There’s an older gentleman who lives down the street from me. Over the years, we’ve swapped fishing stories and gone fishing together a few times. In fact, we we’re out this morning and we caught a few perch.
Anyway…when we got home, he told me that he had a fly rod for me. It was in his basement, and hadn’t seen any use in decades (actually, it had been his father’s rod). He told me to drop by this afternoon and pick it up.
When I got there, he had three old bamboo rods out in the living room, and he told me to take whichever I wanted.
One rod had absolutely no markings what-so-ever. One was a Heddon rod with a plastic reel seat. The last choice was the one that had been his father’s, and I took it.
It’s a Hardy Bamboo rod in a cloth rod sock (that bears a Hardys patch). On the butt section appears the following:
“The De Lusce 5 1/2 oz Palakona Registered Trade Mark”
It has two tip section and both the butt section and middle section have nicely carved wooded plugs in the joining sections.
The entire rod has black thread wraps spaced evenly about one inch apart.
Anyone have an idea of its value…or an idea as to where I can find more information?
The Deluxe by Hardy is a nice taper but like nearly all bamboo over 8’ the following is minimal, valued around $300-350 if original and no issues if 8’6" and $275-300 if 9’. Regards…
Yeah…I do plan on fishing it. Al (my friend) said he’d like to see it used again, and I’ve never fished a bamboo rod, so I’d like to try it. What good is a bamboo rod (or anything for that matter) that just sits in a closet? Is there anything I need to do with it before I fish it?
He believes it’s a about a 7 wt. Will a 'boo like this handle bass and large trout?
I may run into a problem though…the guides have a very small diameter and I’m not sure that today’s fly lines will shoot through them smoothly…do you have any advice?
I my original post, I noted that I had a choice of three rods. One that had no markings, a Heddon bamboo rod with a plastic reel seat, or the Hardy that I selected.
I was touched that he offered me the rods, and I selected the Hardy because I liked the look, the feel, and the name. The monetary value of the rod is not important, and I can’t wait to fish it.
When I learned that the rod has an approximate value of $300-$400, I began to wonder what the Heddon was worth. Is it possible that the Heddon is worth the same or more?!? I passed it over because I wasn’t keen on the plastic reel seat, and thought that because of the use of plastic, it must have been a cheaper rod. I guess this might not be the case.
If these rods are worth a lot, I’d like to be sure that he knows their value (and offer to return the Hardy if he’d like).
It’s possible the Heddon is worth comparable money to the Hardy especially if it is shorter, say 8 foot. Heddons are pretty popular rods with collectors and depending on the model and length it could be worth $ 250.00 to perhaps $ 400.00 in good condition with 2 tips.
Did you happen to see a Model # on the Heddon and the ferrule size? It might say something like Heddon Model 13, 8 1/2 ft 2f ferrules as an example. The smaller the ferrule the lighter line weight the rod/ 1 1/2f ferrules were a 4/5 weight rod. 2f ferrules were a 5/6 weight rod, and 2 1/2f ferrules were a solid 6 or 7 weight rod in my experience. There are rods with 2 3/4 f ferrules and they are 8/9 weights.
Lighter and shorter rods are generally worth more money to collectors but some of those heavier rods are fine fishing tools and well worth using for smallmouth bass and maybe smaller pike.
Be gracious and KEEP IT. USE IT. Do what the man intended with his great gesture. Cherish it! I would not in any way do ANYTHING to even come close to cheapen his gesture and take his “feel good” away from him, AT ANY COST! I would not ever “risk” hurting that man’s feelings. I would be very thankful and would not part with it forever. No way in heck would I go back to him and say gee, I think I would like to try one of the others. Terrific, gracious act on his part. No way man. Not even. Sorry, just my opinion. 'tis the only one I am an expert on.
Andrew,
Congratulations! Welcome to the dark side too. I have a Montague 9 foot Western Special that I use the Cortland 444 Sylk dt-6wt-f line on. Cortland’s Sylk line is of a smaller diameter than modern lines and is designed to work with the smaller guides of bygone days.
There seems to be a love/hate thing about this line. I love it but some people claim it is “sticky”. I wash mine with mild, soapy water, draw it through a soft, lint free towel to dry and treat it with Cortland’s dressing for the Sylk line. Never had a “sticky” problem with this line and I can cast into the backing with it. Here is their link:
Gemrod hit it, but, I will double what he said. You have a treasure for life; the rod and his friendship. If possible, try the SYLK line from Cortland. It is smaller in diameter and will contact less of the guides as it goes through them. Also, it has a smaller profile in the air, making casting easer. The next best thing is a real silk line (costy as all get out). Be sure of the weight of the rod before you purchase any line though, even if you have to try a ‘regular’ line on it to find out. A six weight might work too. There might be some letters on the rod. Did you find anything that looked like HCH or such?
Andrew,
Get some line on that rod and invite the kind gentleman that shared his family treasure with you on another fishing outing. Surprise him by taking the rod out and fishing it with him.
Man, I love to hear personal history about old bamboo rods. All mine were from garage sales, ebay and one found next to a garbage bin.
After reading your replies, I guess I must have been vague in my previous post. Let me clarify…
The monetary value of the rod is not important…I truly cherish the rod, and look forward to fishing it. By no means would I think of giving it back, and ask to try another…that would cheapen his gesture, and I’m just grateful for the gift he’s given. I love the rod and I can’t wait to fish it with him.
I only asked about dollar value because I feel a little uneasy about accepting a gift if the giver did not realize it had real dollar value. He and I both understand its sentimental value (which to me is much greater) and I appreciate that more than anything.
I guess it’s like this - If I was given an inexpensive painting as a gift, and behind it was an original painting by Monet worth millions, I’d have a hard time keeping it knowing that the original owner didn’t realize its value.
Got it Andrew. I just was concerned you knew the fellow so well you might not of thought of it much and been kinda insensitive about it. I can see now that you were interested actually for HIS behalf. You wanted to let him know if it was of great value. It’s all good with me sir. I have the same insatiable curiosity about everything and would have been wondering the same things.
No ill thoughts with me man. It’s all good. Good for you and him.
