For more than a century, fly rods have been built from the same bamboo, largely unquestioned,

rarely tested, and passed down as tradition.

Today's guest decided to test it.

Instead of relying on history or feel, he approached bamboo as a scientific problem.

He traveled through Vietnam and China, worked alongside botanists and universities, and ran.

Controlled tests on hundreds of samples, measuring bending strength, flexibility, and durability,

the same way engineers evaluate other materials.

What he discovered opened the door to a new bamboo species that's already changing how modern bamboo rods are built,

lighter, easier to work with, and especially relevant for two-handed designs.

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.

Today's biologist Pera is here today.

He's going to talk about bamboo rods.

We're going to get into fly rods, building bamboo rods, and he's based out of Berlin. In this

conversation, we're going to go deep from the rod science and casting fundamentals to sea trout,

Atlantic salmon restoration, and why restraint matters more than power.

In today's episode, you're going to discover how Tonkin Bamboo became the default material for fly rods,

what it looks like to test bamboo using real mechanical data, why this new species offers

advantages for lighter modern rod designs, and how rod design influences casting efficiency and fatigue.

Plus, we're going to find out why smooth timing beats force in both casting and material choice.

This is going to be a fun one. Let's get into it. Here he is. Pair, you can find him at springfarella.

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