John Day Bamboo Fly Rod 8'6" 7-wt Medium Fast | Dickerson 8615 Taper
3-Piece Travel Design
Built for packability. Fits in a carry-on, a backpack, or behind a truck seat. Slightly heavier than a 2-piece equivalent due to two ferrule stations. If you want the lightest possible setup, a 2-piece rod is the better choice.
The 7-weight that goes anywhere.
Most bamboo rods top out at 5-weight. The John Day exists for anglers who fish bigger water - canyon rivers with strong current, late-season steelhead runs, high-desert streams where the fish are measured in pounds and the casts are measured in yards. It's a serious rod for serious conditions, built in three pieces so it travels as easily as it fishes.
At 8'6" in a 7-weight, it has the authority to handle everything from a hopper on a big trout river to a swung fly on a wild steelhead run. Nothing in the bamboo world is built for this kind of fishing better.
The Dickerson 8615 Taper
Lyle Dickerson built his tapers for anglers who fished hard water under demanding conditions. The 8615 is his big-water design - a medium fast 7-weight that loads through the mid-section and delivers line with authority at range. Where most bamboo makers stopped at 5-weight, Dickerson understood that the right taper in a heavier line weight was a different kind of tool entirely.
The medium fast action gives it reach without stiffness. It can lay down a long cast in wind, mend line across fast current, and fight a large fish without the angler having to force it. The blank works with you on every cast - loading deliberately, firing cleanly, recovering fast enough to make a follow-up cast without a pause.
Built the Way a Bamboo Rod Should Be
The John Day is hand-planed to the standard that has defined Headwaters rods since 2002.
The fittings: A finely knurled double-locking downlocking reel seat with stabilized burled maple insert. Ultra-fine cork grip. Red agate stripping guide. Hard chrome guides wrapped in deep burgundy thread with a narrow black tip.
The tube: Cordura rod tube with rod sock included.
Choose Your Version
The Favorite | $600 - Single-tip version for the angler who wants to get on the water first. Same rod, same fittings, same hand-planed cane. Clear upgrade path to the Deluxe when you're ready.
The Deluxe | $800 - Two tips, two sections of extra security. The complete rod as it was meant to be fished.
The Outfit | $1,095 - Everything you need to step onto the water. The John Day Deluxe paired with a Clark Fork 3.0 fly reel, weight-forward fly line, backing, leader, tippet, and a selection of flies.
Specifications
- Action: Medium Fast
- Length: 8'6"
- Line weight: 7-weight
- Pieces: 3 (Deluxe and Outfit include extra tip)
- Taper: Dickerson 8615
- Reel seat: Downlocking, double-locking knurled nut, stabilized burled maple insert
- Grip: Ultra-fine cork
- Stripping guide: Red agate
- Guide wrap: Deep burgundy with black tip
- Tube: Cordura with rod sock
No Risk. Our Promise.
Fish it for 30 days. If it's not the rod you hoped it would be, send it back for a full refund, no questions asked. The lifetime warranty covers the original owner for as long as you fish it.