstly timidely, than industrially.

Now, here is an important part of the history of angling that you should read. Who invented the split cane rod? It has to do with the UK and the America.....

In 1939, nylon was invented, and in the late '40s fibreglass rods, and boats started to appear. In the '80s graphite replaced fiber-glass as the main material for fishing rods. Then recently new materials like boron and kevlar have been used.

The golden era for modern bamboo fly fishing rods were probably, in my opinion, the '70s when the technology (new glues, better tools) was at an advanced point without the synthetic materials (fibreglass, graphite) being still viable for the mass market.

From the history of angling back to main angling history webpage