Roger Fairfield (Sisters) crafts bamboo fly fishing rods in his home workshop for use on local rivers and lakes. He begins with bamboo culms, cuts and shaves them into precision-tapered strips, and assembles these strips to form rods that have the characteristic “action” of antique fly rods. For Roger, who grew up vacationing at the headwaters of the Metolius River, fishing with bamboo rods is a family and regional tradition.
Bio
Roger Fairfield didn’t know many other fly fishers when he was living in California in the 1980s, so he was incredibly excited when he learned that a co-worker shared his passion. After a few fishing trips together, Fairfield’s friend asked for his help restoring an antique bamboo fly rod. He had played around with his dad’s old rods as a kid, but Fairfield had never considered picking one up as a serious fishing instrument. However, when he finished working on the rod and did a few test casts, he was blown away by the unique properties of bamboo as a material. Fairfield began scouring the internet for information on how to craft bamboo rods. By 1997, he was practicing this art form every day. “I would come home from work and I’d just disappear in the back room and make bamboo shavings,” he recalls. “It’s so much fun, and also it’s a great stress relief.” Fairfield begins with bamboo culms, cuts and shaves them into precision-tapered strips, and assembles these strips in rods that have the characteristic “action” of antique fly rods. To date, he has made over 150. He keeps some rods for his own use, but gifts many to friends or charity auctions. Fairfield can be found at the annual Fly Fishing and Bamboo Rod fair, demonstrating his talent for building these traditional rods and sharing his skills with the next generation of central Oregon fly fishers.
