The Final Exam

Question 1: Reading a rod in your hand

You flick a bamboo rod and stop your hand. What does a tip that settles quickly, with little wobble, tell you about?

• Bamboo's damping, which helps the line lay down quietly
• The rod's line weight
• Whether the rod has a set

Question 2: Reading a rod in your hand

A rod feels stiff at 15 feet and the line just flops out. What should you try before deciding the taper is wrong for you?

• A lighter line
• A faster casting stroke
• A heavier line, since bamboo often fishes better slightly over-lined

Question 3: The cane, up close

What is the main risk of heat-treating cane too much?

• The rod stays soft and takes a set easily
• The cane becomes brittle and loses toughness
• The nodes rise back up

Question 4: The cane, up close

When a strip is planed into its triangle, where do the densest fibers end up on the finished rod?

• At the point, in the center of the rod
• On the outer flat
• Spread evenly through the strip

Question 5: Construction details that matter

What's the right way to join two ferrule sections?

• Push them partway and twist into line
• Twist them together like a screw
• Push them straight together, guides lined up, fully seated

Question 6: Construction details that matter

Why is each coat of dipped varnish cured before the next goes on?

• Uncured varnish stays soft and can wrinkle or cloud later
• It makes the rod lighter
• So the silk keeps its color

Question 7: Reading a taper chart

What did Everett Garrison add to taper design?

• A way to calculate and plot the stress each station carries during a cast
• The parabolic action
• The six-strip hexagon

Question 8: Reading a taper chart

You plot two tapers of the same length and line weight. Rod A is slimmer at the tip but thicker through the middle. How will it likely feel compared with Rod B?

• Slower, with a deeper bend into the butt
• Quicker at the top, with a firmer core
• No different; length and line weight decide the feel

Question 9: Lines for bamboo

At what distances does over-lining a bamboo rod help most?

• Long casts of 60 feet or more
• Only when casting into a headwind
• Short and middle distances

Question 10: Lines for bamboo

What comes with the SX Series line?

• A spool of silk backing
• A sinking tip
• A furled mono leader

Question 11: The schools of design

Paul Young and Lyle Dickerson both worked in the Midwest. How did their rods differ?

• Young built only for saltwater; Dickerson built only small-stream rods
• Young built full-flex parabolic rods; Dickerson built faster power rods for distance and wind
• There was no real difference between them

Question 12: The schools of design

Why do the great old tapers keep getting built?

• A taper is a set of measurements anyone can record, and the ones that fish well keep getting rebuilt
• They are protected by patents that require it
• Modern cane can only be planed to old tapers

Question 13: The bamboo stroke

What should be your first adjustment when casting a bamboo rod in wind?

• Cast harder to punch through it
• Add more false casts to build speed
• Lower the casting plane and tighten the loop with a crisp stop

Question 14: The bamboo stroke

In casting, what is drift?

• A small movement of the rod tip back and slightly up after the back-cast stop
• Letting the fly float downstream with the current
• The slack you build in with a reach cast

Question 15: Matching the rod to the water

Why does a longer rod help on spring creeks and flat water?

• It casts heavy streamers better
• It holds more line off the water and mends more easily
• It always loads faster on short casts

Question 16: Matching the rod to the water

Which rod in the lineup is built for streamers and bigger fish?

• Beaverhead
• John Day
• Madison

Question 17: Care and field repair

You get home after a rainy day on the river. What should you do with the rod?

• Take the sections out, wipe them down, and let them and the bag dry in the open
• Put it straight back in its bag and tube so it stays protected
• Dry it quickly in front of a heater vent

Question 18: Care and field repair

A tip breaks on the water. You fish a Deluxe rod. What should you do?

• Glue it on the spot with whatever you have
• Throw the broken tip away and keep fishing
• Put the pieces in the tube, fish the spare tip, and contact Headwaters when you get home

Question 19: Buying bamboo: new, used and vintage

You assemble a used rod and feel a slight click when you wiggle it at the ferrule. What does it tell you?

• The ferrule is new and still breaking in
• The ferrule is worn
• The rod needs more wax

Question 20: Buying bamboo: new, used and vintage

You find a vintage "project rod" at a low price. What should you do before buying?

• Buy it, since restoration is always cheap
• Plan to fix any delamination yourself with household glue
• Compare what the rod will be worth when done against what the restoration work will cost

Question 21: Inside our workshop

Which of these is on the Headwaters pre-ship inspection list?

• Guide alignment
• Casting distance at 70 feet
• The line color

Question 22: Inside our workshop

Why does Headwaters use Garrison's staggered node pattern?

• It makes the rod lighter
• It is the only way to glue a hexagon
• Nodes on neighboring strips don't line up, so no single point on the rod carries several of them

Question 23: Graduation: Bamboo Certified

Across the course, what is the best place to start when choosing a bamboo rod?

• The water you actually fish
• The most famous maker's name
• The longest rod you can afford

Question 24: Graduation: Bamboo Certified

How many individually planed strips go into a two-piece bamboo rod with two tips?

• 12
• 18
• 24