5-6 weight bamboo fly rods

Question
I'm trying to find a decent 5 or 6 weight bamboo rod on ebay...looks like Montague, Horrocks-Ibbotson, and South Bend are going to be my choices in my budget range...so...how do you know, based on model, whether a bamboo fly rod is a 5 or 6 weight?...or can you give me some suggestions in these three brands what models are 5-6 weight?...or are these even worth my time...even for an  entry level bamboo fly fisher (but not entry level fly fisherman)...thanks

Answer
Hi John,

Interesting question.  Thanks for asking.

Montague, H-I and South Bend are all mass production rods of typically average quality.  Each of these makers did have rods that turned out better than average and even some really nice casting rods.  It's a bit like finding a Prince as you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find one.  You can expect these rods to weigh in at 2-3 times the modern graphite rod.

Examples of the high end H-I rods would be the Old Hi's High Test, Chancellor, Cunningham, Vernley and maybe a couple of others.  I have an old Cascade and a Spinner that belonged to my dad that are sort of medium quality but do OK for fishing.

Examples of high end Montague rods would be the Powr-Built series, Mantou, RedWing and maybe a couple of others.  I have a couple of mid-level rods like Rapidan and Flash that are OK for fishing.

Examples of the high end South Bend rods would be the 51, 53, 24, 323, 47, 346 and maybe a couple of others.  The models with a "3" in front of the actual model number...like the 346 which is a model 46...are dry fly models and have more delicate tips.

In general, most of the bamboo rods from these providers are going to be in the 6wt-7wt range...especially the longer rods 8.5-9 feet.  Some of the shorter rods 7-8 feet may be able to handle a 5wt fairly well and would definitely toss a 6wt with no problems.  If you can only afford a lower grade rod from one of these makers, it will almost certainly be a 7wt rod.  The designated dry fly models from South Bend might handle a 5wt but probably will be 6wt.

Other than having to buy a 7wt line, there shouldn't be any real inconvenience to owning and using a 7wt rod.  You will find the "action" on bamboo to be somewhat slower and more forgiving and much more fun to cast, in my opinion.  Once you hook a fish on bamboo, you won't want to go back to those new plastic rods.  We all use plastic rods these days, but they just don't have the same feel as bamboo.

By the way, it is possible, using the proper tapers, to produce bamboo fly rods in all the "actions" from slow to ultra fast.

There are lots of choices as these three suppliers made lots of different models plus they made lots of private label rods that were sold all over the place.  If you are at all handy, you can find some real bargains in these brands and do some restoring to make a nice rod for fishing.  It won't have much collector value, but will cast reasonably well and catch fish.

I actually got started in rod building by buying up flea market bamboo rods and restoring them.  It's a lot of fun.  No real money in it, but lots of fun.  If you opt for a do-it-yourself project, send me an email at [email protected] and I'll help you through the steps to restore the rod.

There are some new companies today selling bamboo fly rods built on blanks imported from China.  Some are good, some not so good.  They all use classic tapers developed by the great names in bamboo rod building and produce some nice 3wt, 4wt and 5wt rods.  These are a bit more expensive than auction special prices, but not as much as the high quality vintage rods.  Send me a private email and I'll provide you with the name of one of the companies that I know to sell better quality rods.

Thanks,  Joe