Makers of Bamboo Fly Rods: an Interview with

German Rodmaker Christian Strixner

Christian, you are among the young, promising generation of bamboo rodmakers. I saw your bamboo rods in Waischenfeld and, along with your fresh, positive, cheerful attitude, I was impressed by the quality of your rods. I remember in particular
that you were showing me the reel-seat and handle with black wood inlay for instance, which I haven't seen on any other rod. What kind of wood is it?
The wood inserts are made from ebony. This wood gives a nice contrast to bamboo.I have a similar vintage rod with a mortised swell hanging above my writing desk and I kept looking at it. One day I decided that I have to make one myself.

I beg pardon for the question, but is this kind of handle not too heavy?
Yes, it is heavy. But I wanted to make one to find out how it is done.If you balance the rod with a somewhat heavier reel it feels quite ok.I have fished this rod several times and one can get used to the weight. But if I would have the choice, I would fish a lighter rod or at least a rod with a less dramatic swell. Or maybe I hollow the handle next time to save up some weight. Hey, this is an interesting project for the future!

When did you start bamboo rodmaking?
I started off 6 years ago with bamboo rodmaking. I regret that I didn´t start earlier, as I had plans to do so since a long time. I was a bit reluctant, as all the necessary tools are not readily available as you know. And I didn´t have my own workshop at that time. But luckily I could solve this problem and now I have plenty of room for all my tools and gadgets.

You are a cabinet-maker by profession, when do you make your rods? I mean, do you do it in your spare time?
My education is cabinet-maker. I´m not working as a cabinet-maker anymore. I started working full time as a professional rodmaker.Since a few years I have my own workshop where I mainly make rods and fishing related things such as you can see on my website.

Which moment of bamboo rodmaking do you like most?
When I remove the binding cord from a tip section after gluing and it is straight! Or if, for instance a reel seat insert reveals a nice grain after turning it on the lathe. And finally I love the odours of bamboo in the heat treating oven.

And which moment of bamboo rodmaking do you like less?
Well, you guessed it, straightening nodes is not my favourite.But this exactly the working step, where you detect flaws in the bamboo. Apart from that I´m pretty happy with all other aspects of rodmaking.

You are a FFF American Certified Casting Instructor. Does this help you in your rod construction? Are you a member of other Associations?
Firstly the preparation for the test really helped me to become a better caster.And yes, it helped me a lot regarding rod construction. Now I have a deeper understanding that loop formation and line speed are the key points not only in good casting but also in rod design.I fancy the idea of founding an association for a certain purpose but these are dreams of the future.

Where did you learn English?
There where only remnants of my school English left. When I started traveling more intensively in particular to countries like Australia and New Zealand I could rejuvenate what I learned at school. And studying English rod making literature helped a lot on top.

Do you make other parts of the rods yourself?
Apart from the guides and ferrules I make everything myself. I will make nickel-silver ferrules or in general metal ferrules in the future as well. I think, this is the very essence of rod making, to make as much as you can on your own rather than assembling parts. And this helps tremendously to find your own style.

What about the guides, do you have a special producer that you prefer?
The guides from Michael McCoy are hard to beat. He produces outstanding quality with high consistency. I wished I could pay him a visit one day and could select a few of his wonderful agate guides myself.

Some of your rods have bamboo ferrules, something not easy to make. When did you start producing them and did you learn the method on your own?
When I first saw bamboo ferrules I immediately fell in love with them.I actually made my first bamboo ferrule shortly after I started rodmaking.I gathered some information on the subject through the “powerfibers” online magazine before I started. The main concern with bamboo ferrules seems to be dimensional stability under wet or humid conditions. I overcome this problem by stabilizing the ferrules before I mount them on the blank. I can make integrated ferrules as well but still tend towards the attached version.

Can I ask you how do you temper the bamboo strips, for how long, at which temperature?
For most of my rods approximately 180 degrees/Celsius, 2 X 20 minutes, depending on the desired colouration. An excellent treatise on this subject can be downloaded from the “Powerfibers” website. It is “Bamboo in the laboratory” by Dr. Wolfram Schott.

We learned that you also make fly-fishing accessories, like rod "tubes", landing-nets, fly-boxes, fly-tying tools and fly-tying bench organizers. We can say that you are a complete fly-fishing craftsman.....
Thank you for the compliment, but I’m far from being a complete fly-fishing craftsman. There is so much to learn still and heaps of room for improvement.I think if one get’s complacent, one remains static and that is the least I want.

Let's go back to bamboo rodmaking. Do you remember any funny rodmaking mistake?
At the moment it happened, it was not funny at all. But now with some time lag I can laugh about it. Once I cut away the leeway from a blank twice.Funnily enough this was not a bad rod in the end. In fact, I really like it.

How often do you go fishing? Where?
When I´m at home in Munich, I hardly go fishing. I spend most of the time working, sometimes even on weekends. Maybe two or three times a year I drive somewhere for a day or two or I follow the invitation of a customer.But during the winter my wife Tina and I are sneaking away for the trout fishing season in New Zealand. That is the place where I recharge the batteries. The conditions there are very demanding. An ideal environment for testing my rods. Strong winds, big fish, big bends in the rod!

Who are your clients? Do you custom build or do people buy the finished rods?
Interestingly I have more overseas clients than I have at home. I´ve got enquiries and orders as far away as the United States, South Africa and even Australia. The most well known client I had so far was Ross Brawn. You Ferraristi would certainly know him as the former Ferrari formula one team captain. Most clients want a custom made rod!

What would you suggest to a person who would like to buy his first bamboo rod?
Take your time in making your decision.My recommendation is, test cast as many rods as possible and be prepared, that a quality cane rod is not cheap.

Thank you Christian for your time and we wish you a bright future so that you can continue offering us your fine fly-fishing rods and equipments. Would you like, perhaps, to finish with a personal comment about your bamboo rodmaking?
Rodmaking and Flyfishing are my passion. Somebody once wrote about my rods:I truly believe that when a person makes something with their hands, a part of them goes into that object and the result is a reflection of their personality.