About last week…
Oyster’s July 6-11, 2026 bamboo fly rod making class brought back 3 repeat rod makers and welcomed 7 new students…
Meet the maker’s:
Slaton (“SLAY-ton”) was here from Arkansas for his 9th class. Slaton says that while he doesn’t fish much, he enjoys building bamboo rods as family gifts. This time, he built a 7'9" 6wt. See you soon!
Jim from Morven, NC was here for his 3rd class. He retired in April (congratulations, Jim!) and enjoys coming back for the experience and to work with his hands. He crafted a 7' 4wt for his wife.
Dan joined us from Indiana for his first Oyster rod making class. He has been visiting Blue Ridge for 20 years and finally signed up for this class two years ago. Dan has never fly fished, but said, “I cannot call myself a carpenter until I have handcrafted my own bamboo rod.” ✨ He decided on an 8' 7wt.
Mack, also from Indiana, was here for his first class. He said he doesn’t do a lot of fly fishing because there are too many knots to learn. lol Dan told him about the class, so he immediately signed up. Mack built a 7'9" 5wt.
Miles from Thomasville, GA attended his first class and brought his sons, Buck and Wyatt. Miles enjoys spending time with his family and thought an Oyster rod making class would be an exciting activity for the three of them to do together. He built an 8' 9wt bamboo rod for saltwater fly fishing.
Buck and Wyatt were here with their dad, Miles. Buck and Wyatt lived up to their most fitting names. They both enjoy fly fishing in the salt, so they also handcrafted 8' 9wt bamboo fly rods.
Nancy was back for her second class. She splits her time between St. Augustine, FL and Ellijay, GA. She built a saltwater rod during her first class and decided she needed another bamboo fly rod for North Georgia. This time, she crafted a 7'9" 5wt.
Matt and Melissa joined us for their first class from Houston, TX. Melissa recently picked up fly fishing after Matt booked her a seven-day fly fishing trip in Alaska. Melissa said she has fallen in love with the Toccoa River (our local water ) so she built a 7’9” 5wt and Matt built an 8' 6wt.
💫Keeping the craft alive.💫
💫Thank you all for choosing to spend the week at Oyster! We are all beyond grateful for your support of Oyster and most importantly…the craft of bamboo fly rod making! 💫