Ted recently implied that American (& even some British) low to mid-grade 12-gauge doubles are starting to get fairly inexpensive. I have (quite recently) noticed that American bamboo rods are starting to follow a similar precipitous decline in prices. For years, when I was selling bamboo for Mark Reynolds, I tended to remain willfully ignorant of the finer-points of the really expensive rods (Paynes, Garrisons, Gillums, Leonards, etc.) because of the outrageous prices some of them would command (I mean, really...$10k for a plain-Jane Garrison?). Well, fast-forward to today where well-used Leonards are now commanding the same prices as some of my better Grangers. It's not that these rods are aren't worth a little more, it's the fact that so-many of them were made over the years and so-many of then still remain quite viable. The old codgers (mostly "collectors") that have hoarded them for many years now, are now either done fishing (or... are done living) and they (or their children ) have started to flood them them onto the market. What's interesting to me is that the more "blue-collar" stuff (Grangers, Heddons, etc.) seems to be holding it's own or even still climbing out a bit (nostalgia is a funny thing, eh?).
Any way, as my title for this thread implies....the times, they are a changin.
Last edited by Lloyd3; 08/02/24 09:03 PM.
