I finally got my hands on the package at about 5:30pm Friday afternoon. One of the employees at the Animal Hospital came in a half-hour early and retrieved my rod. She was in a foul mood when she handed me the package, but at least I finally had it. I opened it with great excitement and trepidation, taking pictures as I went. Click on the thumbnails below to see the full-size pictures:

As the photos show, the rod tube is made of sturdy metal with a black finish and has very attractive polished brass lid. Unlike the tubes shipped with early Gehrke rods, this one is the perfect length and circumference. The rod bag is very nice as well. Parts of the rod were wrapped in tissue, presumably to prevent chafing during the long ride from Washington to North Carolina. Also included (but not pictured above) was packing material to prevent the rod tube from banging around inside the packing tube.

So far, so good, I thought, but what about the rod itself? My hands were literally shaking as I carefully removed the rod from its bag. I first noticed the reel seat--shown below--which is has a down-locking gold-colored slide band, similar (as far as I can tell) to that found on the $1750 Orvis Battenkill bamboo rod . 

When I ordered the rod, George asked me what kind of grip I wanted. I've been told that previous Gehrke rods were made with a slightly unwieldy Full Wells grip, so I asked for a more popular Half-Wells or Cigar model. George opted for the latter, and I'm very happy with its size and feel. 

At the base of the rod, just above the grip, George was kind enough to add two special lines of inscription that I requested, so each of the six sides of the rod have markings.