[ECU Daniel 14]

How many people here fish with fiberglass fly rods? Recently I have been in the collecting mood of some vintage stuff and decided to take some pictures of my collection. I love fiberglass is most situations. There is just something about feeling that flex thru the cast and with a fish on that does not compare to modern materials. In my opinion, you cant beat it for 90% of fishing presentations. There is some modern glass now (See EPIC) that has a fast taper for windy and saltwater conditions. The EPIC 686 I have may be my favorite rod of all time. If you guys are interested in getting into fiberglass, or have any questions let me know. I will try to help best I can.

 

[jonathan creason]

I'm a fan of glass rods, but I only have a couple ATM. I have a Featherlite that I really love fishing, and a Garcia Conolon project rod I've been tinkering with for a while.

 

[dbeam]

Those are some nice. I have a 9' 8wt, Conolon I don't use it though too heavy for any fishing that I do.

Darrell

 

[lthrnck03]

Thats one serious collection of glass rods! I have an old Shakespeare wonderod that was my grandfathers, it has an OLD pflueger medalist on it. However, I am waiting on some replacement parts for the medalist, so the entire set up is out of action right now.

 

[ECU Daniel 14]

I first got into glass about a year or so ago. I was at my previous job working with a land surveyor, and somehow he dragged me out of the office to do some field work on an older 100acre lot for some telecommunication tower. While taking a break we were diggin thru the guys old falling down shed and my old boss spotted a flyrod laying under an old rotten 2x4 in a puddle. It was the 8wt wonderod with a Martin Mowhawk automatic reel and some extremely crusty line on it. I thought id take it home and clean it up to display in my fly tying room, but I decided to throw a modern 8wt reel and line on it and take it in the back yard to cast. The rest is history. Now I own some expensive custom glass. It is truly a painful addiction, but one I am proud of. Its pretty cool to see how a flyrod has evolved over the years from different tapers and glass material. Back in the early 70s wonderod days an 8wt was a giant overcooked noodle that weighed a ton and had a mind of its own. Now, glass desiners have found a way to make it much more controlable and desireable to fish, while still feeling like glass.

 

[AJD]

Nice collection. I have an old conolon also that was given to me from a friend of the family back in N.Y. It's kinda like my franken-rod. It's an 8ft 2 piece 6wt, which is awesome for those quick hour long stints on the water. I added an extra stripping guide to it because it just felt to me at least that one was needed. I use a Martin 5/6 reel with a 7wt line. Played around with a 5wt and 6wt line strung up on it, but the 7wt felt right. Great for roll casting! Stout enough for some bigger bass streamers and light enough for the sunfish.

 

[mrpossumtail]

The only person I know who collects vintage goodies on such a scale is Doug Jessie. He resides in Roanoke and is quite active with the Smith River TU. He is more into the reels than rods however.

Jeff Fey of Charlotte is another one who collects hoards old reels.

 

[dbeam]

Reels would be easier to store and display.

Darrell

 

[NoeTopia]

Nice collection. I have 2 Eagle Claws, 7wt and 5wt and a Quick, the Quick was well used and unfortunately the decals showing the wt are worn off, feels like a 6wt though and casts a 6wt line well.

 

[horsehead]

Hey, I recognize those from IG and FB. I'm a huge fan of glass as well. I currently have a 7' 5/6 Featherlight, a 7' 3wt I built myself, a 8' 3/4wt Steffen I also built myself, a 7'6" 5wt I built for my son, a 7'3" 5wt Cabela's Prime, an a 8' 7wt Fenwick FF80. They are an incredible amount of fun.

 

[ECU Daniel 14]

Hey, I recognize those from IG and FB. I'm a huge fan of glass as well. I currently have a 7' 5/6 Featherlight, a 7' 3wt I built myself, a 8' 3/4wt Steffen I also built myself, a 7'6" 5wt I built for my son, a 7'3" 5wt Cabela's Prime, an a 8' 7wt Fenwick FF80. They are an incredible amount of fun.

Nice, What is your instagram name?

 

[horsehead]

organicpastor is my instagram handle.

 

[johnmauser]

Just finished building my Epic 686 the other week. Fantastic casting rod and fun, fun, fun. Looking forward to putting a bend in it with some redfish soon.

More pics of the build here: http://www.tailingtideguideservice.com/fishing-report/swift-epic-686-rod-build

 

[RouseD]

Fantastic job on the rod build John. Beautiful fly rod.

 

[horsehead]

Well since we're showing off Here are the 3 glass rods I built this winter.

7' 3wt "The Brookie"

8' 3/4wt Steffen

7'6" 5wt "Jack's Bugslinger"

 

[RouseD]

Great looking work horsehead.

 

[ECU Daniel 14]

Great builts both of you. I love my Epic 686. Best casting rod ive ever used.

 

[jonathan creason]

I hate it when I become envious of other mens' rods.