A Montague question

[Photojoe4]

Before I begin:
Yes, I know Montagues are low end production rods. Yes, I know that this rod is probably only good as firewood, or as a "banty" rod project. And no, I'm not planning on using it for either- I'm planning on fishing the hell out of it (that's what is was made for, right?).

Okay, so, I found this guy in Portland that was selling his dad's old Montague. The guy was selling it for more than a fair price, and the rod is really in amazing condition- as far as I can tell, all it's needing is one guide replaced on the mid section, and a fresh coat of varnish. Maybe straighten one of the tips that has a VERY slight bend in it (and yes, it has both tips). My question is this: any idea what rod weight this might be? The label is mostly worn away, but I can make out the last "H" in the old rod weight marking, which leads me to think it's either a 6wt or a 7wt (it seems too beefy to be anything lower than a 6wt). It doesn't have any intermediate wraps, so that leads me to think it's a 6wt. The butt section measures about 0.395" just above the hook keeper, and the tip measures about 0.095". Any ideas?

Best regards,
Joe Martin
Salem, OR

P.S. Other details that may help: it's got a full wells grip, 5 signature wraps above the hook keeper (red, yellow, red, yellow, red), and I THINK it's got NS hardware (seems too shiny to be aluminium.

[J Castwell]

See if you can 'test cast' a WF7 SYLK Cortland on it.

or a 6.

[This message has been edited by J Castwell (edited 14 May 2006).]

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Monty's aren't that bad of a rod if you intend to fish the hell out of it.

I've got a couple old South Bend rods that work just fine and the wife has two Monty Sunbeams.

I'd do the reverse of JC and start with a 6 wgt line (Sylk if you have it). If it feels underlined, go to a 7 wgt. If all else fails, do what I did. Go to a reputable fly shop that has some demo lines and cast several until you find the one that works best, then buy the needed line from the shop.

On the old rods I really like the Cortland Sylk line. Some of the modern plastic lines don't work as well on those small guides the older rods usually carry.

Hope this helps.

REE

[dleo6446]

Joe, a lot of the Montagues that I have and have seen are often considered "mater stakes" by the bretheren of the boo. But other than the weight of them, some of them are pretty nice fishing rods. Now a lot of people call them "production rods" meaning that they were made on an assembly line and not by one skilled craftsmen.I would imagine that I have seen well over 200 Montagues altogether and a couple of things stand out in my mind about Monty's.
1. Most all of them never had a line weight written or stamped on them and the few that did came out of their custom rod shop.
2. They did use some of the best bamboo that money could buy at the time of production and you don't see very many Monty's with bad glue lines or bad bamboo in them.

Another thing that most people do not know is that Montague did make some of the Orvis Madison Blanks for Orvis many years ago. Rick Taupier, in Mass. (Swift River Fly Rods) knows a lot about Montague as he lives very close to where the old Monty plan was located.

If that old Monty is solid, and just needs a few guide on her, fix them and fish her.

You gave a little information about the taper but what you need to do is to mark the rod at intervals of 5" and take the readings with your mic or dial caliper and when you measure, measure across all three sets of flats and average them for each increment. When you get finished, you can compare the taper to those archived in Hexrod and get very close to a good educated guess on the weight of the line for the rod. Hex rod will also calculate and give you a stress curve that you can compare to archived tapers and that will give you some idea of the action the rod will have.

Make sure that you check the ferrules. Montague used plated brass ferrules for the most part and they are really bad to crack.

I agree with REE and JC, it will probably handle the 6 or the 7, and I like the Sylk lines. I use them almost exclusively now, even on my BIIx Winnie.

[Photojoe4]

Thanks so much guys. Dleo, the ferrules are in absolutely pristine condition- not at all loose, and no cracks (or dings or scratches), and they still give that nice 'pop' when they're pulled apart. As far as label goes, I just realized it may be the 'h' from the 'splitswitch' that I'm seeing on the label, not the rod weight. That being said, I may try a 5wt line (since that's what I have) before I try the 6wt. Well, now I'm off to see if I can't find some thread that will match the wraps.

Regards,
Joe Martin
Salem, OR

[2 Bead Pupa]

Joe , I refurbished that same rod and can tell you it should throw a 6 wt. just fine . I use mine both as a banty and full length ( 9') . As a banty , I use a 5 wt.

------------------
Life is like a fly swap...You never know what your going to get.

[Photojoe4]

Well, I took the rod out today. Didn't catch anything, but MAN does it cast nice! I tried it with a 6wt and it seems to work just fine, for me anyways. I was a bit worried about a (very) slight wobble in the reelseat, but didn't really seem to bug me at all once I started casting. I think this may be my "regular" rod from here on out (until I finish my 8ft 5wt, that is).

Regards,
Joe Martin