A Sweet New Project to Start this Winter

I recently received an amazing present from my uncle and I can't wait to start working on it as a winter project.  My uncle Joe (my dad's brother) surprised me with an antique bamboo fly rod that he had purchased for me for my fortieth birthday.  It is an amazing gift and his thoughtfulness and generosity never ceases to amaze me.  Structurally, it looks like it is in good shape and still usable.  And while some folks (my dad included) have urged me to make it a wall decoration, I am committed to turning this thing into a fish catching machine.  It was made to catch fish and that's what I want to do with it!

Now it's going to take some time and some patience, but this might be the only bamboo fly rod I will ever own so I'm committed to doing this right.  I plan on replacing the grip (no idea how to do that however), replacing ALL of the guides (I DO know how to do that), and cleaning up the reel seat.  Like I said, it's going to take some time, but I will keep you posted on the progress of the project.  In the meantime, if anyone knows anything about Foothills fly rods, please email me at showmeflyguy@gmail.com.

Addendum: Also, my uncle gave me a set of antlers too.  And yes, there is a normal shoot of bamboo in the picture.  My uncle decided it might be useful to keep all the rod sections straight and rigid.