need help identifying parts of a bamboo rod

[beau5278]

I picked up some pieces of a couple of bamboo fly rods a while back at an auction and I'm wondering if there's any way to identify the rod from the top 2 sections.I have an H-I and a Montaque and the connectors on these pieces don't look like either of those.The reason that I'm wondering is that the pieces that I have look to be in near perfect condition and if I can identify it maybe I could pick up a rod off of ebay with a broken tip and put this one back in service again,I've included one picture,I have a couple others if needed.Thanks in advance.

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[Nighthawk]

Can yo also post a picture of the female half of the ferrules? Hard to tell from just the male ends that you posted. If I were to guess from these photos I would say either a Montague or Heddon.

[Buddy Sanders]

Beau,

Almost impossible to identify the 'particular' rod from just the top two sections. From looking at the ferrules we might be able to tell you which 'brand' of rod it was....but...unless you get an exact 'match' as to 'model' 'line weight', even the year made can alter which ferrule was used, etc., the ferrules won't mate properly. Finding a 'prefect' match off of Ebay would be so close to impossible as to be a minor miracle if you did so. Now, if you found a shop that had a bunch, say several hundreds, of old rod parts laying about, you might get lucky and find a match....

And that's the key here. You have to get the ferrules to 'fit' each other. Luckily, all is not lost. A rod put together from non matching parts has no 'collectors' value. If you can find a butt section that is 'close' you can attach new ferrules to fit the butt/first section you have. You would get a rod you could at least fish with.

Good Luck!

Buddy

[beau5278]

That's my only goal with it is to get a rod that would be usable,I figured that it would be a long shot but I'm a patient person.Here's another pic of the female half of the ferrule.

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[JohnScott]

Depending on the length of the two sections you have, you might be able to build a nice short bamboo rod simply by using the mid-section as the butt section - add a grip and reel seat and figure out the appropriate spacing for the guides and redo them. Just an idea. No telling what you would end up with - but it might prove to be a real gem.

[beau5278]

They are 3' sections but that would only 6' long correct?I do have another Montague butt section that's the same length,I think,it needs a reel seat and the ferrule would have to be changed,is there any kind of a chart or anything for sizing ferrules?

[Nighthawk]

Looks to be a Monty (Montague) but as was mentioned even the manufacturers varied their ferrules from model to model. I think John Scott has you on the right track. Notice that your tip top is of the older smaller style for the older small diameter lines. That means the guides are as well. A modern line will perform with them but casting distance may suffer. It really doesn't take too much to put a nice reel seat on the midsection, new ferrules, guides and tip top to make yourself a nice Banty bamboo rod.

I have a 5 foot 2 piece 5wt banty that is actually built from scratch, not from the mid and tip of another rod. Brother let me telly you it's like throwing high quality darts! Fast, accurate, good distance and just darned fun especially on brush choked streams with limit room overhead for casting.

Russ and Erica at Golden Witch can help you out and they are really reasonable price wise. Check you their site here:

http://www.goldenwitch.com/index.html

Their cheaper ferrules are better than some others expensive ones! They are darned nice folks ready and willing to help you build your rod. Also check out the rod building forum here. You got a lot of wonderful folks at this site who will help you out if you ask. Welcome to the dark side of the fly fishing force!

[JohnScott]

They are 3' sections but that would only 6' long correct?I do have another Montague butt section that's the same length,I think,it needs a reel seat and the ferrule would have to be changed,is there any kind of a chart or anything for sizing ferrules?

I don't think matching and fitting the ferrules would ultimately prove a big problem. But I do think that mismatching the tapers between the butt section and the mid and tip sections could yield a very unwieldy set up. Just something to think about.

If the ferrules on the two sections you have are in good shape and fit properly, you've got a great head start on what Eric refers to as a "banty." It would take some experimenting to find the best line for it - but you might end up with a mellow small stream 3 wt or a fast action that shoots a 5 or 6wt line like a cannon. What fun !!

John

[herefishy]

Another option is to build a grip and reel seat on a piece of scrap, and mount a ferrule in the end of it for the mid section to fit into - I did this to preserve "dad's old rod". This 6' 4 wt is a joy to fish, my only problem with it is the sentimentality attached to it that keeps me limited to places I won't get a big fish on and break it. It already had a repair, so I'm a bit leery of stressing it.