Mine was a FE Thomas Special that I still own. I bought it about 20 years ago in Bangor, Maine. It sat in a fly shop for about a year with a price tag of
$500.00 After a year I turned to the owner and said: "I'm going to walk out that door in 5 minutes. I'll give you $200.00 for it and will not make
another offer." He said "give me 5 minutes to think about it". As I was walking out the door he gave in and sold me the rod. I call it the
"bionic" rod because it's been through hell but I can't see myself ever parting with it. What about you?
"Fly fishing is my Quisisana (the name is Italian for "place where one heals one's self.") "........ S.L.Giuliani
The Value Guide is a series of forums by Maker and the contents of the Maker Profiles and Value Guide. It first appeared on a website owned, and run, by Mr Dick Spurr who kept it going for many years until he retired in November 2001, sadly Dick passed after a several year battle with a serious illness on March 25 2004, his presence is sorely missed. What started as a labor of love for him became one of my favorite places to visit on the web, sadly, nothing like it existed elsewhere. I have taken Mr Spurr's labor and captured its essence. I plan to maintain, and update, this guide and I ask that you please refrain from reproducing it in any way without permission, thanks. Not originally on Mr Spurr's website I updated the guide to include the E.F Payne Rod co. although it does not include values as yet, it is an accumulation of 4 catalogs dating 1931,1936,1950 and 1975 and contains loads of information, especially where model lengths changed over the years or were replaced by another model number. I plan on adding a similar guide for the H. L. Leonard Rod Co. (limited by my catalog collection as far as models are concerned) and Weir & Son Rod Co. I also plan to update the values within each maker as soon as I can. Tight lines..... banjo
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- The Crackerbarrel
- Classic Fly Reels
- General discussion forum
- FE Thomas Rods
- Edwards Family Rods
- Granger Rod Co. Rods
- Cross Rod Co.
- Wright and McGill Co. Rods
- South Bend Rod Co.
- Orvis Co. Rods
- Link to Orvis Database by Greg Reynolds
- Montague Rod & Reel Co.
- James Heddon & Sons Rods
- Horrocks-Ibbotson Rods
- Phillipson Rod Co. Rods
- Uslan Rods
- E.F. Payne Rod Co.
- H. W. Hawes Rods
- Dickerson Rods
- Paul H. Young Rod Co.
- Sewell N. Dunton & Son Rod Co.
- Link to EC Powell's Mechanics of fly casting
- Link to the Dan Brennan article
- Photography
What was your first bamboo rod?
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 andre49 |
What was your first bamboo rod? |
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Posts: 45 03/26/09 18:39:33 Deeply Shallow
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Eric Peper |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 23 03/26/09 19:00:29 |
An Orvis 5'9" that I made up from blanks in about 1967 -- I still have it, albeit with a replaced reelseat and grip, and I still fish it. I was under
the influence of Arnold Gingrich's "Small is better" writing at the time. I still enjoy the rod on small water. My grandchildren enjoy it as
well each summer. IMO, it is a surprisingly good taper, handling a DT 4 comfortably both close in and at ranges you'd expect from a 7-footer.
EP |
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 Rolf Jacobsen |
#2 | |||
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Posts: 79 03/26/09 20:37:53 The Cooler
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An 8-1/2' EC Powell 2/2 6 weight. I purchased the rod from Clark Davis for either $400 or $500. It had been "restored". Being new to bamboo I contacted Press Powell to see if I had the real thing. God bless him, he was patient with me and answered all my questions. For instance he mentioned the node spacing and I asked him what a node was. Told you he was patient. We spoke a few more times after that and he was kind enough to send me a copy of Essays on Fly Fishing by EC and signed by Walton, along with some post cards and other mementos. RIP Press. I fished only this rod for years catching sunnies, rock bass, small mouth, trout and carp. Two years ago I sent the rod to Steve Blake for a "re-restoration". Is that a word? What I got back was a different rod. Cosmetically he made it perfect but also placed the guides and relocated the seat to match the spine of the rod. I love this thing and while I don't fish it often, probably won't sell it. Once again it will go out west with me this year and I plan on leaving it with a friend out there to play with for a few months.
Rolf Brook Trout are God's way of reminding us everything is going to be alright. |
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BillT.clarksclassicfl... |
My first rod | #3 | ||
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Posts: 5 03/26/09 20:53:08 |
My first bamboo fly rod was a 7'6" 5 wt that I made by reading the Garrison/Carmichael book and the Wayne Cattanch book. I remember getting the first culm of cane and trying to split it out. The strips were as big as my thumb which required quite a bit of planing. I glued the rod up with 2 ton epoxy bare handed. A heavy duty saltwater fly reel with the drag tightened as much as possible clamped in a vise was my binder. Ferrules were fit by rolling the sections on my thigh with a file. I had never wrapped a rod and that was a disaster as well. I do remember the thrill of casting that rod for the first time though. After 1 1/2 years reading books and cutting my hands and frustration it was a fantastic feeling. Sorta like a high of course what happens when you come down you have to do it again. It never feels quite as good as the first time so you keep doing it trying to recover that feeling. 12 years later and it still hasn't happened. It is still fun though! Bill |
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JimP |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 53 03/26/09 20:59:57 |
Technically, my first bamboo rod was a Japanese no name 8' for 6 wt that came in a balsa box and could double as a spinning rod. I found it at a flea
market and paid $50. for it. I taught myself how to cast using it on bream in a nearby pond. I was very disappointed when the varnish and wraps from several
guides started coming off and the guy I called at Orvis told me it would cost more to repair the rod than it was worth. I had become quite fond of the rod. My
wife then bought my first nice rod, a
T&T Classic 7 1/2' for 5 wt. impregnated. I loved it and still do. I am a T&T fan. Jim |
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Rolf Jacobsen |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 79 03/26/09 21:03:03 The Cooler
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BillT wrote:Just don't quit! Too many of us here owe you money! 
Brook Trout are God's way of reminding us everything is going to be alright. |
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spruce grouse |
#6 | |||
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Posts: 33 03/27/09 09:55:45 |
Mine was a Mark Ruhe Garrison 206E taper bought from Ron S. I don't remember why I bought it (a bamboo rod, not that particular rod). While we never
clicked 100%, it was enough to get me moving along this path of mostly fishing bamboo.
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quashnet.clarksclassicfl... |
#7 | |||
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Posts: 23 03/27/09 14:21:41 Paul Young Database Founder |
I remember that by the early 1980's I owned three Montague rods, all 9'0", 3/2. I can't remember whether the Flipline, the Marshall Fields
Conway Special, or the no-name rod came first. I didn't figure out good ways to fish them, but I knew they were trying to tell me something. Then I met Bob
Summers in 1985, ordered a Model 275, and the message came through loud and clear.
Quashnet's Paul H. Young Rod Database has photos and descriptions of over
440 PHY Co. rods, plus catalogs, accessories, etc. Thank you to all
who continue to send me PHY rod photos and info.
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cwfly.clarksclassicfl... |
#8 | |||
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Posts: 11 03/27/09 14:39:55 |
Tough to remember. I think it was an Orvis Madison 2/1, 8' 4 3/8 ounce. Sold as the one rod to do everything. I still have it although I haven't used
it in years. It could also have been a 7' Leonard Duracane from Stoddards, but somehow I feel that came slightly later.
The brook runs over the bones of the planet and carries the sky on its back…. Odell Shepard |
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CtKenC.clarksclassicfl... |
#9 | |||
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Posts: 2 03/27/09 16:45:26 |
A Leonard Duracane 7'6" for 5wt that Joe Garman got for me ... nice rod, nicer man.
Sorry they are both gone now, sorrier about Joe than the rod. 
Ken |
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SnooKen.clarksclassicfl... |
#10 | |||
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Posts: 15 03/27/09 20:47:58 |
A 9' 3/2 The Granger Rod with both tips down, one by 4" and the other by 5 1/2" but otherwise all original, unrefinished and in good shape. eBay
special "won" for $73.00. Even with the short tips a graceful lovely old girl to cast and fish. Quite a change from high speed saltwater graphite,
she taught me a lot about listening to the rod and letting it do the job it was made for. She'll have a whole new life in the care of Dennis Stone.
If Mistakes are the Wellspring of Wisdom how come I ain't Solomon? |
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fishnbanjo |
#11 | |||
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Posts: 153 03/28/09 09:19:57 The Canefather
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IT was a gift, an FE Thomas 9'6" 3 pc Salmon Dry Fly with ext butt, it now belongs to Short Tip.... The first one I ever bought was a 7'6" 2
pc REC made in a Payne 101 taper.
banjo
Fly fishing is my Quisisana (the name is Italian for "place where one heals one's self.") "...... SLG Visit my website about Bamboo rods... Fishnbanjo's Place |
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Cantgetthere |
#12 | |||
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Posts: 3 03/29/09 17:03:05 |
The first I ever owned I got from my father- a F.E.Thomas 9' 3pc Browntone. I now have two of the same rod, but the first rod I bought and consider
"mine" was a Payne 101 made by david Van Burgel. The difference between the two rods in speed kept me looking and fishing bamboo until I grew smart
enough to understand what the F.E. was telling me. Now I fish both for salmon most of the year. Hutch
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Greg Reynolds.clarksclassicfl... |
#13 | |||
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Posts: 2 03/29/09 18:15:53 Orvis Database Founder |
My first bamboo rod was a 6 1/2-foot Superfine purchased from Marty Keane. A friend had loaned me the first edition of Marty's book--I saw his black &
white photo of a Superfine and I had to have one.
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rgram |
#14 | |||
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Posts: 13 03/29/09 19:27:21 |
Mine is a Leonard 38 my wife gave me as a wedding present in 1984.
Needless to say it won't ever be for sale. Bob |
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upthecreek |
#15 | |||
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Posts: 7 03/30/09 12:08:04 |
Mine was a Sewelll Dunton. 7ft, 3/4wt. Bought from Bob Zwirz in his store on Third Avenue in NYC., what seems like one hundred years ago.
Steve V.
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nativebrownie |
#16 | |||
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Posts: 25 04/03/09 09:34:29 |
Mine was a tough decision in 1974(yes, I see your point about 100 years ago)the new teaching salary wasn't going too far and it was either a Orvis Madison
or a Constable RH Woods, 6'9", 2/1, from Anglersmail. At $20 less, the Constable became an early companion.
Last Edited By: nativebrownie 04/03/09 22:27:20.
Edited 1 time.
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Horton Creek |
Shakespeare | #17 | ||
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Posts: 2 04/16/09 11:25:19 |
Mine was/is an 8'6" Shakespeare that was my Dad's rod. I pretty much fished early Sage and Scott graphite rods my first few years as I
transitioned from ultra-light spinning to fly fishing. When my Dad passed away I was going through all his tackle and he had 2 Shakespeare cane rods. The
8'6" rod I fished a few times for AZ Bonefish (desert suckers/carp) in rememberance of my Dad and really enjoyed how slow and relaxing the action was
and how the rod bent when fighting a 4-5 lb carp.
I put that rod away for several years and began buying other bamboo rods, fishing them, selling them, figuring what I did and did not like. I decided it was time to restore the Shakespeare and asked Mike Clark to do it. He warned me numerous times the restoration would cost several more times what the rod was worth but I assured it him that money was not the driving factor in this case. That rod gets fished at least once every year. It is nice to go fishing with your Dad at least that often. Jeff |
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fishnbanjo |
#18 | |||
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Posts: 153 04/16/09 12:21:38 The Canefather
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Horton Creek,
In my mind there's not a better reason to have a rod restored, good on ya.
banjo
Fly fishing is my Quisisana (the name is Italian for "place where one heals one's self.") "...... SLG Visit my website about Bamboo rods... Fishnbanjo's Place |
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Ken M 44.clarksclassicfl... |
#19 | |||
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Posts: 14 05/22/09 05:50:23 |
Mine came from my Father - an 8' Kestrel from the Falcon Rod Works in Redditch - it was given to him as a gift by the owner of the company after both of
his sons went through my Father's school. I had to promise to fish it and also not sell it - not selling it is easy because it was a promise but fishing it
is a problem .... it is not the best of rods and I do not get out enough so I always find myself wanting to use something else but it does see water once in a
while. All my early rods were glass (an Abu Lapplandia
 ) and then
went through a lot of graphites - Loomis (exploded), various RPL Sage's (sold), Powell Tiboron (sold) and ended up with a 9'6" Scott G series
Powerply 5wt and a Sage LL279 which I still have but never use.
First bamboo that I bought - tbh I cannot remember, I went through a lot of lower end mostly European rods without finding anything really worth keeping but that was in the early days of ebay and sensible postal costs for long length parcels so swapping stuff around was easy so I tried lots of rods - mostly trying to move up in 'quality' as I went. The first one that I knew I would keep was an old Leonard 'The Enz' - it is the European market equivalent of a 51DF - that I found on ebay in France. The first rod I actually had made for 'me' was ordered from Mike & Kathy at South Creek, but the first one I actually received came from Tom Moran. I have pretty well stopped buying now, I do have a couple of rods on order and they will replace one's that I have and that's me pretty well done, but I still 'look'. I also have my Grandfather's rod - a very old leather handled 'multi purpose' fly rod from Cummings of Bishop Auckland that casts like a telegraph pole with a hinge or three in it and I am fairly sure came to him second hand (probably from my Great Grandfather but I cannot be sure) and keep having a restoration put off because it has about 200 wraps and short tips and mid with 'DIY' repairs but (more importantly to me) still has Trout scales on the handle from the last time he took it our (about 1930) and I do not believe that it would be the 'same' rod with new varnish, etc. My Uncle's light spinning rod (also from Cummings) and my Father's first reel (Beaudex) are also here in safe keeping, both were bought for them as birthday presents by my Grandfather way back when they left school, all have been 'well used'.
Last Edited By: Ken M 44 05/22/09 05:53:54.
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Horsesho |
#20 | |||
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Posts: 4 05/22/09 20:29:49 |
8' Orvis Nymph rod, I bought it around 1973 while in High School. Never liked the rod and traded it in the early 1990's.
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Add Reply
- The Crackerbarrel
- Classic Fly Reels
- General discussion forum
- FE Thomas Rods
- Edwards Family Rods
- Granger Rod Co. Rods
- Cross Rod Co.
- Wright and McGill Co. Rods
- South Bend Rod Co.
- Orvis Co. Rods
- Link to Orvis Database by Greg Reynolds
- Montague Rod & Reel Co.
- James Heddon & Sons Rods
- Horrocks-Ibbotson Rods
- Phillipson Rod Co. Rods
- Uslan Rods
- E.F. Payne Rod Co.
- H. W. Hawes Rods
- Dickerson Rods
- Paul H. Young Rod Co.
- Sewell N. Dunton & Son Rod Co.
- Link to EC Powell's Mechanics of fly casting
- Link to the Dan Brennan article
- Photography
Quick Reply
I recommend that you run like the wind away from this place, perhaps into your spouse's arms and tell them you have looked the devil himself square in the eyes. Tell them that those eyes were deep, and black, and close together and for a moment, maybe just a split second, you were tempted; in fact, very tempted to hang with the devil and his hexagonal carrying ilk until a brave soul, name of "fishnbanjo", broke with the devils ranks and pointed you in the direction of salvation, saying "Do not come down this cursed split cane path again, for it has the power to drain you of all your earthly wealth and perhaps even your soul". So hold on tight my child, they may be your only hope, for the power of the split cane is strong and has lured many a good person to it with its cachet.........
