After examining the reel seat, grip, and inscription, I carefully examined each of the guides. I'm not expert in bamboo rod manufacture, of course, but the wraps look pretty darn good to me. The guide wraps have been coated with epoxy--which I've been told is not typically done with bamboo rods--but the work looks very good. George told me that his son was the one who did the wraps. 

I've included thumbnail links to several other pictures of the guides and tip-top. My camera doesn't have a super-duper zoom, so some of these photos are better than others, but I think they give you a pretty good idea. 

As advertised, the Gehrke rod has several characteristic blemishes. The most obvious are the "burn marks" found at various places up and down the rod (see photo below). Someone who knows what they are talking about will correct me, I'm sure, but I'm guessing that these are intentional marks left while heat-drying the bamboo because I've never seen them in photos of other bamboo rods. Even if these are unintentional, I'm assuming they do not affect the integrity of the bamboo. They actually add to the "ugly duckling" beauty of the rod in my opinion and certainly reinforce the aptness of the name of the rod itself.

According to George, his rods have been constructed using bamboo that may contain surface blemishes. And indeed, my rod has several of them, although they are not immediately noticeable. The photo below shows the mark that is most visibly evident.

As with the burn marks, however, after examining these blemishes, my conclusion is that they actually add to the character of the rod and don't negatively affect the rod's strength, durability, or integrity.

Finally, after examining the guides and blemishes, I assembled the rod. Unlike reports of earlier Gehrke rods, I found the male and female ferrules to be a perfect fit, without any signs of sanding or honing. The male ferrule is not difficult to insert into the female end, nor does it twist easily. When separating the rod, the ferrules make an audible click indicative of an air-tight connection. After two hours of casting this rod, there was no loosening or twisting of the ferrules whatsoever.

Click here for Part VI of the story...