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3. old bamboo

My neighbor was going through some old stuff today and showed me two bamboo fly rods passed on to him from his grandfather. I was wondering if any of you had an idea of what they could be worth.(he asked me to find out) The first rod is a southbend #25 9' 4 pc. It is in perfect shape. Bamboo is clean and all the eyelets and wraps look very good, he estimates that it is from the 30's. The other rod he feels certain is over 100 yrs old it is in pretty rough shape, the blank itself is good but the wraps need some attention. I don't recall the name but it was from a company based in utica ny(that's all i remember from from the label). Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Jeff

Jeff,

The South Bend is a "production" cane rod. I suspect that the one from Utica is probably a Horrocks-Ibbotson. South Bend, Horrocks-Ibbotson, and Montague were all production cane makers. In good condition, SB and HI rods typically sell for about $50 to $150 on Ebay. They have little value to collectors, and are usually purchased by rebuilders who turn old production cane into fairly serviceable shorter rods.

Best,
Gonzo

They also make nice additions to someone's cabin or den walls after a little work is done on them.

LittleJ,
New to this forum, 28 yr. flyfisherman......

I usually start kids/teenagers out with these types of "production" rods as I'm not too deep into money to get them a rod they can learn how to cast and fish with...... It's theirs to keep, but they're taught how to care for it so they can fish it the remainder of their lives. They listen real well! LOL

Besides, do you know how many double-takes older guys give kids that are fishing a cane rod?? Plenty! The kids get to be proud of what they own as many don't have the chance to afford one.....

If you need an honest opinion of the rods in person, I'll have to meet you on the Lil'J 1 of these days.... I'll show some of mine that I've redone.

Regards,
Canefly