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Walker Bampton fly rod.
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:04 am
by Troutmaddave
Just a question about a cane rod. Does anyone have an opinion about Walket Bampton split cane rods
Any thoughts would be great as there is one on "o-bay" that I am watching. It is 8' and casts a #5 line.
Cheers
Dave
Re: Walker Bampton fly rod.
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 4:57 pm
by Smuggler
I haven't heard of the quality of their rods. I know some of the reels from the turn if the century they made are collectible though.
Re: Walker Bampton fly rod.
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 7:39 pm
by Mataura mayfly
I only have one Walker Bampton, it is a beast of a 10' 3 piece with a tip as heafty as most American cane mid sections!
Quality is up there, nothing to snub, up there with the mass produced Hardy rods of the day. Good fittings and adornments, quality hardware (although normally brass- so depends on how it has been cared for).
I could be wrong, but I think they were still making rods up until the 1960's- some of these were lighter line two piece rods and most commonly had only the one tip (no spare) and they may have had aluminium reel seats.
If it is 8', casts a #5 weight, suits your purposes and you are happy with the condition, buy it. Just buy it with a right of return if you can. Hard to tell from "bay" photos if there is water damage to the cane, splits, delaminations, hook strikes....... and other potentially terminal defects.
Remember you could be bidding on a rod nearing 100 years old- how has it been cared for and looked after all those years?
You might find it has been in a roof space or garden shed for the last 40 odd years........