Antique Fly rod Restoration

My wife's father owned a fly rod she now cherishes. I resided to restore it because they do not make then like that any more. It was made by what appears to be South Bend. When I first started I believed it was Split Bamboo but discovered in removing the old Varnish it was not Bamboo. This Rod is made of wood that looks like Rosewood or Mahogany and the Grain is so tight it becomes almost invisible . It is a 3 section rod with a extra top section and in a yellowed Cotton sack with cloth ties . It may be from 50 to 80 years old, the Wife is 67 and her Father had it as long as she can remember... Assembled it is 8 1/2 feet long!! Close to the Cork Handle there is a number 359- 81/2 ----- my question is --- is this a 3 weight Fly Rod

http://oysterbamboo.com/

Contact Bill Oyster. He's an expert! He can probably tell you what you have and guide you to restoration.


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Originally Posted by Fish on Line

My wife's father owned a fly rod she now cherishes. I resided to restore it because they do not make then like that any more. It was made by what appears to be South Bend. When I first started I believed it was Split Bamboo but discovered in removing the old Varnish it was not Bamboo. This Rod is made of wood that looks like Rosewood or Mahogany and the Grain is so tight it becomes almost invisible . It is a 3 section rod with a extra top section and in a yellowed Cotton sack with cloth ties . It may be from 50 to 80 years old, the Wife is 67 and her Father had it as long as she can remember... Assembled it is 8 1/2 feet long!! Close to the Cork Handle there is a number 359- 81/2 ----- my question is --- is this a 3 weight Fly Rod

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It's bamboo, and it's a 5 or 6wt (depending on who you ask.)

There are several threads about them on the classic fly rod forum:

The Classic Fly Rod Forum • SouthBend 359 8 1\2ft.

The Classic Fly Rod Forum • South Bend rod

The Classic Fly Rod Forum • Are all South Bends equal ?

I Googled South Bend Fly rods for lots of reading. It said the first numbers told what type Rod it was and the last numbers was the Length .... with 3 numbers it was made for dry Fly Casting. The first number was how many sections.. --- if the pole only has two first numbers it was built for Bass and Trout. The pictures were excellent of the Bamboo rods and the Texture could be easily seen but they just don't look the same.. I think you for your help guys.

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Originally Posted by Fish on Line

I Googled South Bend Fly rods for lots of reading.

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I Googled "south bend 359 81/2" and found the links above. That forum is the place to be for info on older fly rods.

Thanks for those Links for such good information regarding these Classic Bamboo Rods. Now that I know that Silk thread was used on the Guides those loose threads will not be removed for new thread but will carefully be wrapped back in place and sealed again. with this Rod having the Brown reel seat I believe it was made in the 50s as this rod was apparently Flamed for this darker color to look so much like wood instead of Bamboo... wished I knew more of the process used in making these Rods that keeps the old bamboo from separating and coming apart like happens with Antique Furniture

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Originally Posted by Fish on Line

... wished I knew more of the process used in making these Rods that keeps the old bamboo from separating and coming apart like happens with Antique Furniture

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Join the forum and ask questions. They have a sub-forum devoted to restoring and repairing rods:

The Classic Fly Rod Forum • Rod making, restoration, repairs and discussion on those related topics concerning bamboo rods.

They did not rate rod weights with numbers when that rod was made. Rod weight was with a letter such as c weight. I do not remember ever seeing a 3 weight cane rod from that period. Most cane flyrods started in the 5 - 6 weight and higher. This is how we would call them by todays standard.I guess it was in the late 60s early 70s we started with the number system as the standard for line-rod weight.