Yellowstone Bamboo Fly Rod 8ft 5-wt Medium | Garrison 209 Taper

Garrison's 5-weight. Ready for anywhere.

Everett Garrison approached bamboo rod design with an engineer's precision. Where most makers worked by feel, Garrison calculated. His tapers are among the most studied in the history of the craft, and the 209 is a 5-weight that shows you why. At 8 feet, it reaches further than the Henrys Fork and loads with a deep, measured authority that rewards the angler willing to let the rod work.

Three pieces. Fits in a carry-on. Fishes like a rod that was born to be on a river.

The Garrison 209 Taper

Garrison is one of the few rod makers whose mathematical approach to taper design has outlasted his lifetime. The 209 is a medium action 5-weight with a smooth, progressive load - deeper into the blank than the Rogue, more authoritative than the Henrys Fork at distance. It's the 5-weight for an angler who has found their bamboo stroke and wants a rod that rewards it.

On big flat water where a shorter rod starts to feel limiting, the Yellowstone has reach. On technical runs where a fast-action rod would feel clumsy, it has touch. It's a versatile 5-weight that favors the angler who fishes both.

This is not a first bamboo rod. It's the one you reach for once you know what you're doing.

Built the Way a Bamboo Rod Should Be

The Yellowstone 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 | $550 - 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 | $750 - Two tips, two sections of extra security. The complete rod as it was meant to be fished. 

The Outfit | $1,045 - Everything you need to step onto the water. The Yellowstone 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
• Length: 8'0"
• Line weight: 5-weight
• Pieces: 3 (Deluxe and Outfit include extra tip)
• Taper: Garrison 209
• 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.