vintage: Every now and than action tubular glass rods from Orchard Industries, Detroit, appear on the second market for small money. My 1486-D 8'6" has a "fake bamboo" varnishing and is 3 pc with two different tops. This rod is a casting machine and extremely good for roll casting streamers on sink tips...
New ones: I appreciate epic blanks cause sunlight shines through the material and gives the rod a fantastic gloss. This one I have built for my father who is really old and he is very glad for the light and flexible rod doing no harm to his shoulder. I would not collect but fish them as they are not that expensive and nice looking and working.
Older and new Scott glass rods are also a good choice in my eyes...
Nothing "closet" about it. This is a "classic" fly rod forum, after all, and fiberglass made before graphite became de rigeur is certainly classic, at least in my mind. I also think some of the very early attempts at getting away from glass, such as Loomis Composite, might be considered classics today.
One thing, and I don't mean to rankle our very fine builders, is I don't believe a copy of a classic rod made by a modern maker has achieved "classic" status, any more than a newly minted copy of a '49 MG-TD is a classic MG, no matter how accurate and well done. That's not to say at some time in the future, some of these rods will be considered true classics. To me, the term "Classic" implies some age.
my favorites are already there, but I can't believe no one has mentioned Fisher rods and production rods from Fisher blanks, including Hardy, Winston and SA System.
Joe Fisher actually made his glass rods lighter than his later graphite (he didn't trust the toughness of graphite).
System 4 and 5 are Very desirable.
and did I say Joe made them tough?
Glass is the only material that makes a good 6-wt. rod 7' and under.
7' and 6'6" Phillipsons are very desirable progressive taper rods, with the ability to roll-cast beyond belief.
The 6'3" Berkley Gowdy Para/Metric is a para-taper pocket rocket that will air-cast distances to astound, and the backbone to handle large fish.
sorry about the thumb in the camera, but this was some serious sight-fishing
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here's a collectible (and a great fishing tool). The Phillipson Expert, E80, built right before Bill Phillipson sold the company to Johnson, and never cataloged
The splash of fuchsia mylar is an al dente aesthetic, IMO
Like many of you, I started out using Fenwick fiberglass rods many moons ago in the early 1970s. I still have those rods (except for a FF857 I traded to a friend for a first gen Berkley graphite).
My first really high quality glass fly rods were Claudios which I still fish semi-regularly today. In addition, I have a lovely little Cummings 7-footer and a few glass SF Winstons as well.
Every once in awhile I see a nice old glass rod that I just can't pass up...like the Fenwick FF805 on its way to me as I write this.
Glass rods do have their unique charms, I agree!
Scott
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Flyman615
"An undisturbed river is as perfect as we will ever know, every refractive slide of cold water a glimpse of eternity" - Thomas McGuane
OK, I know we spend a lot of money and time to outsmart a foe with an IQ of 6 (trout) to 12 (carp), so it becomes a dubious accomplishment.
When you look at the facts, I guess we have to fish for all the aesthetics we can find.
wefishcane wrote:My first fishing rod was a Shakespeare Wonderod. I paid for it the same way I acquired all my fishing tackle in the early 50's by working as a teenager in my Dad's sporting goods store. I wonder whatever became of it?
Jim
I bought one for my daughter last year. Paid $5 for it at a St. Vincent De Paul thrift store. It's an OK 6 wt. It's got ALLOT of "back bone".
A 349LL?!?! I'm inherently jealous.
It's a kit rod I built in the early 90's.
God help me, I still love that rod, but my "boo is better for the NFF which I fish many, many times a year.
I still have my original 9' Shakespeare FY608 woodgrain, and Berkley Japan O/C clone I bought with my first job in 1974. Hate them both, though they caught a lot of fish - even redfish.
But I loved my Orvis 7'6" Green Mountain combo with Fullflex A and Orvis 1915 (Martin 67N) reel that I bought a few years later.
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Over fifty years ago, I fished the 7'3" Garcia Conolon 2636C shown here (upper rod) on trout trips to the Catskills with my father. The other rod is a 7'3" GC 2636T that I bought a couple of years ago. I still occasionally fish my boyhood rod.
The only fiberglass rod that I would really, really like to own is a Paul H. Young rod. I believe these were made by Orchard Industries in the 1950s, as well as a PHY-marked fiberglass spinning rod. PHY detested these rods and said all the stereotypical things about fiberglass that you'd expect from an old timer. He swore that he offered them only because his sons would need the revenue from increasingly-popular fiberglass rod sales when they took over the PHY shop. In actuality, post-war boat and outboard motor sales managed by Jack Young were likely far more profitable than any aspect of the rod business.
I’ve built and sold lots of glass over the years including blanks from McFarland, Kabuto, James Green, Fred Paddock, Diamondglass, Fisher, and Tom Morgan. I’ve discovered that I like glass in lengths of 7’6” and shorter. I like the way some glass in this class casts, but I seem to end up fishing my bamboo -- probably a case of too many choices and too little time on the water.
For classic glass, the Phillipson-made Golden Eagle at 6'6" 4wt is one of the nicest rods in that format of any material. (Yes, it really does weigh 1 7/8 oz.). Likewise the T&T Heirloom at 7'6" 3wt for that format. I only have one Morgan (7'6" 4wt) , and it's butter smooth. Those are the ones at the top of my list. Here are some photos. I assembled the T&T and Morgan.
I too have done up 2 now going on three Morgans. This is the 8'6" 7wt "UWTU" blank done up in my typically overdone style. This has become my lead smallmouth rod.
I also have the 8'3" streamer (no pics) and am building up a 7'6" 5wt prototype tobacco glass blank that I picked up 2nd hand. It's for the ever-fetching Mrs. RW Hoffhines. She's about as comfortable with my bamboos as she is moving my trombone off the couch Here's the 7wt at work
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I don't believe the Scott's developed by Harry Wilson with Larry Kenney have been surpassed and are rarely equaled - perhaps by Larry's own current glass rods.
The 5 Pc Scott F-70/5, F-75/5 and F-80/5, especially in the chalky brown glass and red wraps of the late 70s, are among the best. They surpass similar yellow glass Scott trout rods, in my opinion, and are finished a bit nicer. Easy to carry, they have been designed and tweaked to be casting and fishing machines for 3 -6 wt lines.
More 80-ish, the darker brown glass 794/4 is also superb, as are the F803/3pc and F803/5pc in brown glass made for the Japanese market in the 90s (Sansui's 100th Anniversary). For a challenge, try to find those 8' 3 wt Scotts.
Scott also made some very hefty saltwater rods in Yellow glass (F-91 and 92 sitting with me now), that are a very nice combination of power and feel. Same with the Fiberhammer.
With Scott glass, it's all good.
I love my 7'9" 3/4 line weight custom-built Steffen Bros rod.
I fish it with a DT4 Cortland Peach and it is the best tracking rod I own.
I would never sell my favorite taper bamboo rods and I certainly
won't sell this Steffen!
I've owned some phenomenal glass rods but Steffen seems to top them all.
Many great fiberglass rods out there and certainly worth a try
by anyone who hasn't experienced them.
Interesting thread to me, when I started my retro journey to re-connect with my misspent youth and brief fly fishing outings, I started with boo and this great forum, but had to migrate to the glass rod side of things due to elbow issues and swing wts of boo. I have been blessed to be able to cast and fish a pretty encompassing selection of the classic glass some rare and collectible, others less so and pretty much all the contemporary great glass craftsman. I still own a Payne 100H that is a godly casting rod.
To the point, Marks OP asked: "My question to you bamboo crazies is this; Which of the many top shelf fiberglass rods out there, past and present, make themselves most closely related to the collectibility, casting abilities, fishability, and feel if you will to bamboo?"
And the replies IMHO kind of digressed to what everyone thought was the favorite glass rods or those that were 'best' glass rods. Of those examples and names all mentioned, they match my experience with those same rods.
But to Marks question, that's a much narrower range of Glass rods.
It is a given that the same action glass rod will have lighter swing wts then the boo rod. Granted I haven't measured the some of the new super hollowed and fluted bamboo offerings.
I LOVE Steffens, Kenneys, McFarlands, Paddocks, Epics, Morgans, Claudio, Peak, Glasstech, SF Winstons, Cummings and own at least one example of each, but in no way do they fish or cast like any boo I have fished with. I suppose parametric boo rods may cast not too dissimarily from parametric Glass rods ie Wojos.
Fisher blank glass rods that I have all cast ( Hardy, SA, Winston etc) were much faster action then most boo rods. The T & T Heirlooms I have cast were way faster actioned then any 'boo I have tried. I LOVE T & T's fit and attention to detail. The Heirlooms all had way too much tip bounce for me, but I am only an average caster and its could be a function of my casting skill set.
The Japanese glass rods have actions and swing wts approaching bamboo. Kabuto tapers have more tip mass then most glass tapers. Early SF Scotts have a medium action and have heavier swing wts as well. I guess I would say Kabutos and Early Scotts are the only two glass rods I have cast and fished that were similar to the boo rods I have cast and fished. Granted My sample size for boo casting/ fishing is SMALL: Payne, Granger, Leonard, Heddon and Thramer.
I won't give more examples, but suffice to say that I would agree wholeheartedly that, IN GENERAL (meaning there are exceptions), the glass rod (vintage and new) is a different animal with different behavior then bamboo rods in both their casting and how they fish. That is only MY opinion, and in no way am I confusing it as a fact.
I am still alive then. That may come in useful. Malloy~ Samuel Beckett
You've put out some nice rod suggestions (many of which I haven't had the chance to cast) but I am going to throw out a couple of others.
For the pure slooowness of it, there are the old 50's era Narmco Conolon rods (Fanwing and it's cheaper cousin the Atlas). They don't qualify as top name builder, but there are few rods that compare to it as far as smooth deep bend.
However for modern sloow rods, it's hard to beat Japanese glass. One is the Studio Thin Line but there are others.
I would love the chance to cast a Russ Peak. But if I owned one, it would sit at home for the same reason I don't fish top shelf bamboo. When I am fishing, I don't baby my rods. At least with bamboo you can have a new tip section made.
If I'm fishing small streams in the Sierras, I fish glass maybe about a third of the time.
I didn't see the Scott F series mentioned above or maybe I just missed it but I always carry a 7' 3 piece 3 wt - the black glass series (model 703, I think) - in the back of my truck. To me, it's relatively fast for glass. I usually fish it with a 4 line.
For a nice change of pace, I fish a very parabolic Wojnicki 703 P3. It's about 6'7" or 6'8" and another 3 piece 3 wt.
It's a little dirtier now that my wife got ahold of it:
Almost right in between these rods is a really pleasant Dwight Lyons 7' 2 piece 4 wt. Just a nice progressive feel-good rod to cast. Caramel brown glass. Sorry can't find any photos right now. It's taken its share of native rainbows even after breaking a fall (that's the last time I think I can cross smooth dry granite with cleated soles, but that's a different story...).
OK, one recent big fish photo but don't recall which rod was used:
I would not collect but fish them as they are not that expensive and nice looking and working.
Here's the 7wt at work
