DSO Feature Article: March 2004
Gene Novak, Wisconsin's Bamboo Guru
By Dan Small
Back in the 1940s and '50s, tournament casting was almost as popular as bowling, with local leagues and competitions at the regional and national level. Most tournament casters used rods made of bamboo, the material of choice in those days. When Gene Novak wanted to compete in a baitcasting tournament but couldn't afford to buy a rod, he made one. Novak has long given up tournament casting, but he has been making bamboo fishing rods ever since.
For the past 20 years or so, Novak has specialized in fine fly rods, which he makes in the basement workshop of his home in Random Lake and sells under his "Nova" label. He is one of a handful of rod makers who craft their rods entirely by hand, starting with a piece of bamboo cane. Novak bought a van-load of Chinese cane from a dealer in New Jersey over 20 years ago and is still making rods from this batch. Now 78, Novak has no plans to retire any time soon.
"Bamboo is amazing stuff," Novak said. "It is so strong that in the Orient, scaffolding used to construct 20-story buildings is made of nothing more than bamboo canes tied together with strips of bamboo."
A rod is made by gluing several strips of bamboo together. Most rod makers build six-strip rods. Novak makes these, but his favorite is a five-strip design, which he believes is stronger. The hard outer side of each strip is wider, he points out, and there is less of the softer inner part of each strip than on a six-strip rod. The pentagonal cross-section also puts a flat side opposite a corner, which results in a faster flex, while a six-strip rod puts flat opposite flat and corner opposite corner.
Novak begins by splitting a bamboo cane into quarters and then into strips of the proper width to glue together to form a hexagon or pentagon in cross-section. Splitting bamboo is tricky because it is so strong and because there are growth nodes every foot or so.
"You have to mark each node where you want to split it and then drive a knife through the node so the split goes straight," he said. "Then you file just enough off each node to get it close to the thickness of the rest of the strip."
Next, Novak straightens each strip with a special pliers, using a heat gun to soften the bamboo, and trims the strips to a nearly rectangular cross section. He then planes each strip by hand in a steel planing form to give it a triangular cross-section and the required dimension and taper for the particular rod. Using a micrometer, he adjusts the taper of each strip to give a rod a slow, medium or fast action. A slow-action rod flexes near the butt, while a fast-action rod has a stiff butt and flexes nearer the tip. A two-piece, six-strip rod with an extra tip section requires 18 strips. A three-piece rod, 24 strips, and so on.
Most rod makers use a milling machine to quickly trim strips to size, but Novak contends that machined strips can't produce the taper variations that can be done by hand.
"Sometimes I'll change a taper by 20 thousands of an inch in five inches," he said. "You can't adjust a taper in that short a distance with a machine." The finished strips are loosely wound together and heated for two or three hours in a home-made oven. Novak then immerses the strips in an ammonia bath and puts them back in the oven for another eight hours or so. The ammonia helps dissipate moisture and dry the strips evenly.
The dried strips are then lined up side-by-side on pieces of tape. Then glue is applied to each strip and they are rolled together and held tight by a pressure wrap of cord that is spiral-wound in both directions to keep the strips from twisting or separating. The sections go back in the oven for several hours at a cooler temperature to set the glue. Novak then cuts off the spiral wrap and scrapes two outer layers of natural enamel, approximately three or four thousandths of an inch, off the cane. He then lightly sands the rod section and attaches the nickel-silver ferrules, which must be hand-fitted for a smooth, tight fit.
Novak makes each rod handle by gluing cork rings together and sanding them to form the grip. He then attaches a wooden reel seat, which he makes on a lathe, using maple burls and other figured woods.
Then the guides are hand-wrapped with silk thread and given seven coats of varnish. Novak then writes the name and number on the rod and gives the entire rod three or four finish coats of varnish.
Novak estimates he spends about 50 hours making a rod, not counting drying and curing time. Some makers sell a hand-crafted fly rod for $1000 or more. Novak charges $675 for a two-piece rod, which includes a rod sock and aluminum tube. Three-piece rods and such options as flame tempering (which darkens and strengthens the bamboo and gives it a crisper action) and decorative intermediate windings are extra.
Novak can make a rod to a customer's specs or following the designs of legendary rod makers like Garrison, Thomas, Payne and others. He specializes in several rods of his own design. The "Jump River" is a five-strip rod with a moderately fast action. The "Pass Lake" is a softer-action six-strip rod with a parabolic taper that flexes throughout the length of the rod. The "Tomorrow" is a six-strip with a progressive taper. The "West Branch" comes with a 12-inch mid-section that can be removed to shorten the rod for small streams. He can make these and other rods in different lengths and line weights.
"I'd rather fish with a rod made of natural material," Novak said. "A bamboo rod is a joy to cast, and I love casting them."
After several bluegill outings with Novak, using several of his rods, my favorite is a "Jump River" five-weight that casts every bit as well as the best graphite rods I have used. One of these days I'll quit borrowing them and have him make me one. If he is not backlogged with orders, Novak can produce a rod in six weeks. He also restores damaged bamboo rods. He can be reached at 920-994-9843.
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