We've talked a lot about the action of the fly rod and the benefits of a full flexing rod over the last few months and beyond.

Bamboo rods are the epitome of a rod you can feel.

And today you're going to find out how to choose your next bamboo fly rod.

This is the wet fly swing podcast where I show you the best places to travel to for fly fishing, how to find the best resources and tools to prepare for that big trip and what you can do to give back to the fish species we all love. Hey, how's it going? I'm Dave, host of the wet fly swing podcast. I've been fly fishing since I was a little kid. I grew up around a little fly shop and have created one of the largest fly fishing podcast in this country. I've also interviewed more of the greatest fly anglers and rod builders than just about

anyone out there. Chris Sparkman is here today, founder and owner of Sparkimedes bamboo fly rods.

He's going to take us on a journey to choosing your first or maybe your next bamboo fly rod.

We're going to find out why the five-sided

penta style bamboo rod might be better for you than the hexa style. We're going to get some

information on the differences there. And we're going to talk about the perfect length of a bamboo

fly rod. We're going to walk through what it might look like for you and your area, why you might go with a nine foot

or maybe even a six foot bamboo rod. And we're also going to get into some great resources

if you want to take this conversation further and some other people you might want to connect

with to put together your next bamboo rod. Plus, we're going to find out whether a bamboo fly rod

has what it takes to battle a

giant Alaskan salmon. Chris is going to talk about some trips he's excited for this year.

All right, here he is. Let's get into it. Chris Sparkman.

How you doing, Chris? Very well. Thanks, Dave.

Yeah, I appreciate you coming on here. I heard about you, I think, for the first time, through a good friend of mine, Brandon Farley, who we did an episode, well, we did multiple episodes, but we did a trip out to Virginia, and it was, we've talked a lot about it because we fish Mossy Creek, and that's where I met Brandon, and we talked about kind of everything he has going

Project Healing Waters. I know you're involved in a lot of that as well, but you do, you make bamboo

rods, these amazing rods. So I want to, I want to talk about that, you know, today and maybe help people

understand a little more about, you know, if they get into it, what to choose.

But before we get there for you, how are things going? Let's just start there. Are you,

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