The Lyon & Coulson Co.

[RyanAK]

8’6” 2F Regent dated 1943. “Alma’s Best Rod” on the bag, “Ada’s Bamboo Fly Rod” on the tube. Such a handsome Heddon and of very fine quality.

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

Here is a small Lyon & Coulson fly case that I picked up a few months back. The humpys I just purchased today.

[Mike N]

That’s a beautiful L&C fly wallet. Here are some of Lyon&Coulson’s “matched wing wet flies.”

(Click on image to enlarge)

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

Mike, do you know why the L&C logo is red on two and brown on the other two? Perhaps retail vs wholesale?

[Tommasini]

[Mike N]

Mike, do you know why the L&C logo is red on two and brown on the other two? Perhaps retail vs wholesale?

Like most variations in vintage retail tackle shop fly envelopes, I assume it was a design update in packaging. I am unsure of the dating, however.

Mike N.

[cwfly]

And the "Buffalo, N.Y." appears above the red logo but below the brown/faded black logo.

[Mike N]

And the "Buffalo, N.Y." appears above the red logo but below the brown/faded black logo.

If you are able to copy my thumbnail photo above and post it here larger*, pls feel free to do so; the fly colors and packaging are pretty neat. I believe I have a few more I’ll look for in my collection

(*my iPad let’s me post full-sized photos on ORCA’s site, but I’m stymied here and can only post the thumbnail photos for some reason.)

Thanks

Mike N

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

[mrriver]

To make a tapered fly line the braiding machines had to be manually stopped and thread added or subtracted as the line was produced. In the early 1950's when the Cortland 333 was introduced, probably the best line of the era, it took eight hours to make one line. Information from America's Fly Lines by Victor Johnson, 2003.

[Whitefish Press]

While researching my book on the history of fly leaders (The End of the Line) I discovered that L&C actually opened up a bamboo fly rod factory in 1947. Talk about bad timing; probably why they went into receivership in 1949 with the assets sold at auction in 1950. Sad story actually. For a company founded in the TEETH of the Depression in 1932 with two employees, they really prospered and became the first national outlet for nylon leaders in 1938, had a TON of war work, and then got killed off by a fiberglass arrow they never saw coming.

-- Dr. Todd

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

From my neck of the woods…and out of business nearly 20 years before I was Born. An early catalog shop before Orvis, LL Bean and others were successful at it due to their willingness to expand beyond sport!

[hatch]

[Short Tip]

Hatch, really nice stuff. Giving me Lyon & Coulson envy. One of these days I'll locate another couple of their leather "D" reel cases, I love those.

[Woodlakejag]

While researching my book on the history of fly leaders (The End of the Line) I discovered that L&C actually opened up a bamboo fly rod factory in 1947. Talk about bad timing; probably why they went into receivership in 1949 with the assets sold at auction in 1950. Sad story actually. For a company founded in the TEETH of the Depression in 1932 with two employees, they really prospered and became the first national outlet for nylon leaders in 1938, had a TON of war work, and then got killed off by a fiberglass arrow they never saw coming.

-- Dr. Todd

Very interesting, and I’ve suspected this. There are the occasional L&Cs that show up and the ferrules don’t match any known Heddon ferrules and the otherwise identical “Heddon” reel seat doesn’t have a patent number.
i think when the Heddon patent date was up, L&C jumped in and started making their own.

[wrong66]

Yes. This answers a lot of questions about those spinning rods that were previously attributed to Heddon. I was one of those.

[Flykuni3]

I have an interesting 7 1/2' L&C Captain, only interesting that I sold it many years ago. Though a lower-end stick in the line it was a very fine casting rod, and I fished it a lot. Sold it when I began a long-term ugrade of everything I fish with. But I always had a soft spot for the Heddon Lightweights, and I'd buy a rod here and there and then sell them off. Then on the last one -- don't now recall if it was listed here or on the 'Net -- the pictures looked very familiar. When it arrived I looked closely at rod, bag and tube, son of a gun, it was the L&C I had sold years back. It sits right next to the high-end rods in the quiver.

[Woodlakejag]

I have an interesting 7 1/2' L&C Captain, only interesting that I sold it many years ago. Though a lower-end stick in the line it was a very fine casting rod, and I fished it a lot. Sold it when I began a long-term ugrade of everything I fish with. But I always had a soft spot for the Heddon Lightweights, and I'd buy a rod here and there and then sell them off. Then on the last one -- don't now recall if it was listed here or on the 'Net -- the pictures looked very familiar. When it arrived I looked closely at rod, bag and tube, son of a gun, it was the L&C I had sold years back. It sits right next to the high-end rods in the quiver.

That was me who purchased the rod from you then sold it back several years later. Great rod. Maybe I’ll buy it back again someday!
George

[Flykuni3]

Ahahaha! I'm back in the saddle again....

[nephelim]

I know this is a pretty old thread, but... I'm on the hunt for a Lyon & Coulson or LV&A case like the ones in this thread. If anyone has any leads or one they would part with, please let me know.

Thanks!