Eight Elite Sporting Schools
Find the best places to steady your aim, dial in your cast, fly a falcon, or craft an heirloom-quality bamboo rod
By NIC BROWN
Rod-making
Oyster Fine Bamboo Fly Rods
Blue Ridge, GA
On the final night of Bill Oyster’s weeklong bamboo-fly-rod-making classes, he hosts a celebratory dinner. Rods have been completed, beers are consumed, “and not once, not once, have we ever had a dinner where a grown man hasn’t cried,” Oyster says. “It’s ’cause they don’t want to go home!” Easy to see why. The charms of tiny Blue Ridge, Georgia, where Oyster lives and teaches, include bountiful mountain-town magic and world-class trout fishing on the Toccoa River, which is just waiting to test your new rod once it’s done. Even more beguiling, though, is Oyster himself. One of the world’s most celebrated rod makers (only about forty Oyster originals are produced yearly, ending up in the hands of former presidents and deep-pocketed enthusiasts), he exudes expertise, charm, and enthusiasm to spare. Steering students through the intricate steps of crafting a bamboo fly-fishing rod from start to finish, Oyster makes one week of hard work feel like the adventure of a lifetime.