I just got an old Montague bamboo fly rod, is missing most of the guides. I want to rebuild it, and recoat the entire rod. What epoxy should I use to coat the bamboo with?

I don't think you would want to use epoxy, I would suggest PermaGloss or something like that. Epoxy would be adding way too much weight to the rod.

You should first remove all the old finish and then redo with either varnish (old school) or outdoor polyurethane

Ken has some great "how to's" on his website.
just google it.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Thank you for the info i will check out kens site

I've been exploring the many uses for Tru-Oil and came across a thread where use of Tru-Oil as a finish on bamboo rods was discussed.

Jeff

Use a citrus stripper to take the old varnish off, you can get it at Lowes or Home Depot. Use 3 coats of Tru Oil to refish it(very thin rubbed on coats). Then rewrap and coat the wraps with either varnish or Permagloss.

I have not tried it but have heard that some will dip the stripped blanks into a pvc tube filled with spar varnish. Then hang to dry. Any one tried this method?

A dipping tube is the traditional method of applying a finish to bamboo rods. The rod is lowered in and extracted VERY slowly then suspended to cure (dry).