'Lost Rod' surfaces in Kalispell
By JIM MANN/Daily Inter Lake
Famous bamboo rod to be sold in benefit auction
For years it was famously lost, but the golden bamboo wonder with the distinctive "Trout Bum" name and "001" serial number inscriptions has surfaced in the Flathead Valley, soon to be auctioned for a children's charity.
It is an 8-foot, five-weight bamboo rod built by master rod maker George Maurer for John Gierach, a well-known author of fly fishing books and articles.
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The "Trout Bum" inscription on the rod refers to a book of the same title written by Gierach.
The rod mysteriously went missing when it was shipped to Gierach's home in Colorado in the early 1990s, a loss that Gierach described in frustration in an article in a 1993 edition of Fly Rod and Reel magazine.
"George Maurer of Kutztown, Pa., shipped it to me on a Monday. The following Monday (a day or two longer than it should have taken) the empty shipping tube arrived on my front porch in Colorado. It took a few seconds to sink in but, sure enough, one end of the tube was open and there was nothing inside," Gierach wrote. "It wasn't a mistake and it wasn't a joke. Maurer's sense of humor is weird, but he wouldn't do something like that."
Maurer ended up filing an insurance claim with the shipping company to recover the cost of the rod, serial number 001, and he made a replacement for Gierach, serial number 001-A.
The "Lost Rod" article quickly caused a buzz in fly fishing circles, particularly among bamboo rod aficionados because of its certain quality and its association with two well-known names. The story became even more well known after Gierach devoted a chapter to it in his book, "Another Lousy Day in Paradise."
But its whereabouts remained a mystery for years.
Now the rod is in possession of Dave Creamer, a development specialist with Intermountain in Kalispell, an organization that provides mental and emotional health services for children.
Intermountain's roots go back 100 years to the Deaconess Home for Children in Helena.
Creamer explained what happened in a recent interview.
As it turns out, the shipping company periodically auctioned lost and unclaimed items through an Atlanta, Ga., salvage store.
A woman who owned that store had a son living in the Flathead Valley who enjoyed the outdoors, and as a gift, she sent him a fly rod that she had acquired at the store.
"He had it for 15 years," Creamer said. "It just sat in the corner" because of his preference for modern high-tech gear over a bamboo rod.
Eventually, the man gave the rod to another Flathead Valley angler as a gift because he had taught the man's son how to fly fish.
The new owner ended up researching the bamboo rod and discovered the story behind it, Creamer said.
He even contacted Gierach to confirm the rod's origins.
Recently he donated the rod to Creamer, an acquaintance, for the express purpose of auctioning it off as a fundraiser for Intermountain. The donor insists on anonymity.
Creamer has done his own share of research on the rod and contacted Gierach to get assurances that the rod is authentic and not in any way considered to be stolen.
He got that assurance in a letter from Gierach that says, "as far as I'm concerned, whoever has the original owns it fairly."
The rod will be auctioned online.
The rod comes with two tips, a custom-made glass case, a framed copy of the 1993 Rod and Reel magazine with the "Lost Rod" article, a copy of "Another Lousy Day in Paradise," and the recent letter of authenticity from Gierach.
Creamer said the donor wants the rod be sold for a minimum auction price of several thousand dollars. But Creamer believes it could sell for much more.
The auction has yet to be arranged, but it will likely be advertised in advance in specialty publications such as Fly Rod and Reel magazine.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com
By JIM MANN/Daily Inter Lake
Famous bamboo rod to be sold in benefit auction
For years it was famously lost, but the golden bamboo wonder with the distinctive "Trout Bum" name and "001" serial number inscriptions has surfaced in the Flathead Valley, soon to be auctioned for a children's charity.
It is an 8-foot, five-weight bamboo rod built by master rod maker George Maurer for John Gierach, a well-known author of fly fishing books and articles.
*
The "Trout Bum" inscription on the rod refers to a book of the same title written by Gierach.
The rod mysteriously went missing when it was shipped to Gierach's home in Colorado in the early 1990s, a loss that Gierach described in frustration in an article in a 1993 edition of Fly Rod and Reel magazine.
"George Maurer of Kutztown, Pa., shipped it to me on a Monday. The following Monday (a day or two longer than it should have taken) the empty shipping tube arrived on my front porch in Colorado. It took a few seconds to sink in but, sure enough, one end of the tube was open and there was nothing inside," Gierach wrote. "It wasn't a mistake and it wasn't a joke. Maurer's sense of humor is weird, but he wouldn't do something like that."
Maurer ended up filing an insurance claim with the shipping company to recover the cost of the rod, serial number 001, and he made a replacement for Gierach, serial number 001-A.
The "Lost Rod" article quickly caused a buzz in fly fishing circles, particularly among bamboo rod aficionados because of its certain quality and its association with two well-known names. The story became even more well known after Gierach devoted a chapter to it in his book, "Another Lousy Day in Paradise."
But its whereabouts remained a mystery for years.
Now the rod is in possession of Dave Creamer, a development specialist with Intermountain in Kalispell, an organization that provides mental and emotional health services for children.
Intermountain's roots go back 100 years to the Deaconess Home for Children in Helena.
Creamer explained what happened in a recent interview.
As it turns out, the shipping company periodically auctioned lost and unclaimed items through an Atlanta, Ga., salvage store.
A woman who owned that store had a son living in the Flathead Valley who enjoyed the outdoors, and as a gift, she sent him a fly rod that she had acquired at the store.
"He had it for 15 years," Creamer said. "It just sat in the corner" because of his preference for modern high-tech gear over a bamboo rod.
Eventually, the man gave the rod to another Flathead Valley angler as a gift because he had taught the man's son how to fly fish.
The new owner ended up researching the bamboo rod and discovered the story behind it, Creamer said.
He even contacted Gierach to confirm the rod's origins.
Recently he donated the rod to Creamer, an acquaintance, for the express purpose of auctioning it off as a fundraiser for Intermountain. The donor insists on anonymity.
Creamer has done his own share of research on the rod and contacted Gierach to get assurances that the rod is authentic and not in any way considered to be stolen.
He got that assurance in a letter from Gierach that says, "as far as I'm concerned, whoever has the original owns it fairly."
The rod will be auctioned online.
The rod comes with two tips, a custom-made glass case, a framed copy of the 1993 Rod and Reel magazine with the "Lost Rod" article, a copy of "Another Lousy Day in Paradise," and the recent letter of authenticity from Gierach.
Creamer said the donor wants the rod be sold for a minimum auction price of several thousand dollars. But Creamer believes it could sell for much more.
The auction has yet to be arranged, but it will likely be advertised in advance in specialty publications such as Fly Rod and Reel magazine.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com
