You may have heard about the Sweetwater parabolic bamboo rod made years ago by George Maurer, for John Gierach. That rod was lost, but was found by a friend
of mine and given to his son as a gift. The son died in 1998 in a car accident and the rod was given to a mutual friend, who taught the young man how to fly
fish. This is the rod that a chapter in Another Lousy Day in Paradise was dedicated to. There was also an article in
Fly Rod and Reel about "The Lost Rod". The friend who owns it now even has a letter written by Gierach
stating that he is, indeed, the rightful owner of the rod that was lost. It's an 8 ft, 6 weight rod in mint condition, never used. Since the
"original" owner, the deceased son, and the current owner are all friends of mine, I was given this rod as a donation. Unfortunately it's not
for me to use on the endless streams of Western Montana, where I call home. I work for a charity that works to save the lives of abused and abandoned
children, and my friend wants us to auction off the rod and keep the proceeds. It is an unbelievably generous gift, I realize. Living where I live, I am
surrounded by other fly fishermen, but I want to get as many opinions about this rod as possible. Let me know your thoughts.
This forum began as Clark's Classic Bamboo Rod Forum, founded by Clark Davis for all who share a passion for classic rods. The forum is now owned by Whitefish Press aka Dr. Todd Larson - banjo.
For those who don't use English as their primary language we now have a translator for your language of choice hosted by Google.
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Sweetwater Trout Bum, Serial #001, made for John Gierach
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 upperswan |
Sweetwater Trout Bum, Serial #001, made for John Gierach |
Lead | ||
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Posts: 1 04/08/2009 00:18 |
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 FWdB |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 343 04/08/2009 06:20 |
Very interesting, do you have / could you ask your friend to make any pictures?
If I remember correctly Gierach describes this rod as being "lost", just because he couldn't know for sure that it was stolen during transport. It would be quite interesting to know about the circumstances in which this rod was "found" also. In the letter you mention, does Gierach say anything, being the rightful owner, about wanting it back? Wilfred de Bruijn
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16parachuteadams |
For what it's worth, | #2 | ||
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Posts: 322 04/08/2009 09:38 |
For what it's worth, this sounds like something to be decided between Mr. Gierach and the current custodian of the rod. I could see him being OK with
this, or maybe not. Personally I don't think anyone else could decide in a meaningful way. Hope all goes well with your fundraiser, it's a worthy
cause. Regards, 16pa
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royalwulff |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 171 04/08/2009 13:32 |
The rod was lost in transit. John received an empty shipping tube. Whether the shipping tube was damaged which allowed the rod to be lost, or it was stolen
from the shipping tube was never determined. The prior is assumed, as the courier ultimately found the rod and auctioned it at it's "recovered
freight auction" after compensating Mr. Mauer's insurance claim. John has never seen the rod. Mr. Maurer received compensation from the courier and
built a replacement rod for John with a different serial number.
In speaking with John this morning, he said he recalls writing the letter, doesn't recall stating that he is the rightful owner. He said that since Mr. Maurer was compensated and he received a replacement rod, that whomever purchased the rod at the courier's auction is now the rightful owner. Ballpark value $1100.00 to $1300.00 |
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hookjaw23 |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 132 04/08/2009 13:51 |
I may be misreading this but I hear it as:
"The friend who owns it now even has a letter written by Gierach stating that he (the poster's friend) is, indeed, the rightful owner of the rod that was lost." Sounds like all parties have been compensated, and it could give a few bucks to a good cause. Good ending and I'm sure there will be willing bidders. -matt |
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flyslinger |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 119 04/08/2009 15:42 |
This is one heck of an interesting story!
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upperswan |
Pictures Posted | #6 | ||
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Posts: 2 06/12/2009 15:00 |
I have pictures of the rod and of the letter Gierach wrote about the rod. They are posted on my profile, and since they are not of the highest quality, please
let me know if you want full-sized photos and I can email them to you. This will be sold later this summer via public, online auction.
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recane1 |
#7 | |||
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Posts: 212 06/12/2009 16:58 |
Well, thats a prety neat story. Please keep us informed about the auction. I'm sure that many of us would love to have a rod with such rich history. We
all have some nice rods, but how many of us can sit down and tell a story about like that?
Aaron |
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winston59 |
nice story | #8 | ||
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Posts: 128 06/13/2009 20:08 |
Nice story, glad the rod turned up. Must of rolled under a desk like John thought. since it was found. I think if I owned the rod fair and square I would still
feel uneasy about owning it. Some crazy over zealous fan of Gierach's might see the rod and clobber you on the stream to rescue the lost rod. I would carry
the papers on me and keep one with the rod tube as well.
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- Members Corner
- Forum Announcements
- Collecting Bamboo Fly Rods
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- Ephemera, empherma and Ephemerella.....
- Book Talk
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- Classic Reels
- Collecting and Tying Classic Flies
- The Cooks Kitchen
- The Classic Fly Rod Classifieds
- Technical Support
Quick Reply
The Orvis database by Greg Reynolds Finally available again!!
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