Scott Nilss bamboo rod making classes on Bamboo Fly Rod Maker

 Hello,
My name is Scott Nilsson.I am a bamboo fly rod maker.  I have fly fished since 1972. As many of you, know, this sport can reward an individual in a variety of ways. As does a river, the rewards of fly fishing change in many ways over the years and always offer different opportunities. In my case, this sport gave it’s greatest gift by allowing me to make new friends and offering me the opportunity  to grow through experimentation. I no longer center my attention on catching the biggest fish or most fish.  I enjoy enticing trout with new fly patterns, studying special circumstances which make trout take a fly and most importantly, maximizing my pleasure while out on the water. That’s where my discovery of the bamboo fly rod has been the most pleasurable event in fly my fishing life, scenery not withstanding. It was this discovery that led me to build bamboo fly rods.

I graduated from the University of California with a degree in economics in 1970. I  had never been satisfied working in the corporate world with which this background could provide. I sought a more meaningful contribution that would leave a legacy on my behalf to others. This would satisfy my desire to fulfill the long burning creative desire I had within me.

I now am a bamboo fly rod maker.  Thanks to the encouragement of a retired fish biologist friend of mine, I pursued this endeavor. I also owe many thanks to the encouraging and non selfish help that I received from numerous bamboo fly rod craftsmen that have already achieved the fame that I will someday have.

I have concentrated on making bamboo fly rods, that first of all, are pleasures to cast, and can be proud to be owned by their recipients  Cosmetically my rods are excellent, but I do not concentrate on cosmetic  appointments such as engravings, inlays and the like. I feel that these appointments, although having  superb aesthetic value, tend to create a fear within their owner to put such a fly rod to practical use.

I would be proud to make a bamboo fly rod for you. You will find that doing business with me is a straight forward experience with an emphasis
on cooperation  as well as a spirit of honest interchange to make sure you get what you want in choosing a beautiful and functional bamboo fly rod.

Expensive? Relatively speaking, yes, however, you do not buy a quality bamboo fly rod from a shelf or catalogue.
It is hand crafted for you, personally, with your name on it and, with my help, is built to your specifications. It is a
fly rod that you can treasure , have fun with, be proud of, and will provide a lifetime of enjoyment.
In addition, this meaningful fishing instrument can be passed down in your family for generations.

I cannot, for the life of me, understand the misconceptions out there about bamboo fly rods. 90 percent of the critics I have talked with have never cast a well made split cane rod. They attribute their dislikes to their experiences with rods that are absolutely inferior to the kind of bamboo fly rod I am talking about.

Another belief of the misled, is that bamboo fly rods are toys and only to be taken out fishing occasionally to have a little fun with. This belief is a bit right because those who are uninformed mention fun. This is the key word. Bamboo fly rods are great fun and when I have fun, I want more of it. Don’t you? Toys? Yes, they could be called toys, however more suitable words would be a beautiful tool for the precise pursuit of fish.

The best advice I could give, if you want to take fly fishing to another level, is to keep an open mind and ask questions from a competent bamboo fly rod builder. That is to say, one that has built at least 50 to 100 bamboo fly rods and understands tapers to the extent that he understands how to manipulate those tapers in order to arrive at a rod that acts as you wish.