NA Taransky Bamboo Rods
My business is based in the Blue Ribbon Trout fishing Monaro region of NSW in Australia. The diverse waters and selective trout of the Snowy-Monaro region provide an unequaled environment for testing and developing fly rod actions and construction. It's a hard job but someone has to do it… The low humidity inland climate is also ideal for bamboo rodmaking.
I use traditional methods and the best materials available today to make my rods. Only the highest grade Tonkin Cane, grown in the Kwangtung province of China, is used. These culms are imported in full 12 foot lengths. I carry a stock of over 200 culms, to match the right culm with the right taper and configuration. The bamboo is flamed to give it additional strength and stiffness, and to accentuate the colours of the powerfibres and nodes. Strips are hand spilt and planed, to ensure the powerfibres are retained for the full length of each section. I turn my own grips from high grade Portuguese cork, and use the best nickel silver ferrules and reel seat hardware available from the USA. Australian hardwood burls are sourced from local supplies for use in reelseat spacers. Guides are bound with the finest Japanese silk.
Hand splitting and planing bamboo fly rods is an environmentally friendly art. Bamboo is a renewable material. Burls for reelseat spacers and cork rings for grips are harvested without injuring the parent tree. The vast majority of the rodmaking craft is performed with hand tools, minimising the use of electricity, while allowing maximum control and care in working the bamboo. Although some metal components, adhesives and varnishes are used in constructing rods, a bamboo rod is fundamentally a natural product.
N A Taransky Bamboo Rods is an Australian owned and operated business.
I am a devoted fly fisherman with over 25 years of experience fly fishing for trout. My passion is dry fly sight fishing for trout in streams. I am committed to catch and release, and preservation of the environment and trout in Australian waters.
I grew up in Adelaide, where my earliest fishing experiences were based around riding my push bike to Port Adelaide and the suburban coastline to fish for Bream, Mullet, Whiting, Garfish and other "bread and butter" species. Through reading I soon became entranced by the idea of trout fishing, and fly fishing in particular.
After joining the South Australian Fly Fisher's Association, I discovered a vibrant but challenging trout fishery in the country surrounding Adelaide. Small, bushy streams and educated trout demanded tight casting and pinpoint presentation. I was introduced to bamboo rods during this time and have been in love ever since. As a member of SAFFA I also had the opportunity to assist with running the trout hatchery, where I learnt about hatching and rearing trout from ova, and effective stocking methods.
I moved to the Canberra region in 1992, after completing a BSc at Adelaide University, and have fished the Monaro and Snowy Mountains since that time. I have also fly fished widely in both salt and fresh water, including Tasmania, New Zealand, Weipa, and the USA. My wife, Miri Robinson, is also a dedicated and talented flyfisher.
During a 12 month posting to the USA with work, I met Jeff Wagner at a Fly Fishing Show in Washington DC. Jeff is one of the premier bamboo rodmakers in the USA, and a great bloke. We hit it off straight away. When I found that he taught rodmaking as part of his business it was an opportunity too good to miss. I did my initial apprenticeship with Jeff, and continued to build rods for myself, friends, and others through word of mouth since that time. In June 2004, my commitment to producing the highest quality rods lead me to devote myself to my rodmaking business on a full time basis.
I am a FFF CCI (Certified Casting Instructor), having passed my exam using a bamboo rod (of course)!
Our Website
Although I worked for 13 years in the IT industry prior to becoming a full time rodmaker, my focus is to devote as much of my time as possible to making rods. As such, the goals of this website are to be:
If you have any comments, questions, or problems regarding the website, get in touch via the details on the "Contact Us" page.
* A note on printing pages. The best way to print a page associated with a menu item is:
