cork handle

Question
my friend has this rod, 3/2 bamboo  9ft, red reel seat. the cork handle has a spot cut out for your thumb. the only thing else is it came in a red cardboard tube, i thought it might have been a south bend.?.?.? i can't seam to find this rod listed anywhere, although i have seen one or two on ebay, but remember the make. can you help?

Answer
Barry,

Sounds like you may be looking at a 1997 edition of the price guide.  The latest is a 2003 edition and reflects slightly higher values for South Bend.

Also, consider that the guides are out of date when they are actually printed and that the latest edition is 7 yeras old, so you need to factor in something for inflation.  I usually take the guide values and increase them from 20% to 30% depending on maker to arrive at a reasonable value for today.  I tend to temper those values based on my experience and knowledge from dealing in bamboo rods and doing restoration work on vintage rods for many years.

You can probably be fairly safe in assuming the current value of the rod is about 25% higher than what is shown in the guides.

Thanks,  Joe

Hi Barry,

It sounds like it could be a South Bend.  The cutout could be the "Comficient" thumb rest used on many of their rods.  The red reel seat is a good clue; if it tightens up on the reel foot by turning the end cap, then it is almost surely a South Bend rod.

There should be a model number written on the butt section just above the handle.  Also, if the original label is still on the tube, it should have the modle number on it as well.

Thanks,  Joe