Vintage Fly Rod

[Oliver.Luedtke]

I was looking in my grandpas garage and stumbled across a very old canvas rod case. I pulled it out of the corner and brushed the dust off. It is a very old Montague Sunbeam bamboo fly rod and is in very nice condition. It has no information about the rod besides the Montague Sunbeam sticker and it does not look high end by any means. I was wondering if someone knows what wt the rod is and possibly how old it may be. Some information about the intended use would by great as well. I know this is a long shot but thank you.

 

[dirty dog]

Do a google search.
I have a couple of old bamboo rods that are wall hangers and with a little search I was able to find mine were mass produced and inexpensive.
Both of mine were well used and I can still feel the mogo while they hang on my wall.

 

[Tim L]

Should be plenty on eBay for comparison as well. Like H&I, Montague was generally mid century mid range. If intact you can also hit the water with it and enjoy that way. Nice part about those is they're generally good quality but you're not destroying any real collectible value by taking it out. And they look plenty cool if it ends up on the wall. Montague and Horrocks-Ibbotson should price out similarly, worth something but not a lot.

Careful if you use it a bit. Rod will be fine but, from experience, your arm may not like you. I developed tennis elbow from mine 15 or 20 years ago.

 

[Greg Armstrong]

You may want to give a shout out to “Montyman” over on the classic forum.

I learned from him that a Montague rod I had was one of the higher end models that had some influence by a guy named Varney they had apparently consulted and worked with way back in the day. Your Sunbeam model may or may not fall into that category, but it’s kind of fun to do the research to find out. Montague was a high production outfit that produced thousands of bamboo rods over the years.

 

[Mossback]

Value of Montague Sunbeam 9' bamboo fly rod - The Classic Fly Rod Forum

 

[Oliver.Luedtke]

Would I be able to catch a salmon or steelhead this summer on a 6wt - 7wt bamboo fly rod? Or would it easily break the rod. Am I better off using my 8wt performance rod?

 

[dirty dog]

Would I be able to catch a salmon or steelhead this summer on a 6wt - 7wt bamboo fly rod? Or would it easily break the rod. Am I better off using my 8wt performance rod?

It's just me and MHO
I would not use the rod for fishing.
It is a treasure to be displayed, esp. if there is a reel that went with it.

 

[PhilR]

It really depends on the condition of the rod, and what you want to do. Do you want to feel a connection to your grampa, and use the rod that he used? If so, I'd take it out and fish it if there are no issues with the rod itself. I regularly fish Montys of this vintage. I wouldn't use it for salmon or steelhead, but it would be a good rod for bass or large trout.

You could also display it, and maybe get some stories from your grandfather to go along with it.

I'd echo Greg's suggestion to go over to the classic fly rod forum. With pictures, they'll be able to tell you everything you could want to know about the rod.

 

[Lue Taylor]

Check the rod for any separation of the bamboo, you could put a couple coats of tru-oil on it, most of those rods if fished will have what they called a set, (the tip section may have a curve in it from catching fish), I would fish it you can find those rods under $200 sometimes lot less at garage sales. As Tim said hard on you arm casting all day long.

 

[Cliff]

You may or may not encounter Montague haters on the Classic Fly Rod forum, they are not considered a very collectable rod, or even a very good rod, but don't let that sway you. I have a nephew who bought a Montague (don't know which model) and it casts very well. Have fun with it.