"The bamboo rod is our samurai sword," Bill Oyster says.
For 28 years, Oyster has been handcrafting bamboo Fly rods from a two-story workshop in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Alongside his wife, Shannen, the co-owner of Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods, he's built rods covered by diehard anglers around the world - along with a few celebrities, members of royalty, and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Each one is built the old-fashioned way. Split, sanded, filed, fitted, glued, bound, varnished, engraved.
A handcrafted American masterpiece from the place where the bamboo fly rod was perfected.
Story by Colin Kearns
Photos by Paul King