So what did I buy?

[fisherman911]

This could be a cautionary tale about why you should not surf eBay after drinking a couple of glasses of wine. This rod came up with a very low buy-it-now price. The pictures weren't very good but what attracted me was that all sections seemed to be full length, the ferrules seemed to be good quality, there were a lot of guides, a nice tip tube with a tube bag, and a lot of intermediate wraps. This rod is 9' with 12 small English twist guides, 108 intermediates plus the signature wraps and 16/10 ferrules with four lines incised at the base. The grip is 5". There are no markings as to maker anywhere on the rod. The ferrules are half pinned. The stripping guide is a snake. Under the numerous coats of poorly applied varnish the wraps seem to be a Olive/black twist tipped yellow with yellow intermediates but we will see. None of the guides seem to be rusted. After some basic cleaning the ferrule fit is OK but at least the mid female is loose to the cane. When assembled it is very straight and has a soft full flexing action, maybe a 4wt. I would say 90% of the wraps can be saved. The bag has a slot for the butt and mid plus the tip tube. The tip tube is aluminum with a nice brass cap and base.

So who made this? What is it? This rod is way out of my usual wheelhouse so any insight and information would be greatly appreciated.

[Webfly]

Tube and sock looked Leonardy to me but I’ll guess high end Monty.

[Woodlakejag]

I think high end early Montague

[TheMontyMan]

You've purchased a Montague Radio model. These were built during the 1920's, and maybe into the early 30's. It was near the top of the line-up in its day. The colors are reverse of a typical Radio model, probably at the request of a specific retailer.

I've fished several of these rods. They are one of my favorite models. They came in Light Trout, Medium Trout and Bass Weight. They sported Montague's top of the line cane and hardware. The abundant variegated wraps make them very attractive when cleaned up.

Nice find!!

. . . Rex
The Monty Man

[fisherman911]

Thanks for the input. I kind of thought that was what it was, more or less, but again It's way out of my normal rod focus . It was fun to see and flex it but I'm not sure I want to put in the time and effort to make it usable. Made fishable it would be a cool rod to swing soft hackles. I may just try to pass it along for what I have into it which is not much. Thanks again.

[Flykuni3]

Now that classic Monty has maturity and patina for days and days -- you could clean it up and reveal the silks, but I kinda like that old look too.

[jeffkn1]

I've fished several of these rods. They are one of my favorite models. They came in Light Trout, Medium Trout and Bass Weight. They sported Montague's top of the line cane and hardware. The abundant variegated wraps make them very attractive when cleaned up.

Rex

Any chance of seeing pix of your 8-footer?