History and value of Montague Rods

[fishnbanjo]

If you ever wondered why there are so many Montague rods available on the used rod market, it is because The Montague Rod Company was the largest volume producer of split bamboo rods from shortly after 1900 when they purchased the Chubb Rod Company and merged the two operations in Montague City, Massachusetts, until they closed down operations in 1955.

The company built everything from casting, spinning, trolling and ocean rods to the many fly rod models listed below. These rods were built and priced for the average fisherman of the era; they were not overly fancy or elegant but they were durable, which is why so many remain on the market. But most were fished hard; nice original examples in excellent condition are becoming scarce and hard to find.

The rods below are listed in decreasing order of their original selling prices, and the quality of hardware, ferrules, cork and bamboo decreases the farther down a model is listed. Some models are quite common; others are quite rare due to limited production. The values shown are current market values.

Powr-Built 50 8½ $325 - 9 - 9½ $250
Powr-Built 35 - 8½ $300 - 9 - 9½ $225
Powr-Built 25 - 8½ $300 - 9 - 9½ $225
Powr-Built 20 - 8½ $275 - 9 - 9½ $200
Manitou - 7½ (2-pc.) $350- 8½ $300- 9 - 9½ $250
Redwing - 8½ $300 - 9 - 9½ $250
Trail - 8½ $250 - 9 - 9½ $175
Flipline - 8½ $250 - 9 - 9½ $175
Fishkill - 7½ (2-pc.) $325- 8½ $225- 9 - 9½ $175
Winthrop - 8½ $250 - 9 - 9½ $200
Bradford - 8½ $250 - 9 - 9½ $200
Webster - 8½ $250 - 9 - 9½ $200
Palmer - 8½ $250 - 9 - 9½ $200
Churchill - 8½ $250 - 9 - 9½ $200
Blue Streak - 8½ $200 - 9 - 9½ $150
Splitswitch - 8½ $200 - 9 - 9½ $150
Broad Brook - 8½ $200 - 9 - 9½ $150
Bluestreak - 8½ $200 - 9 - 9½ $150
Rapidan - 7½(2-pc.) $300 - 8½ $175- 9 - 9½ $150
Flash - 8½ $175 - 9 - 9½ $150
Leaping Brook - 8½ $175 - 9 - 9½ $150
Beaver Run - 8½ $175 - 9 - 9½ $150
Pocono - 7½ (2-pc.) $300
Madison - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Comanche - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Lakeside - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Apache - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Acadian - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Ausable - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Rainy River - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Mountain Lake - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Pelham Brook - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Bear Lake - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Sunbeam - 8'(2-pc.) $275 - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Clipper - 8½ $150 - 9 - 9½ $125
Cold Spring - 8½ $125 - 9 - 9½ $100
Sonora - 8½ $125 - 9 - 9½ $100
Deerfield - 8½ $125 - 9 - 9½ $100
Barton Brook - 8½ $125 - 9 - 9½ $100
Eagle River - 8½ $125 - 9 - 9½ $100
Timberlake - 8½ $125 - 9 - 9½ $100
Lake Pleasant - 8½ $125 - 9 - 9½ $100
Clear Lake - 8½ $125 - 9 - 9½ $100
Mt. Tom - 8½ $125 - 9 - 9½ $100
Highland - 8½ $125 - 9 - 9½ $100
Amateur - 8 (2-pc.) $225

Montague Zephyr Series
Little Smoky - 7½ - 8 $300 - 8½ $225
Sierra - 7½ - 8 $300 - 8½ $225
Classon Brook - 7½ - 8 $300 - 8½ $225
Midge - 7½ - 8 $300 - 8½ $225