ive got an old 50's south bend bamboo rod that im thinking of coverting into a drifting rod for rainbows. i just dont know if its worth it to strip down and make it happen. the action is awsome for what i want. if anybody has a bit of input that would be great im on the fence here

bry

I've re-done a few of those as fly rods.
On all of mine, reel seats and grips were pretty bad. I just used the blanks. It's easy to scrape of the old varnish, using a razor blade, held at a little more than 90 degrees. Coat with Permagloss.
Take a look at your ferrules. If they are damaged, you will have a difficult time finding South Bend replacements, especially in an 11/64ths male, although you may find some current metal ferrules that can work, with some mods to existing ferrule stations
Splits in the bamboo strips are easy to fix with Titebond 3. Spread the strips with straight pins or sewing needles; apply glue; remove pins, and wrap with thread, until dry.
"Warps" or sets in the bamboo sections can be removed with careful application of heat (I like a heat gun on low setting--be careful) and bending in opposite direction of warp.
These can be fun projects, as long as you realize that even a very well made bamboo rod will not have the performance of graphite, and it will be considerably heavier, as well.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO

im not really concerned about performance i usually drift with a float so i dont have to feel a bite. will it hold up to a couple hundred frisky rainbows a year?

bamboo is very durable; I would imagine it'll do just fine. One of mine was used for 30 years to soak minnows to catch northern pike and walleye, before I reclaimed it, straightened it out, and turned it back into a 5wt. trout stick.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2012 11:18PM by George Forster.

thanks man ill let ya know how its comin along

Good luck. Feel free to contact me via e-mail, if you need help, have questions, etc.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO