Bamboo Waste Tippet Tamer

No matter your level of experience, every fly angler out there faces the same dilemma: what to do with waste tippet? And, what to do when you come across a bird’s nest of old line dangling from the branches?

The truth is, our disgarded lines are a menace to the riparian environment and detrimental to not only fish, but every bird and mammal that calls the stream home. And, it takes hundreds of years to breakdown!

Since waste line tends to be unruly and easily escapes from a pocket, the fly fishing industry has introduced several products to store line more securely. They work well enough; however, they’re typically plastic (and if you ask me, ugly).

Granted, some are made of “recycled” plastic, and one could argue that the amount of plastic used is justified by the amount of tippet saved from the stream. But it’s usually the case that products made from recycled plastics actually require more energy and create more pollution than just making them from scratch.

So if you’re packing out tippet for environmental reasons, doesn’t it make sense to do so with a product that’s also environmentally friendly?

 

A More Eco-Friendly Tippet Tamer

I recently ordered a custom tamo from master net maker and photographer Giorgio Fattori in Italy. He included this small waste tippet holder as a gift and it’s not only the best I’ve used, but is also made from an environmentally friendly, sustainable material: bamboo!

 

How to Use

Aside from being greener than many commercially available solutions, the functionality of these couldn’t be simpler. Just wind the waste line around the bamboo (catching it in the Velcro), then slide scissors through the slot on the back and snip the line. Now you can easily peel the line off into the trash or recycling.

 

With the attached paracord, you can hang it off your pack, vest, shirt, or belt so it’s always close at hand when then opportunity arises to do your part. Now you have no excuse to wade past that big snarl of sun-faded 12 lb. Berkely Trilene that’s been there for 10 years!

When I was a young angler, my cronies and I used to make waste tippet containers out of used film canisters by cutting an “X” in the lid. They worked (kind of), but were a little awkward and sometimes, the lid would come off (or you’d get your finger stuck). This is a much more elegant solution, and in my opinion, works better than many others on the market.

And I won’t deny the cosmetic appeal. I’d much rather hang this off my pack than a gaudy, plastic one. Being made of bamboo and with the kanji logo, it definitely matches the tenkara aesthetic.

 

Where to Get One

Currently, Giorgio is only giving these as gifts to his net customers and they’re not available for purchase (yet). If there’s enough interest, I’d like to carry these in my Etsy shop since they’re not only extremely handy, but align with my aesthetics, design philosophy, and environmental values!

As fly anglers, we try to be good caretakers of the waters we love and reduce our footprint as much as possible. I like to see the use of more sustainable products and ones that encourage stewardship in our sport, and I hope the industry continues to move in this direction!