An E.F. Payne special bamboo fly rod, 7'9", 2-piece, 2-tip, and built for a #5 line. The rod weighs 4.2 ounces on my scale. One tip is short. Medium to slowish action, it could possibly use a #4 line. The current owner relayed to us that this was originally owned by Frank Mele, the angler, writer, and bamboo aficionado who was friends with Jim. The rod has been re-wrapped with new antique paddle foot guides and over-varnished with an amber tinted varnish to "antique" the rod. The older varnish was partially sanded out but still left a few telltale chips partially filled. This process left a lighter streak along the corners of the rod shafts while muting the brown, yellow, and purple wraps. Also of note, the spacing of the wraps on the short tip does not match up with the full-length one and it has received the same "antiquing" treatment. The ferrule is the same size but I suspect the short tip may have been swapped in from a different rod. The ferrules are oxidized, the stripper is a red agate, and the snake guides are new. The grip is a 6" long western with a hidden pocket cap. The seat is an aluminum up-lock screw-lock with the "Sold by Abercrombie & Fitch" stamp. The bag is original but the bottom is held closed with some black tape. The Payne tube is original but not for this rod. A label below the collar states: "Payne Special 7'9" #5 — 2/2, 5oz. DL acorn seat" (the seat on this rod is an uplock).