Old Faithful Rod Co 9' Challenger

[Oldredbarn54]

I have a three piece 9' Challenger rod. The tube has the following: Old Faithful Rod Co 4th & Grant Denver Colorado. The only marking on the rod is the word Challenger written in cursive. The rod has two tip sections and is in nearly new condition.

I have found some info that "the rods were actually seconds that were produced by Wright & McGill".

It appears to have an aluminum reel seat. The only time I've ever casted it was in a gym where some of us from a fishing club tried to determine what weight it might be...We think a 7wt...The model number is C-0095.

I obtained the rod back in the late 90's. My wife and I ran an insurance agency. A customer came in to make a payment and the sectretary was helping another client. I took this person back in to my office to use my computer to print her a receipt. She left.

A while later I received a call from her and she said that she had seen a print in my office with some flies in it. She had said nothing, at the time, about the print etc. She said that a friend of her husband had just purchased a new home and found a rod in the attic and they were wondering if I could find some info about it...

Someone at my club put me in contact with someone that might know and he told me he thought that Wright & McGill may have had something to do with the rod...He said that a great many were made, they were ok rods, and it was probably worth then about $200.00. I told the owner this and he just stood there in my office...I finally asked him if there wasn't something else and he asked me what I'd give him for it...I offered $50 and he sold me the rod.

I'd appreciate any info...I have searched a bit here and there is some info...

Anyway! Thanks.

[Oldredbarn54]

Moonshine...Thanks for the reply. Why do you think that there is so little info or markings on the rod? I can't even find a serial number, a line weight, etc?

Like I said we took it in to a gym at a school where we hold our meetings to cast it. The club has reels etc and we just changed reels and different line weights until we decided on a 7wt. A friend of mine that builds his own rods did the casting and figuring out what he thought was the proper line for it.

I really should fish it a couple times.

[quashnet]

The company was taking less profit on the rod, so less production time was invested in marking and recording detailed notations of serial numbers and weights. See the lower half of this web page:

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/feature ... part99.php

Generally acknowledged to be nice fishing rods.

[headwaters]

Pages 42-43 of Michael Sinclair's Granger Rods book has a section on it, as does his earlier book, Colorado Classic Cane (p. 147).

As I understand it, after W&M purchased Granger, they were trying to get more return by using blanks that weren't up to Granger standards and had earlier been destroyed. However, they were also trying to be cagey about it, because they had contracts with their dealers not to compete. So, they created two other name-only companies: Aladdin Rod Co. and Old Faithful Rod Co. and sold the same Granger taper "seconds" with lower quality grips and hardware and few cosmetics / trimmings. I have two True Action rods from the Old Faithful Rod Co, one 8' and one 8.5. From my ability level, they're pretty fair rods!

[PaducahMichael]

"Old Faithful" was an outlet for "seconds". Most used cheaper aluminum reel seats and second (or third) grade cork. Tapers and ferrules were straight up W&M Granger. These are real bargains!

"Aladdin" was a sneaky way to sell the "firsts" without breaking non-competing deals. The Aladdins were exactly the same as the W&M Granger, just different markings. First class all the way.

That Challenger rod will perform just like any Granger would. A very fine value!

[headwaters]

Thanks for the clarification, Michael. When I went back and read the Granger Rods book, I saw where I didn't read the section on the Aladdin Co close enough. I certainly agree that the True Actions are a screaming deal!

Rupert

[teter]

Oldred --
Even Granger rods had little in the way of markings, compared to many other rods. Line weights were not listed and none except the Registered, the top of the Granger line, had serial numbers.
Sounds like you got a good deal.

[Oldredbarn54]

Thanks for the info everyone! After I read all your posts I pulled the rod back out and it does have an aluminum reel seat that is a reddish brown color and the cork is so-so...Other than that the rod looks nice and doesn't appear to have been fished much, if at all.

One thing that no one seemed to address...What years are we talking about in terms of the production of these rods?

Also. A friend of mine that builds his own rods and the guy who helped me with the line weight etc years back recommended that I use some sort of polich/cleaner on the ferrules to clean them up...Any suggestions here?

Thanks again!

[teter]

I steal my wife's Cape Cod metal polishing cloths -- they are individually wrapped saturated cloths that come in a metal tin. The smell is a little gross -- kind of like a cross between Pepto Bismol and pink bubblegum -- but they work very well on nickel silver ferrules.

[PaducahMichael]

I steal my wife's Cape Cod metal polishing cloths -- they are individually wrapped saturated cloths that come in a metal tin. The smell is a little gross -- kind of like a cross between Pepto Bismol and pink bubblegum -- but they work very well on nickel silver ferrules.

"Magic Polishing Cloths" available on eBay. They work GREAT on all metals, can polish varnish, too, and smell like coconut.