I just picked up a Bamboo Fly rod set with 3 different tips in a wood box at an estate sale. Looks llike it's nver been used It has N.F.T. on the box and made by Nippon Tackel Works. I would appreciate any info on this set. I do not know anything about vinatge Bamboo. Looks like it eas a expensive unit at one time. I can e mail you photos to identify if needed. Thanks Les

Most Japanese fly rods are not worth carrying home. Since this says Nippon it might be worth something as a collectors item? Would be worth more if it said occupied Japan.

It's a novelty more than anything else. In good shape these can be worth up to $100, but that's the high end. They make nice decorations for your tackleroom if nothing else. A few people I know have used theirs to actually fish with. I shouldn't be surprised, since this is what they were made for to begin with.

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Yep, mostly a novelty. Servicemen after the war (WWII and Korea) used to buy these and send them home to fathers and brothers. They were very inexpensive, made in Japan (obviously), included the balsa wood boxes and I see them all the time in unused condition. The earlier post is right; they can sell for $100 to $150 if you find the right buyer. They do fish well enough as long as you make sure the ferrules are tight (the glue used can harden over the years and come loose; a little heat or reseating the ferrule will solve the problem). The reel seats are cheap but will work and the thread work is usually decent enough. They are pretty average quality bamboo and some seem to be much better than others. They come in a variety of shades from very light bamboo to an almost dark red and even black enamel. I sold one really pristine set last year for $175; it still had plastic on the cork handle and the brand new rod bag that came with it over 50 years ago.

Just thought I'd add my .02

I have one of those WWII Japanese rods that aren't worth much. It was made by some company in Osaka and came with some flies and what not and made by an off-brand company.

N.F.T. is a big-name Japanese fishing rod maker that still makes rods today. The fact that it came in a wooden box makes me agree with the above that it probably falls under the WWII not worth a whole lot area. If it is a combination spin/fly rod, then it would most likely be in this catagory.

However, I haven't seen one of these cheaper rods made by N.F.T. yet. If all three tips are fly rod tips, then I would have to say that it is probably a very fishable rod. If they are all fly rod tips, then it wouldn't really surprise me, as many models of Japanese rods come with two or more tips so you can change the tip and have a different action of rod, even some Daiwa's are still made this way. While I don't own any N.F.T. rods due to my preferences to Shimano and Daiwa, they still make very good quality stuff.

If you want to get into bamboo building and restoration, these rods are great to practice on before you get a REALLY quality rod to refinish (plus, you'll have a couple of dandy bamboo sticks to play with!). You can rebuild a nine footer and turn it into a six foot "banty rod" by dropping the butt end and building on the mid and tip sections. Also, some of these rods doubled as a spinning or casting rod, with a reversible handle/reel seat. Again, drop the reversible handle and start building on the shortened butt end, I know...you have an oddly situated ferrule, but so what? It doesn't affect the casting action any more than the reversible handle did. Just because they aren't top shelf, collectable bamboo rods doesn't mean they won't fish well for you after you are done fixing them up! And frankly, the fish don't care either!

Tight Lines,

Tim

Since N.F.T. is still in business, why don't you contact them and get thier opinion on the value of this rod? Then at least you will have a bit more information, if not a genuine (true?) answer. Ralph

I said that wrong. I meant an answer from the manufacturer.