I am new to fiberglass fly rods, so please excuse my lack of knowledge. I would like to try my hand at repairing/rebuilding rods, but I don't want to invest much in the beginning. With this in mind, I went to a junk store today and bought 4 beat-up old rods for about $3 each (a total of $12). I plan to practice repairing these so I won't risk damaging anything of real value. I am including photos of a rod I had assumed was graphite or some similar material because of the way it looks. However, when I look for information about the rod (True Temper 805, 7-1/2 ft, 2-piece, Custom Build Eight-[something unreadable], 6-wt), I only see mention of fiberglass rods. The rod appears black to my eyes. It is
very limber, and I think I may enjoy fishing with it after replacing some of the guides.
So here is my question: How can I tell if this (or any other) rod is fiberglass?
Best wishes
After reading the comments, I took some new close-up images that I believe will show the rod is made from gray fiberglass with paint on top, as follows:
Best wishes.
Mitch