Indi River Rods

About

The Murray River is the longest in Australia and for much of its length is a slow moving, meandering body of warm water. However, its headwaters rise in the Snowy Mountains where its freestone upper reaches are often known as the Indi (ind-eye). It is this section of the river that is important to anyone who values the opportunity to fish for trout. Here the Indi flows clear and cold to provide both a perfect habitat for brown and rainbow trout and a suitable backdrop for anyone who enjoys fly fishing.

Indi River Rods began in one form or another around 1997 when I first read that it was possible to make your own bamboo fly rod. At that point in time I had never fished with a bamboo rod, but was intrigued by the process and the resultant aesthetics that the material offers. A gradual search for information, purchasing supplies and collecting and making the tools needed, saw the first rods slowly take shape.

Over time I have experimented with tapers, glue options and finishes; all of the things that rod makers spend their time worrying about. In the end it is the ability to explore what the rods can do and how they cast that keeps me coming back to plane the next one. Bamboo offers the ability to tailor a rod to circumstances and often it is this thought process that guides what rods I make. They are not intended to be special occasion tools, to be used sparingly or locked away out of sight. Bamboo is a legitimate rod material that deserves to be fished and enjoyed as often as possible.

Contemporary bamboo rod makers around the world are doing some amazing work, not just to keep the craft alive, but to help it enjoy a renaissance. This site is intended to show some of the rods I make and to promote bamboo rods in general. It also aims to document the waters I fish, the friends I fish with and the trips I take. Fly fishing is not one dimensional and anyone who catches a fish on a fly they have tied themselves knows that. Some of us just decide to take it a little further.