Antique Bamboo Fly Rod Appraisal

I'm looking for someone in the Chicago/Milwaukee/Madison area that may be able to help appraise an old bamboo fly rod. The rod is 30+ years old but from what I've heard it could be worth either nothing, hundreds or anything in between. The condition is likely fair to poor, but even knowing it's practically worthless would be more info than I have now.Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Catchin.. That rod sold for around $25.00 new. As Bamboo Rods go it is a fairly common model. If you are interested the HCH (C) that is printed on it means that the rod has a line tolerance of 177-193 grains. The line best suited for it would be about 185 grains which would relate to a AFTMA 7 weight line. HCH also means it was designed for a DT (Double Taper) line. If you take it to a fly shop you can have them throw a reel on it with 6 weight line, then a 7, then an 8 and see which casts the best on it before you purchase the line. Present day if you were to sell it you could expect to get $75.00 to $150.00 for the rod, better the shape, higher the price, so you should expect close to $150 based on your description. In still brand new condition like right out of the box you might get $200.00 Hope that helps.. You might want to check and see if there are Bamboo dudes in the TU around you, they might be able to value it for you as well.

basically have the same question, value of South Bend split bamboo, #24 ...9 ft. SS guides, rod is 95 %mint, nothing missing all original, three piece, all markings and label present, has cloth case.... metal screw top tube for storage..any ideas ??..line suggested written on butt says HCH or C

It's a pretty low end rod, not worth much. You'd probably put a couple hundred into it for a rewrap and refinish. If you want a wall hanger, you should be able to find one on ebay for less money than having this one refurbished.

The handle is cork and is one solid piece. My friend had it in his closet for the last 15-20 years and he got it from his grandpa. He didn't really take care of it or store it well because he didn't know anything about it. The canvas bag it was in is pretty moth eaten, too. I'm guessing it's not worth a ton (or anything at all really), but I could probably get it restored. Worst case, it'd make a nice wall decoration. Finding the value is more of a curiosity at this point. I was looking at Redwing Fly Rods ( http://www.redwingflyrods.com/Home_Page.html ) as they are fairly close, but if anyone has any recommendations I'd take them.

The thing to remember is the rods that are really worth anything now were the top of the line ones when they were made. And only a VERY small percent of the rods sold were the top of the line ones. Think of how many $30 rods are sold now for every $500 Mega Bass rod?

I almost said it was a South Bend at first glance, but I'm very much doubting that. It is more than likely a production rod of some sort as the nodes just above the grip are not staggered. The grip appears to be rolled cork, which could just be the patina, the lens, or more than likely my eyes. If it is rolled cork (vs cut rings) it might be an older production rod. That won't help the value any. Without markings, or provenance, it would be a hard sell any way around. What you might want to do is look into finding someone to restore it. Of course, check references before sending it off to cousin Bobby to throw some embroidery thread and plastic epoxy on it. There are a few very good rod builders/restorers in the state. What you do have is a three piece/ one tip rod that looks to have all equal length section (none of them have broke and been repaired) and is decently straight. The grip still has me stumped, tho. The reel seat looks '40's or '50's but the grip looks '20's or earlier. Unless it isn't cork at all and is foam or some other synthetic. Sorry to be so vague but there isn't a lot to go on. For all I know, someone made it fifteen years ago in their hobby shop and didn't take care of it.

There are no markings on it anywhere that might help identify it, not even for what weight. It's a 3 pc and the center piece is missing 2 of the 3 snake guides. It looks like it may be easy to restore if need be.

I'll be glad to help. Does the rod have any writing on the shaft by the handle or anything stamped in the reel seat? Any photos that you could post would be helpful.