Bill Oyster, Bamboo God
So, you like to fly fish?
How about going deep and joining a class at Oyster Bamboo
Rods to craft your own fly rod? Waitlisted for months, the six-day workshops attract kings of industry and beginning sportsmen alike who are put through the paces of planning, shaping and finishing a bamboo rod using age-old techniques. Bill and Shannen Oyster have grown the business from their basement to the beautiful new brick building at the end of Main Street in downtown Blue Ridge.
Each Oyster Bamboo Fly Rod is intensely hand-crafted. Bill is the only professional bamboo fly rod maker in the world who personally hand engraves his own rods. The performance and aesthetics of each rod are truly remarkable. Oyster has been commissioned to make rods for many of the world's finest anglers including President Jimmy Carter. As the most prolific teacher of this rod-making art alive today, Oyster draws students from as far away as England, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand as well as every corner of the U.S. to his southern mountain town studio in beautiful Blue Ridge.
Bill oozes authenticity, originality and raw artistic talent. Shannen shares soulful stories of their students who all experience a shift, grown men hugging their finished rod, eyes welling.
