My son was cleaning out the crawl space of a vacant house and found a wooden box with a bamboo fly rod in it.  It has a tag on the handle that says "Vicki", and a crown on the tag as well.  At the bottom is the word "Japan".  In the box are a butt and middle section and three different tips.  There is also an assortment of flys.  I would say it was never used and it appears to have been sold as a kit.

I cleaned the mold and mildew off of it but the wraps are coming loose on the guides.  The cork handle is in good shape and except for on very small crack in the bamboo it looks to be sound.  

I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about it.  I think it may be an inexpensive kit, but you never know.

did you google it?

I can tell you one thing because I have several bamboo rods---the worst place for it is in the attic and basement.  The extreme temps and moisture make it brittle which could be why the wraps are failing.

I suggest bringing it to a fly shop and ask them to examine the cond of the rod.

Great find!!!

Finding stuff in the attic is always great!

Value shouldnt be the only factor impacting your enjoyment of the item though:) That being said, Japanese bamboo fly rods were mass produced and sold after the war. Many were purchased by GI's. They often came in boxes with flies, line and rod. No one is really sure how many were made but it was a lot. Many of them were also poorly made and poor quality. The average values with the boxes in good condition would be under 100$. The names of the brands are varied.

Now there ARE handcrafted japanese rods that have a premium. But they probably dont have a made in japan stamp on them.

Hope this helps. Still a cool find though. But unless its sentimental or you can do it yourself, a repair may not be worth it.

Vic

Out of curiosity, I just checked Ebay and there are some sets there to compare yours to.  Search for Japan Bamboo Fly Rod.

Vic