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One of the more unfortunate aspects of a thread (actually, two threads) that reaches 18 pages in length is that some very important items tend to get lost in the shuffle. We tend to navel-gaze, butt-scratch, introspect, and justify for about three or four pages, and eventually we return to form - and that form is basically silliness (albeit well-turned silliness). And sometimes, in that silliness, there are messages posted that attempt to hijack the thread and move it back into seriousness. As is the rule, those messages are short-lived and are snuffed out quickly. Such was case with this particular segue:

Not to be opprobrious, but I for one would love to fish that 5 wt Opprobrium some summer. BTW, wasn't that made deep in the Depression by ol' Ed Payne's kid? There must be something written up about that rod, perhaps in Campbell's esteemed work.

Pat

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Pat:

The Opprobrium Rod Co. was established in 1911 by a couple of the lesser known and marginally skilled Leonard hands inspired by the departure and subsequent success of the various Haweses, Paynes, Thomases, Edwardses, et al. The principals were Bob "Bucky" Oppenheimer and Seamus "Big Jimmie" O'Brien whose contracted and conjoined surnames --augmented by the Latinate suffix "um", to add a note of classicism-- gave the fledgling firm its name. By the way, it's a little known but indisputable fact that twenty-some odd years later, Stoner and Winther stole the idea when naming their R. L. Winston Rod Co. Indeed, the firm was briefly known as "Winstonium" but they were forced to abandon the "-ium" as a result of an injunction obtained by Opprobrium's attorney, a man named Fleischmann about whom nothing further is known. I hope this has been helpful.

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Horace,
Many thanks fpr the gracious explanation regarding the increasing famous Opprobrium rod. I've never had the privilege of casting such a rare example, but I witnessed Per Brandin and Dana Grey arguing two years ago at Lang's about its qualities. I have been told by one of the rod meisters on this forum that Dana owns one of three known examples. Sure enough, I saw him, rod in hand, roll casting about 60' of line over the tables of other vendors. Per finally snatched the Opprobrium from his hand & began lightly tapping the butt section with a small silver hammer, muttering, "Is this thing hollow-built or what?" Some guy named Jeff Knapp ran and interrupted Per, exclaiming in a loud voice that the rod was made in "way northern Maine."

Even at the time I found this claim to be ludicrous. And although you do not specify the shop location of the Opprobrium Rod Co., the very use by the founders of the suffix "um" indicates, at least to me, that Oppenheimer and "Big Jimmie" O'Brien were proper gentlemen who would have been uncomfortable in the presence of moose and/or hoot owls. Perhaps at some point you may take a moment from your busy legal practice to elaborate about the civilized urban center in which they set up shop, and spend a further moment entertaining us regarding the fruit derived from the efforts these gentlemen exerted during their decades (I presume) of rod manufacture.

Pat

In this little dialogue lies the seeds of a much greater endeavor and perhaps a new chapter in the ancient history of bamboo rodmaking. I bring this up now because the above chatter joggled something in the recesses of my memory and lead me to the basement to dig through some of my old gear. And sure enough, I found what was earlier the item that was little more than a slightly formed vapor in my memory. I dug out my Uncle's old Opprobrium Rod Co bamboo rod! Unfortunately, one tip (the only tip) is short by a few inches or so, and the wraps are a hodge-podge of different colors and patterns. But the rod is what it says it is! I only had time to take one pic, but that should be enough to accurately identify the rod:



My Uncle passed away a number of years ago, but I do know that he got this rod in a trade in the late 1920s. He was only about eleven years old, but he traded a patched-up inner tube for the rod (summertime on the lake - toys are needed). [The inner tube came from his father's car, and apparently, the rod came from his friend's father's fishing trunk.]

I was also able to talk with my cousin and she paged through my Uncle's diary and lucked into a couple interesting facts about the rod (most of his diary concerned the evolution of brake shoes (and eventually disc brake pads) for he was a salesman of these devices). She did find some marginal notes regarding some research he had done on the rod decades ago - nothing like the information posted above, I'm afraid. First, the rod that my Uncle owned was not a trout rod, but was designed for something larger - perhaps sturgeon. It was (humorously) called "The O'Heimer" (or more endearingly, The Hammer), a pun-in-cheek reverse send-up of the combined names of the two company founders. My Uncle also indicated that there was speculation that the initials of the company, ORC, served as an inspiration for the evil ogres in the works of JRR Tolkein - but that may be difficult to substantiate. The only other thing he noted was that while the rod was easy to transport, it was difficult to cast, and I suppose that's why he gave it to me.

I've searched the internet extensively and have found no other mention of the Opprobrium Rod Co nor have I seen another ORC rod - I thought I had the only one until the "we've-gone-to-hell-in-a-handbasket" thread appeared and fortunately got sidetracked. As some of you know, I'm not an old hand at rod collecting or rod history, but am pleased I could share this little bit of information with you.

Thank you for reading this.

Respectfully,

Dean D