September 2008

Dear Mr Tusoni, You were invited in Sansepolcro as a special guest last May for the first European Bamboo Rodmakers Gathering. How did you find this gathering and what was the main impression you brought home?
I found the gathering quite interesting and different from any other gathering I have attended in the USA and Canada. The multi-language issues were handled very well. I was impressed with the number of participants and the information presented. I learned a few things from it and my impression is that it was better organized and had better presentations than most other gatherings. I would like to attend again next year. The rods were also very impressive.

You told me that you started making bamboo rods as a boy and still continue today, well over 30 years later. Are you a professional rodmaker or do you do it as a hobby?
Yes I started making rods when I was 10 years old with my father and uncle in New England (Massachusetts and Vermont). I would consider myself a professional rod maker as I sell over 100 rods a year.

What is your background if I may ask?
I am a software engineer and do quite a lot of software consulting to companies in the San Francisco area.

Where do you live?
In Winter, I live in a town called Angels Camp. It is an old gold mining town, located in the foothills of the Western Sierra Nevada Mountains. In Summer and when the weather is good, I live in an area called Virginia Lakes, with is located at 10,060' elevation just to the east of the Sierra Nevada Crest. Typically, there are only 4 months without serious snow, July, August, September and some of October. I season some of my bamboo culms here as the high UV turns them a nice straw color.

In Sansepolcro I saw and used with much pleasure one of your special bamboo rod: a 4 piece fly rod, 8'6'' if I am not incorrect. I must say that I haven't seen many 4 piece rods so far. Why did you decide to make such a rod? Was it mainly for transport reasons?Well, I did bring only one 4 piece rod, which was my "Alpine" model, 6'0" for a 3wt. line. I do make them for easy transportation mainly. I make quite a few of them, including a 7'0" 4wt. and an 8'0" 5wt.

I did bring a 3 piece 7'0" for a 4wt also. I also brought a wooden rod made from old Greenheart wood from British Guiana. It was an 8'0" 2 piece 2 tip for a 6wt. with medium fast action. I donated it to the club for their museum.

You produce 3 series of rods if I am not wrong: Trout Scout, Signature Rods and Custom/Classic rods, not to mention your Limited series, and there are hexagonal and pentagonal geometries. As for the length I noticed that you like making very short rods like the one piece (!) 5'6" Brookie Rod, which is quite popular and up to 8'6, 4 pieces rods. So there is a lot of variety and choice which distinguish you well from other rodmakers I would say. Which one is overall the best seller?
My 1 piece 5'6" 4wt. Brookie is the best selling rod. Mainly because there are a lot of small streams in this country and the price is low. Also, like any one piece rod, it casts better than a multi-piece rod.

What about the pentagonal rods? Whe did you start making them and how different are they in casting compared to an equivalent hexagonal rod?
I started making then with my father many years ago. However, I only started selling them in quantity about 6 years ago. The main problems I had were making/buying cutters and planing forms for pentas. My old penta forms were worn out. Now I have penta forms, cutters for my bevelers, depth gage points, etc. I now make more Pentas than hex rods.

They cast quite differently. They tend to be a little faster then equivalent hex rods of the same taper, and are less likely to take a "set" vs. a hex rod. I also believe that they are stronger, as there is an apex over the bottom flat, vs. a flat over a flat in a hex or quad rod. I am fortunate to have many penta tapers from my father and uncle and ones that I have developed.

Do you also make quad rods?
I have made some in the past, and only only take special orders for them from existing customers. I have the equipment but I personally don't like how they cast and look.

You design a proprietary taper, and I guess that this is why you had the idea of developing the RodDNA software (see below). But is there any classic taper you feel close, too? And do you have any general idea that you convey in your rods?
Yes, most of my tapers are proprietary, although I included one in the latest release of RodDNA.
I have one or two models that have similar tapers to Garrison's tapers. It is not surprising that similar tapers can be created by different makers. Unlike Garrison and others, my rods are not all based on similar tapers, but on tapers that are appropriate for the particular rod.

What I try to convey is a precise, nicely finished, quality fly rod, that feels good and casts well. I try to finish my rods in a similar manner, with minimal adornment. My philosophy is " less is better." I see a lot of rods that have many signature wraps or a lot of engraving that for me, detracts from the sophisticated simplicity of a quality bamboo rod.

Can I ask you which are the best moment in bamboo rodmaking for you?
Hand planing (which I enjoy very much) and casting each rod I make for the first time. After all these years, and after making thousands of rods, I still get excited about casting each and every rod.

And the worst ones?
Dealing with customers who can't wait for a rod and want me to rush making one for them.
Having a rod delaminate! This does not happen often but in dry climates it is a challenge to get the glue to adhere sufficiently.

Do you make your own hardware or do you buy it? From which companies as a preference (e.g. real seats, grips, ferrules, snake guides)?
Now I buy all hardware and reel seats. I do make some special wood inserts that I cannot purchase, like California Buckeye burl and High Sierra Whitebark Pine which I use in my "Alpine" rods.

I buy from quite a few companies, including Bellinger, REC, Struble, Snake brand, CSE etc.

May I ask you you temper your bamboo strips?
It depends. For blond or ammonia treated rods, I use either a vertical heat-gun oven or a horizontal 8' heat gun oven for long 1 piece rods. I use a very large, industrial heat-gun in the horizontal oven. For flamed rods I sometimes just use a torch to flame and heat treat in one process.

And how do you finish your rods? (dipping, brushing by hand?)
Mostly dip in high quality marine spar varnish. I finish my long 1 piece rods by hand.

Let's go back for the main reasons of your invitation in Sansepolcro. Mr Tusoni, your are the creator and owner of the RodDNA software. Can you explain what it is for those who don't know it yet and why you created it?
Sure, my pleasure. It is a sophisticated bamboo rod design tool. It has many features that I will not go into here, but the main features are its large database of rod tapers (models), and the ability to produce a planing report for either plaining forms or a Morgan hand mill.

Other main features are the ability to view and print stress curves for one or many tapers for comparison, and the ability to easily modify any taper. You can change the line weight, number of pieces, the length etc. while preserving the essence of the original taper.

I am a software engineer and I am the sole author of it.

How many subscribers do you have so far?
Over 1,400 as of today (16 September 2008) in 33 countries.

You told us in Sansepolcro that you had a important upgrade to come. Notably, the 1.3 upgrade let user browse the rod database off-line. Is this upgrade available now and where and how was the acceptance by the users?
Yes it has been available for a month or so, and can be downloaded from http://www.roddna.com for all operating systems including Windows, Linux, Mac OS X etc.
The acceptance has been good. The main problems have been on Windows Vista operating systems that see to change the file name when it is downloaded.

In 2009 there will a complete new update, the 2.0. Will it also have a new GUI? And what other important new features?
That is my plan. I have been working on it for a few months now, part-time only. The existing RodDNA versions mainly facilitate the modification and analysis of existing tapers, but can be used to design new tapes.

Version 2.0 will place more emphasis on designing a rod based on the desired type of action, fishing conditions etc. vs. an existing taper. It will have "attributes" that you can apply to a given rod or rod section, and various tools for manipulating rods and rod sections. There will be mechanisms to "undo" and "Redo" steps for analysis etc. With this tool, makers should be able to more easily develop their own proprietary tapers.

Mr Tusoni, you now also offer a fly reel. Do you make it yourself and did you designed it? What was the main idea when you decided to offer a new reel?
I am a Hardy dealer so I sell all the Hardy reels and also sell a custom version of the Standard Galvan reel which is a bar stock reel made locally. I decided to offer reels (and lines) after receiving many requests from customers for complete packages including a rod, reel and line. The Galvan was an obvious choice for me, as Bonafasio Galvan is a friend of mine, and makes high quality reels. He engraves my logo on a special green color version of his Standard reel, which compliments the look of either blond, ammonia treated or flamed bamboo rods.

Finally, Mt Tusoni, you have a very long experience in bamboo rodmaking. Did you noticed any changes over the years?
Yes I have. Previously, there was very little information available (and sharing of information) regarding the making of split bamboo rods, and rod tapers. Every since the Garrison book was published, the sharing of information and the number of new makers has increased markedly, and the movie "A river runs through it" also contributed to the craft. I also believe that the high price of some graphite/boron rods has contributed to the popularity of bamboo rods and therefore bamboo rod making.

There were actually many bamboo rod and wooden rod making books available previous to the Garrison book but they were hard to find. These days they are easier to find today via the Internet. I have a collection of most (all) of them, some belonged to my family and some I purchased over the years. It is amazing that the process of making a split bamboo rod has not substantially changed in all these years.

Do you feel there are more bamboo rodmakers enthusiasts today then in the past, for instance?
Absolutely! By a factor of 20 at least. There are probably more rod makers gatherings now than there were bamboo rod makers before!

Thank you Mr Tusoni for your time! If you wish you can add anything for our readers....
My pleasure. After giving many classes and advice to new makes over the years, the one simple piece of advice I can give to new makes is to start building your first rod as soon as you can.

Don't get caught up in building every fixture/jig or buying every gadget, but concentrate on making a rod. And yes, you will make errors, and eventually you will be making quality rods. Remember the old adage "nothing ventured nothing gained."

Larry Tusoni
Virginia Lakes, Sierra Nevada, California
16 September 2008

From makers of bamboo fly rods Larry Tusoni to the main cane makers list