When someone gives you wood, it's polite to say thank you

Tom inherited a grip of bamboo and graphite rods from his father, and he decided that yours truly should share in the wealth, so he sent me this:

His letter said it is a Montague, which Google told me manufactured bamboo rods in mass from ~1900-1955. That is the extent of my knowledge about this piece, as there are no markings whatsoever on the rod, and you can see whats left of the sticker on the sock.

The model and line weight is unknown to me. The butt section is salmon-rod stiff but when put together it is nine feet of overcooked noodle. I assume this is about par for the course, but I have absolutely no experience with bamboo.Are there any big wood brainiacs out there who knows anything else about this rod?

I suppose the only thing to do is slap a four weight line on it, turn on the juice and see what shakes loose and try not to break the damn thing. I just have to remember to look over my shoulder when I get to the water, I don't think I would want to get branded a 'bamboo guy' this early in my career.


-Alex who is trying very hard to refrain from adding a nine-feet-of-wood joke.