In this article, we will show you some of what can be accomplished with a bamboo fly rod restoration.

This example is a Wright & McGill: Granger Victory, which our customer inherited from his grandfather. 

To prepare for the project, the entire fly rod was stripped of its guides, thread wraps, and finish and a significant set was taken out of one tip (it had been stored leaning in a corner at some point in it’s history).

Next, all 5 ferrule pieces were removed, re-fit to each other, polished and re-set on the blank.

The handle was lightly cleaned of years of accumulated dirt.

The reel seat, which was loose, was polished and re-attached.

The new guides were prepared, and wrapped in the customer’s color choice, although the original thread is still available if it had been needed.  The guides chosen were one size larger than what they replaced so as to accommodate modern fly lines (this rod had been built during the days of silk lines).

We keep a very full shop schedule so repair work is often fit into small openings of time, often only an hour or two, that pop up on a regular basis.  This allows us to keep productive, and reduces the amount of time needed to complete repairs and restorations.

All of the work noted above was completed, and the fly rod back in our customer’s hands in less than 6 weeks.  Shortly thereafter we received the following e-mail:

"Hey Jason,

Just wanted to thank you for the beautiful restoration job on my grandfather’s Granger Victory.  It looks incredible and casts a beautiful flowing full loop.  The last time I was this excited I was doing something illegal.  Hope to see you on the water someday soon!  Thanks again!!

Jamie C."

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