Leland on the 704-2 Eden Cane Bamboo Fly Rod

Specifications:

• Maker: Bernard Ramanauskas
• Length: 7’
• Line size: 4 weight for dry fly
• Sections: 2-piece, with extra tip
• Action: Very smooth and crisp, with reserve power when needed
• Handle: Slender cigar with fine cork and wooden grip base ring to match the reel seat
• Reel seat: Dark wood burl with nickel silver up/down slide band
• Ferrules: Hand fitted nickel silver
• Rod comes complete with hanging-tab cloth rod sock and protective aluminum /brass rod tube

More on the 704-2 Eden Cane Bamboo Fly Rod

The Eden Cane 704-2 Bamboo Fly Rod, built by Bernard Ramanauskus, is one of the lightest, smoothest, strongest, and most powerful small cane dry fly rods ever constructed. Already described as a “modern classic”, this flawless 7’, two-piece, extra tip, 4 weight golden dynamo utilizes nodeless construction to reach the apex of bamboo fly rod performance. Beautiful in appearance, this rod is intended for dry fly fishing on small to medium streams, and is unparalleled in its ability to accurately present flies in pocket water and confidently cast around structure. Don’t let its small stature and fine tip fool you. In the hands of the right caster, this rod is capable of laying out more than 80 feet of line. This incredible taper is complemented, naturally, with the finest fittings and hardware; nickel-agate stripper, Snake Brand snake guides (suitable for silk, as well as modern floating lines) and a hand-made cork and bamboo-splined reel seat, with slide band, that has to be seen to be fully appreciated.

Leland on Eden Cane Bamboo Fly Rods

The art of building fine bamboo fly rods has risen to new heights during the last decade. Although comparing the works of old masters will always be a popular topic amongst bamboo aficionados, frankly, there are so many more talented hobbyists and builders producing impressive rods these days, it’s almost frightening! Modern bamboo rod makers not only have the advantage of being able to pour over all the tapers, designs, and methodologies employed by masters of years past, but they also have the added advantages of modern adhesives and finishes, modern tools, quality cane availability and lighter and stronger hardware at their disposal.  

Bernard Ramanauskas of Eden Cane is one of these modern makers who has arrived at the pinnacle of the bamboo rod art form. His success is based , firstly, on his ability to push the engineering limits in evoking every bit of possible efficiency from the beautiful cane that he works with, and, secondly, his flawless and tasteful execution of design and craftsmanship.

About the Builder

Bernard Ramanauskas (pronounced ram–man-AWS-cuss) was raised on the plains of Canada and took up fishing at an early age in the waters of Alberta and British Columbia. A retired doctor friend hired Bernard to tie flies for his various fishing trips, and he soon took Bernard under his wing, teaching him the intricacies of fly casting with various fly line and rod combinations. His interest and passion for fly fishing led him on.  

One day, the retired doctor brought out an armload of bamboo fly rods and handed them to Bernard. “These belonged to my grandfather”, he said, “I want you to fix them for me.”  Bernard’s desire to learn, coupled with his previous engineering and woodworking experience led him to research every aspect of making these old, revered bamboo rods whole again. And, eventually, the old man got his rods back.

The ensuing years in his quest for perfection have led Bernard to the very pinnacle of the bamboo rod makers’ craft in a fairly short order. Influenced by earlier masters such as H.S. Gillum and F.E. Thomas, Bernard fanaticism for trout fishing and rod building led him on his pursuit of developing construction methods, and new tapers, to wring every last bit of performance possible from the finest cane available. His unique, time consuming node-less construction technique removes the weakest 18% of the bamboo and replaces it with pure power fibers. Bamboo nodes, or “rings”, have vexed bamboo rod builders throughout history. Traditionally, these nodes have been variously staggered or spiraled throughout a split bamboo rod by a designer to distribute these inherent weaknesses as evenly as possible throughout the taper. The unpredictability of this methodology contributes to the fact that individual rods of the same taper, from the same maker, may differ in how they feel and how they cast, leading one to the notion that one is more “magical” than the other. Well, Bernard isn’t trying to take the magic out of bamboo. In fact, his magic involves taking out the historic, unpredictable weakness and replacing it with predictable all-natural power. In Eden Cane rods, these weakling nodes are completely cut out. Long, large surface area scarf joints, hidden within the rod, are fused together with space-age adhesives. These sections are then arrayed in the same order that they naturally occurred on the bamboo culm; power fibers smoothly abutting brother power fibers. The stunning result is a dynamic taper that is incredibly smooth, light, and powerful.

Hey, but don’t take our word for it. Those that are highly regarded in the fly fishing community have made comments about Eden Cane bamboo rods that are usually reserved for revered bamboo rod builders that have been in the ground for some decades. Comments like;

'The best cane rods I've fished…..smooth as crème anglaise.'       

James R. Baab, Author and Editor of 'Gray's Sporting Journal’

'As close to flawless as human hands can get'

Buzz Bryson writing for ‘Fly Rod & Reel’ magazine

'Casts like a dream...'                         

Ed Engle, Author and Field Editor of 'Fly Fisherman' magazine

'The smoothest I've ever cast ...a legend in the making.' 

 Len Codella, former Owner of Thomas and Thomas Rod Company and owner of Len Codella’s Sporting Collectibles

'Dead sexy rods… the answer to the question, ‘Why bamboo?'

 Zach Matthews writing for ‘American Angler’ magazine

'Brings power to cane without sacrificing the elegance, feel, or response ...'

Tim Murrell writing for ‘Men’s Journal' magazine

'Bamboo that outperforms Space Age competitors...'

Grayson Schaffer writing for ‘Outside’ magazine

Need we say more? You simply have to hold and cast and fish an Eden Cane fly rod to fully appreciate what bamboo can do.

Eden Cane Rods have been recognized  for their excellence by the following awards;

Winner of GRAY’S BEST AWARD for 2008  ‘Gray’s Sporting  Journal’  (the only time this ward has honored a bamboo fly rod)

Winner of the BEST GEAR AWARD 2007 ‘Outside’ magazine

Winner of the GEAR OF THE YEAR 2007 Award  ‘Men’s Journal’ magazine

Eden Cane on Eden Cane

Eden Cane is the only production split cane fly rod manufacturer in the world specializing in nodeless construction. In fact, it's all we do.

Nodeless construction requires the removal of all the growth rings found naturally in every culm of bamboo. The removal of these rings creates a very crisp casting action, enabling us to build extremely sensitive casting equipment.

Eden Cane began by building nodeless rods while still utilizing some of the best classic taper designs ever developed. These classic tapers were handed down from one generation of fine rod makers to another, each maker reproducing or expanding upon the wealth of information available at the time.

We soon discovered that conventional taper design did not fully exploit all the advantages that nodeless construction had to offer. Rods made without nodes are slightly faster than their conventional counterparts. By taking full advantage of this lighter blank-to-line size ratio it became possible to create new proprietary taper designs.

Every Eden Cane rod series has been, and continues to be, extensively field-tested by some of the fishing industry's greats. Our effort has been rewarding, and rewarded. 'Gray's Sporting Journal' recently honored us with a 'Gray's Best' award, the first ever given for split cane.  

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