The Angler's Bamboo (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The classic bamboo rod is the angler's and collector's treasure, and this book is the first definitive treatment of this rod's basic component - Tonkin bamboo. Luis Marden, traveling as the first Westerner to the Tonkin country in a half century, observed and photographed the cultivation and processing of Tonkin bamboo in its restricted growing area in southern China's Kwangtung Province. He includes in this book descriptions and photographs of the growing conditions; the cut and scrubbed culms (stalks) of bamboo; steps in processing; and the final product. The Angler's Bamboo also traces the history of the split-bamboo fishing rod from its beginnings in England to the work of master craftsman Hiram Leonard, who made the American fly rod world-famous.

From the Back Cover

The classic bamboo rod is the angler's and collector's treasure, and this book is the first definitive treatment of this rod's basic component - Tonkin bamboo. Luis Marden, traveling as the first Westerner to the Tonkin country in a half century, observed and photographed the cultivation and processing of Tonkin bamboo in its restricted growing area in southern China's Kwangtung Province. He includes in this book descriptions and photographs of the growing conditions; the cut and scrubbed culms (stalks) of bamboo; steps in processing; and the final product. The Angler's Bamboo also traces the history of the split-bamboo fishing rod from its beginnings in England to the work of master craftsman Hiram Leonard, who made the American fly rod world-famous. (7 1/4 X 8 1/4, 108 pages, color photos, b&w photos, map, illustrations)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 108 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558215352
• ISBN-13: 978-1558215351
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,124,485 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very informative compendium about anglers bamboo, June 26, 1998

By A Customer

Mardens Book is mabye noth the stuff who anglers are searchin for - he write`s a lot about the bamboo, exact "Tonkin Cane" in his book. How and where it grows, the circumstances in China, a lot about the "Power fibres" in the bamboo etc. The book has only few sites about the rodbuilding and fishing with this genre of rods. But i must say, it`s a very good book for rodmakers, who are interested in the life of her building stuff. I think after reading mardens book, you will take a closer look to your new bamboo culms. But the book is also a welcome gift for everyone who`s interested in bamboo plants. Read and enjoy it!

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Feel of Tonkin, March 11, 2006

By	Philip Carl "EcoAngler" (Half Moon Bay, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I received Angler's Bamboo as a gift from my cousin, Gib Cooper who along with his wife owns and operates Tradewinds Bamboo Nursery out of Gold Beach, Oregon. The book provides a concise history of how "tea stick bamboo" came to be revered by anglers around the world.

What the Chinese had known before the birth of Christ, Western civilization came to know much, much later. Of all the known natural materials that are lightweight, and small in diameter, bamboo proved to one of the strongest. As Marden explains:

"Fibrovascular bundles (the rod maker's 'power fibers') stronger than steel, concentrated toward the outer surface of the hollow bamboo culm, or stalk, grow in parallel bundles held in a pithy matrix, giving bamboo it's qualitites of lightness and strength."

He credits the first fishing rod consulted of entirely split bamboo coming out of England around 1830. And not many years after that, "the father of the split-bamboo rod" across the pond is Samuel Phillippe, a gunsmith by trade. By 1845 Phillippe is constructing entire rods of four-strip sections. The origin of the six-strip hexagonal rod is commonly credited to another American gunsmith, Hiram Leonard. But as Marden states: "but, six-strip history... is diffuse and uncertain."

Angler's Bamboo devotes significant detail about the Tonkin cane growing area in the Kwangtung Province of China. Luis Marden describes his travel to the region as well as the American botanist Floyd McClure's discovery of the Lovely bamboo in the Waitsap area. The Sui River flows through the heart of the Tonkin forest where these terrific grasses can grow to a height of forty feet in six to eight weeks.

Finally, a number of wonderful color, photos show the Tonkin growing area, the harvest, transport down river, and the final processing of the cane for shipment to rod builders around the world. This ancient and unique species of plant - what a wonderful match for the task of angling.

This book was first reviewed on the reviewer's own site:

EcoAngler.com - The Nature of Fly Fishing.