Grandpa's old bamboo rods

1410 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Skip Enge, Jul 16, 2017

Jeepster

Discussion Starter · Apr 5, 2017

How's it going

So, grandpa passed last summer, and we are cleaning out the house, and my dad grabbed me grandpa's old bamboo fly rods. I've seen these twice in my life, but know it was a his and hers set, but, they've been sitting in the garage high up in the rafters for.....At least 30 years untouched, they are probably 50-70 years old, and I have no idea the brand (I know it's nothing too special, but the sentiment is there) but was wondering what can be done with em, if I can send em somewhere and get them worked on...

I've never used a bamboo rod before, but, I've been in the market for a new rod for a while, and in this case, if at all possible, id rather pay to have these made usable than to buy a new rod. Ideally, I'd like to have a rod for eastern Washington native brooks and cutts, and grandpa always talked about how he used to limit out using a black ant fly.

With my understanding of how a split cane bamboo rod is made, is it possible to resplit the rod, relaminate it, re wrap it and put a new cork on it? Is there a good company out there that does that?

Are bamboo rod tip sections hard to come by?

Guess it's time to go to bamboo school

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zen leecher aka bill w

· #2 · Apr 5, 2017

My mother and father had a "his and hers" set that they used in the post-war 40's and 50's. I have one of them and my youngest brother has the other. I'd like to fish with the one I have again also.

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Jim F.

· #3 · Apr 5, 2017

I have rods used by my Mom, Dad, Aunt & a couple Uncles from the same era. Other than keeping them safe, I have on rare occasion used them with "classic" patterns from those years. If I wanted to fish with a bamboo rod, I would purchase a new one. I'd feel terrible if anything were to happen to the family heirlooms.

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Jeepster

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 5, 2017

Bah, grandpa would be outraged at the price of a new bamboo rod, it would be doing him right to have em fixed up, it's what he woulda done

Besides for a new bamboo rod... What, 6,7,800+$?

I'd break an old rod just as easily as a new rod, so, might as well get some enjoyment out of the old ones, and it would be a once or twice a year rod almost exclusively for small fish

It's not a matter of whether I want a bamboo rod, rather, I just happen to be getting two really old rods that if at all possible, I'd like to fish with

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Mike Monsos

· #5 · Apr 5, 2017

Depending on the condition of your rods it may not be necessary to delaminate them to make them usable. I think the first step would be to have someone familiar with bamboo rods give the rods a look and see what they think. If the rods need work then you might have a better idea of how extensive the project may be. But who knows these may be fishable as they are.

If nothing else maybe post up some pictures of the rods and see what can be determined from them by those on the forum.

Mike

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Reactions: 3

Flyguy65

· #6 · Apr 5, 2017

Hey Jeepster,
What Mike said. Post some pictures so we can see what condition they're in. I've redone 50+ vintage blue collar bamboo rods and fish them 95% of the time. Take a look at "Short bamboo rod challenge" and you'll see what bamboo rods are capable of..... We can walk you through fixin Gramp's rods to make them fishable again. (Maybe

)

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Jeff Peacock

· #7 · Apr 5, 2017

Jeepster said:
Bah, grandpa would be outraged at the price of a new bamboo rod, it would be doing him right to have em fixed up, it's what he woulda done

Besides for a new bamboo rod... What, 6,7,800+$?

I'd break an old rod just as easily as a new rod, so, might as well get some enjoyment out of the old ones, and it would be a once or twice a year rod almost exclusively for small fish

It's not a matter of whether I want a bamboo rod, rather, I just happen to be getting two really old rods that if at all possible, I'd like to fish with

Granpa would appreciate his kin using and appreciate his equipment. If they were well treated, a simple "tune up" may be all that's required.

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para_adams

· #8 · Apr 5, 2017

The old vintage bamboo rods came in a wide range of lengths, weights, actions and quality. Some are not fun to fish. Others are pure joy to cast and fish. Most are somewhere in-between and can stand up to doing what they were designed to do... Catch fish. Show some photos and the guys like Mike and Steve can tell you if the rod needs work, if so how much, would it be fun to fish and does it have great, some or little to no value. Ron

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Flyguy65

· #9 · Apr 8, 2017

Any luck with some pictures?

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Flyguy65

· #10 · Jun 3, 2017

Yo Jeepster,
Any update on the bamboo? Now's the time to be fishing them!

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Skip Enge

· #11 · Jul 16, 2017

old Montague circa 1917...cleaning it up with white vinegar...a snake guide missing...need to find a source for old nickle guides...as I have inherited a couple one piece rods that need a bit of care...given theirlack of value ...my effortswill match...good cleaning or rather restoration instead of stripping down to a complete redo

Wood Tints and shades Publication Denim Rectangle

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