I’m hoping someone can identify an old bamboo rod I have. I have limited information to go on, but I do know it was my grandfather’s rod so i’d like to either restore it or have someone restore it for me and put it to use.
My grandfather passed on about 18 years ago and the rod sat in my father’s basement in a five gallon bucket full of bits and pieces of pap’s old rods. Back in 2000 I was planning on heading up to Erie to do some pike fishing and stopped in at my father’s to borrow a couple of rods for the trip when I found it stashed in a corner in that bucket. To this day I don’t know why I even checked that old bucket of junk, but I’m glad I did.
Anyway, I brought it home and put it in my basement and pretty much forgot about it for the next six years. Lately I’ve been in the market for a new rod; not because I actually need one though. There’s nothing wrong with the St. Croix I’m currently using. I think you all know what I mean here. lol
Here’s what I do know and/or suspect. It’s a 3 piece, 8 foot, bamboo rod. There is an extra slot in the rod bag, so at one time there was apparently an extra tip. It looks to be made on the lower end of the bamboo rod scale, perhaps by South Bend, Montague, or Horrocks-Ibbotson. There is a decal above the handle, but I can’t read it because it’s faded and torn. There are three snake guides, a stripper guide, and a tip top. The uplocking reel seat is some sort of cheap metal with a single locking nut. There is no hook retainer, and doesn’t appear to have ever been one. The rod is in pretty rough shape and needs completely restored, but the bamboo isn’t cracked or broken; however, the tip section is bent and will need to be straightened. The other two pieces look bent in the pictures but they aren’t.
What I want to know is:
What kind of rod is it?
What weight line is it?
What action is it?
How much could I reasonably expect to pay someone to restore it?
A good resource for the do-it-yourselfer to completely tear down and restore the rod.
Here are some pictures that I took to help identify the rod. I’ve compared the rod to other ones on E-bay and haven’t seen anything with a decal that looks remotely like the one I have.
If the pictures don’t show up you’ll have to click the links or copy/paste them in your browser. I’ve never used this sort of BB before, so I’m not sure how it works with the coding. Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions anyone has.
After looking at the handle and reel seat, I was thinking the same as John. It looks like the butt section of the rod will also fit into the other end of the handle to make a bait casting rod out of it. The missing tip section probably had a bait casting tip on it.
From what I understand, these were pretty popular items for soldiers returning from Japan to bring back as souveniers.
How well it would cast? Your guess is as good as mine. There is always the possibility of restoring the rod yourself and saving some money. There are plenty of knowledgeable bamboo folks on this site that will be more than happy to help you through the process.
Uncle Pony;
Great first post! I’ve been kicking around here for a bit and still can’t post pictures!! I’m sure you’ll get your answer here! Welcome aboard!! Just wipe your feet when you come in for coffee, new guy’s also make the coffee!! Pull up a chair friend and enjoy!
Don’t forget the Michigan Fish-In August 14th to the 20th. The Holy Water’s of the Au Sable await you!!
Uncle PonyThe guys are right about the rod being Japanese.I have redone several of these.This is a good project if you are interested in that kind of project. I strip the whole thing down to a blank and start replacing everything,I like to use single foot guides,new reel seat,grip,winding check,etc.These rods do not have any real collectors value but if the boo is solid they can be fun to fish and they do not look bad.
Thanks a lot, fellas. You guys sound like you’re correct. The butt of the reel seat does indeed have a hole in it (packed full of dirt though). As far as it being from Japan, I think you’re correct there too. My grandfather served in the Merchant Marine in WWII and did some time in the Pacific theater.
Well, I suppose I’ll put some coffee on and start a little research on stripping this thing down.
If anyone could figure out what make it is I’d still like to know. I’d like to have as much of the story as I can when I eventually pass it on to one of my boys or nephew.
As some of the others have suggested, I would guess it to be one of those 'boo in a box Japanese rods. Probably your best bet is to take a crack at restoring it yourself. Not really too hard, especially if you have had some prior rodbuilding experience. The best resource for this kind of stuff is Michael Sinclair’s Bamboo Rod Restoration Handbook. Unfortunately, this book has gone out of print. As such, the price of acquiring one has become extremely unreasonable. So you are better off just soliciting some help from boards like this. I would start by acquiring one of the Citrus type strippers which you can get at most hardware stores, Home Depot, etc. This will let you remove all the old varnish from the rod. Straightening can be done with a heat gun.
Please let us know how the restoration goes. There has been some interest in restoring older boo rods on this fporum lately. I’m sure others, besides myself, would like to see the end results.
