# Value of antique fly rods



## Johns0902

Hi guys, i have 2 fly rods that were passes down in the family. one is a Abercrombie & Fitch, and the other says wilson on it. i am guessing that they are from the 1940's from what the family has told me. can anybody point me in the right direction to find out what they are worth? they have been sitting in my closet for 20 years, and i just curious. thanks in advance for the help.


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## River Rambler

I would guess a nice penny....especially the abercrombie considering the orgin of the retail giant.

I would recommend getting as much info online as possible then try to go to the Antiques Roadshow next time they are in Atl....which is pretty regularly.

Also, hit up the guys on NGTO.ORG 
Some of those guys would know.


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## River Rambler

Took me 10 seconds to see one sold on ebay for 766.


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## CAL

A friend sold one on ebay for 1500.00.Don't know the brand,probably had a lots to do with it.I have my Dad's bambo rod with a brass flyreel on it.


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## shakey gizzard

Some of the "not so old" glass rods are also becoming quite collectable!


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## injun joe

Man, when the steel rods come back in vogue, I'm in Fat City!


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## centerpin fan

The worth of old bamboo rods varies a lot, depending on the builder.  If you have one built by Leonard or Garrison, it's probably worth a small fortune.

You could email Bill Oyster.  He's a very respected local bamboo rod builder.  He might be able to give you an estimate of its worth. 

http://www.oysterbamboo.com/


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## kenmorrow

Go to http://www.rodguild.com and ask those fellas.  They know their stuff when it comes to split cane fly rods.  Multiple opinions is the way to go.  But I will say this...

In most cases, store brands are not nearly as valuable as custom rod makers' rods.  By the 1940s, store brand rods were almost being "mass produced" in relative terms of bamboo fly rods.  So were some rods bearing the names of some custom rod makers.  What that means is they had large shops full of semi-skilled laborers finishing rods, splitting cane, and curing blanks.  The skilled apprentices planed blanks, crafted the grips and reel seats, ferruled the blanks, etc.  The goal became to turn out X number of rods per day, not to make the finest rod possible regardless of how long it took.  The rods made by the hands of the masters and bearing their personal signatures (or from a specific series or model that we know they hand-crafted) can be quite valuable, often selling for $5000-25000 if they are in mint or excellent original condition.


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## fishndoc

Abercrombie and Fitch did not make rods themselves, but put their name on other manufacturers rods.  Many where made by H&I, and are not worth much.  Some by Phillipson, which are worth more and are probably very good rods.  A few were also made by Jim Payne, and are valuable.

Ken gave you the link for rodguild, when you post there include as much info as possible on the rod:  number of sections and lengths, color of the wraps, everything written on  the rod, and even the description of the rod tube and sock if you have it.


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## Johns0902

thanks guys i will give it a try.


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## Dr. Strangelove

Any info on yours? I have an old bamboo fly rod that belonged to my grandfather, I just posted it's info and some pics on The Classic Fly Rod Forum http://classicflyrodforum.com/directory, maybe I'll get some info there.


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