Heddon Bamboo

[Faststeel]

Lads

just got gifted the mother lode of 60's fly fishing gear, rods reeels lines and more flies than you can shake a stick at
Lots of man cave items and lots of good gear.

Included in all of this is 4 piece Heddon 9 foot fly rod with the original cloth case and aluminum tube. Marking on the rod is 125 Expert 3F G B G or C. any of you fellows have an accurate idea what this bamboo beauty is worth..?

Thanks FS

[Lornce]

I have seen them priced for $20 to $500 depending on the condition and if they also had their original rod sock, paperwork, and tube. Lots of variables as far as the model goes. The shorter versions (7.5' - 8') tend to sell for more than the 9' version.

[pipco]

Sweet.

I'd agree with LorneC but would guess a little more than his lowest estimate of $20 unless it's a real beater.

$100-$500

As Lorne pointed out it really depends on condition of rod. (Ferrules , guides, wraps , cork, hardware, finish, original sock, tube, etc.)

Have you fished it?

I picked up a Heddon Black Beauty 3/2- 9' in good condition a couple years ago on ebay for a very reasonable price and have been using it for the past few weeks.



If you're really curious take a few photos and ask someone on this forum.

www.classicflyrodforum.com

Lots of very knowledgeable guys that may have a more specific answer for you.

Stan

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by pipco

Sweet.

I'd agree with LorneC but would guess a little more than his lowest estimate of $20 unless it's a real beater.

$100-$500

As Lorne pointed out it really depends on condition of rod. (Ferrules , guides, wraps , cork, hardware, finish, original sock, tube, etc.)

Have you fished it?

I picked up a Heddon Black Beauty 3/2- 9' in good condition a couple years ago on ebay for a very reasonable price and have been using it for the past few weeks.



If you're really curious take a few photos and ask someone on this forum.

www.classicflyrodforum.com

Lots of very knowledgeable guys that may have a more specific answer for you.

Stan

Thanks Stan, the Rod has the original bag and tube and looks to be damn close to Minty.

[pipco]

Originally Posted by Faststeel

Thanks Stan, the Rod has the original bag and tube and looks to be damn close to Minty.

Cool. It should be worth a few dollars then.

Are you considering selling or keeping to fish?



Here's another couple sites that sell used rods.


http://www.ricksrods.com/bamboo.asp

http://www.customrodsmith.com

[kilgoretrout]

Sounds like a find ....... a 9 ft 3/2 Black Beauty is there any set to either of the tips? They are a lot rarer north of the border than south although it would fetch more in the US as there are a lot more Bamboo Aficionados than there are in Canada same goes with the Granger's etc,,,, which are rare north of the 49th... all we tend to see are Montague's and Hardy's and usually of Salmon fishing lengths ..... I say line and fish it like it deserves .......

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by pipco

Cool. It should be worth a few dollars then.

Are you considering selling or keeping to fish?



Here's another couple sites that sell used rods.


http://www.ricksrods.com/bamboo.asp

http://www.customrodsmith.com

Thank you sir, I am interested in selling it to a fisher person who will know its fish ability
I am unable to physically work a fly rod any more.....FS

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by kilgoretrout

Sounds like a find ....... a 9 ft 3/2 Black Beauty is there any set to either of the tips? They are a lot rarer north of the border than south although it would fetch more in the US as there are a lot more Bamboo Aficionados than there are in Canada same goes with the Granger's etc,,,, which are rare north of the 49th... all we tend to see are Montague's and Hardy's and usually of Salmon fishing lengths ..... I say line and fish it like it deserves .......

My find came with 15 reels, unopened boxes of Scientific anglers fly lines, Aircel, wetcel & Supreme priced at $21.95 how much are they now..? hundreds and hundreds of flies, loads of back lines piles of tipits. Much of it in an original 747 tackle box.......FS

[kilgoretrout]

Sounds like a reasonable score .... the NOS lines are not worth a lot fishing wise although if they have not gone brittle and cracked you could likely 10-15 bucks a line locally if you put them on kijiji .... as for the reels it depends on what they are old Hardy's could command a decent dollar. old SA's were made by Hardy and are great reels but would be considerably less, old Pflueger's have some worth to guys who like to pair them up with old bamboo rods but not nearly what Hardy's would be worth.... I would be curious to see some pics of both your reels and of course the Black Beauty Here's a pic of one I scored a few years back Hardy Palakona #5 001.jpg (64.7 KB) complete with an older Hardy ..... its a wonderful dry fly rod not to quick and not to slow

[Faststeel]

Originally Posted by kilgoretrout

Sounds like a reasonable score .... the NOS lines are not worth a lot fishing wise although if they have not gone brittle and cracked you could likely 10-15 bucks a line locally if you put them on kijiji .... as for the reels it depends on what they are old Hardy's could command a decent dollar. old SA's were made by Hardy and are great reels but would be considerably less, old Pflueger's have some worth to guys who like to pair them up with old bamboo rods but not nearly what Hardy's would be worth.... I would be curious to see some pics of both your reels and of course the Black Beauty Here's a pic of one I scored a few years back Hardy Palakona #5 001.jpg (64.7 KB) complete with an older Hardy ..... its a wonderful dry fly rod not to quick and not to slow

No old Hardy's, some Marten automatics, a Mitchell automatic model 710.Couple DAM Quick spinning reels, one very large one and one smaller one, a 6000 Abu Garcia 6000 with the case and the original parts kit leather case is in fair condiion. Some Intrpid reeels, a couple of Strike Right british reels, and several 100 well tied flies..... FS

[Ronbill]

I have owned and restored several Heddon bamboo rods over the past 20 years a can tell you there are many factors you need to consider in understanding the value of the rod.
Most Heddon rods were mass produced and came in several grades that differed in initial cost. Models from #8 to the #17 Black Beauty are lower grade rods made from lesser quality components and from several culms of bamboo, by several factory Staff. In contrast, the upper grades #20, #35, #50 and #60 were made by a single individual in the factory using select bamboo and better components. As a result fewer high-grade rods were produced and collectibility and higher value in today's market reflect this.

As for the model #125 that was a one of two models (the other being #115) made exclusively for Sears and these rods were more of a lower grade rod that were mass produced. Unfortunately the #125 rods suffer some issues (common in models #17 and lower) with how the factory installed the metal ferrules. This has resulted in breakage below the ferrule being common.
Quite frankly the #125 is not a highly collectible/desirable rod, but many guys still fish them.

The other factor is that your rod is a 9' rod which is less desirable these days compared to shorter rods. 9' was the standard rod length back in day so they are super common and thus of lower value now.

Related to this is the fact that your rod is a 3F G B G or C. The 3F means a #3 ferrule rod, thus a 22/64 butt/mid ferrule and a 13/64 mid/tip ferrule was used on this 3 piece rod. This is on the larger size of ferrules used by Heddon. A #3 ferrule yields a heavier and stiffer rod designed for higher line weights and Heddon described this as their Heavy Duty rod.

The GBG roughly translates to a 8wt DT line and the C translates to a 7wt level line. So again very heavy line weights more suited to large bass, pike etc rather than trout.
The ferrule size and line weight are another factor that will reduce desirability of the rod as again heavy rods are not attractive to most fly fishers these days.
Beyond this you need to look at varnish condition and whether all the guides are in place, whether the original sock and tube are present etc etc. to understand true value in today's market.

If you want more info send me a PM and I could tell you what other rods Heddon rods have sold for recently.

Cheers,
Ron

[flyrodfisher]

great info Ronbill!!!