New to Boo

Cold, My rules for boo: Before fishing it gently flex and twist the rod and listen for any pulling tearing or popping. Look for cracks in the finish. Regular waxing with a good paste wax really helps. No "Hero Shots" of the rod laying in the water beside a fish. Keep the road as dry as possible. Always store in a warm dry place. Never store the rod when assembled, This can lead to a 'set" tip or mid.
To find out the approximate line weigh of the rod , , simply weigh the rod (without reel) and round the weight of the rod DOWN to the next nearest whole oz. (ie: a 4.75 oz rod is a 4 wt.) Bamboo casts Sllooowwwllyy don't try to rush a cast with bamboo. Feel the rod load and give it time. Sort of like fishing at half speed. Don't shock set the hook with bamboo, but you can pull fairly hard. Watch for nicks and chips. One of the things I have seen often is when a person gets a hook snagged while nymph fishing with a split shot. They pull the line free and the shot smacks the rod tip like a BB. Sure fire way to get a split tip.
Watch for de-lamination, and softness in the rod. This can be re-glued if caught early. And just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

By alll means NEVER expose a bamboo rod to Lady Ga GA music. It causes them to self immolate.

Not able to offer up any advice, but I'll second the congrats on the pick-up! Hope it works out for you and I hope you enjoy it. Between your posts and your blog, Cold, it's obvious your enthusiasm is deep and genuine. Good luck!

Thanks guys.

Indy, a few more questions: I think this may be a repair job too, as its an 8'0" rod, but the butt and tip sections are 3' and the mid section is 2'...or is this normal?

Also, the male ferrule at the bottom of the tip section is not well-connected to the blank. It appears that maybe the wraps have like cracked or something. When I assemble the rod, there's no audible creaking or ticking, and the ferrules themselves are surprisingly secure, but I think I'm seeing a tiny amount of play between the blank and the ferrule itself. Should I avoid fishing it until this is addressed?

Also, is a butt-over-tip ferrule common? It's something I've never seen before, but I've never really paid attention to the ferrule on the few boo rods I've cast.

Hey indy. I have 3 bamboo blanks that range from 5-7 weights. They are definitely quality blanks; That my father bought maybe 15 years ago.they aren't marked... If not tied, does your same rule apply for finding out the weight? I have plenty of experience tying rods; but Im looking in to tying these boo blanks up and I could use a pointer or two. Thanks in advance.

Dime bright. Yes that is a good rule of thumb for a rod. I could get in to tapers and opposing node construction and determining tip ratio. But without actually seeing and flexing a blank it's hard to determine the exact weight. You could have a 7' rod that was quite thick and another that was thin and they would be within one ounce of each other so the rule is a good one. That, and a longer rod is going to weigh more and could be a lighter weight because of the thinness of the tapers. Sobe sure you compare apples to oranges. LOL. When wrapping a bamboo rod one good thing to remember is the more guides the better the rod will perform (within reason). I like the 6", 6.5, 7, 7.5 inch spacing starting from the tip. for a lighter weight 5, 5.5, 6. ; is a good spacing.

Nice feesh, Cold. Beautiful colors. EHC or Stimmy?

Thanks, Syd. It's a #14 stimmy, only fly you need for wild trout in PA.

Don't forget John yours is a very good 6 wt. You could use yours for steel if you take it easy.