2010 Sporting Category
From modern rocking chairs to strawberry jam, the winners of our first contest for craftsmen exemplify the South’s entrepreneurial spirit and a tradition of goods made right
Oyster Fly Rods
Product bamboo fly rods
Made in blue ridge, GA
A Bill Oyster fly rod is not only American-made: Every one of the forty custom rods he makes each year, Oyster makes by hand from imported bamboo at his shop in Blue Ridge, Georgia. “I split each twelve-foot length of cane into six strips,” Oyster says. “Then, depending on the length, number of pieces, and action wanted, I plane each strip of cane to thousandths of an inch. I also engrave all the nickel and silver hardware, which takes as long as the actual creation of the rod.”
What emerges is a form of functional American art. With their distinctive engravings and elegant rattan grips, plus an action faster than a typical cane rod’s, every Oyster fly rod is both elegant and remarkably fishable. “We’re making a faster rod,” Oyster says, “with action more like a graphite rod.”
While Oyster says that he builds at least 90 percent of his rods for custom orders, he also makes a few standardized models. “Problem is, when I put rods out for sale in the shop, they sell pretty fast. But I guess that’s a good problem to have.”
$1,840 – $10,000 oysterbamboo.com