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.
The rod will be auctioned online as a fundraiser for Intermountain in Kalispell, an organization that provides mental and emotional health services for children.
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.
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.
LINK (Via: Northwest Montana Daily Interlake)
Tom at the Trout Underground reported on this story back in April