Hi all, Ive been Collecting fly rods for about a year now and (dont laugh) Ive managed to reach just under 50 rods in total. Some I have obtained from vintage and antique stores. And some I have purchased from Ebay. Most of my rods are fiberglass, however I think I have 5 or 6 graphite rods mixed in. Most of my rods I would consider nice rods. I do have a few that need some minor repairs; an eye missing, thread binding is starting to come loose or the cork hand grip is in need of patching. Which I should ask; is a darkened cork handle considered a valued petina, or would it be acceptable to lightly clean and somewhat lighten any coloration? Sometime hopefully in the near future I hope to obtain a bench rig to do any repairs and associated vintage materials as I come across them. All of my rods fall between 7'-0" to 9'-6", and 2 piece [accept for a few]. The makers vary from a few; HI's, Wright & Mcgill, South Bend, True Value, Sears, and a couple with no name. The bulk of my rods are; Wonderods [in many variations, I prob. have 7 or 8], St. Croix's, Sila Flex, Browning, Garcia, Fenwick, and I know Im forgetting some. Most of them are in very good and some mint condition. Anyhow, I never really had a mentor to guide me in what to buy. I like quality vintage everything, and was pretty picky in my choices. All that being said, I dont have much of a guide to go buy in what stays or goes other than probably wanting to hang on to the St. Croix's, Fenwick's, and Browning's because I am aware of their quality and reliability. After that all Ive got is I like the way it looks or feels. I would also like to note that, in all my rods in transit I only had 1 casualty. I was in Atlanta going to school for my company and found a big vintage store. I found 1 rod. All of the name and model had been worn off accept for the Garcia. it was a very light, brown, 8'-6" rod. I new it was at least a Garcia and got it for $20 and spent $25 to ship it home to Spokane [in heavy cardboard tube]. It arrived and very sadly the tube was flattened. When I opened it the cork was in crumbles, the glass was smashed into splayed fibers, and the aluminum reel seat was flattened as well! I still have the poor thing in the corner. This was shipped USPS by the way. I later went online, and because of several features [namely the color and type of ferrule like an aluminum post on one end] I was able to identify it as a Garcia Colonon 5 star, I wept! So If yall have advice on what to look for when Im separating the keepers please lay it on me. If you want I could even take some photos.
Thanks,
Canton
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