looks amazing ! Can't wait to see you report back and how it performs I'm sure it will serve you well.

I sold an 8' 8 or 9 wt to Tom many years ago. It was fast for e-glass, and heavy to go with it, it sure was a beauty.
I was really in my hill country cycle then, and every rod I was accumulating was focused at that.
Now fall coast trips are everything to me.
Tom was supposed to sell me the rod back, but he slipped away somewhere, so I've been stalking them on ebay for the past month.
Probably older, nickel silver ferrules and solid block cork. FWIW, the cork on the rod above is closer to my preference, but the solid block is beautiful. I remember it was a Big grip.

On the rod above, I set my snipe higher than the win and was only the 2nd bid, so I got a good buy.
I'm guessing it was someone else on the board who had the taste to make the 1st bid.




Not for this trip. but I may look at a fitting a butt in place of the rubber stopper - I did it before on a System 7 - tonemike has that rod now.

I gave away an 8' Harnell, which seemed to be a very early one with the solid cork grip (one solid piece; no rings). It was full flex and seemed like a six weight, but I was damned if I could find a tempo it liked. It honestly felt like somebody cut a section of an antenna and put guides on it, without a designed taper. I eagerly await your casting report for that beauty!

I wanted something shorter than my 8-1/2' Issac for getting off short quick casts from a kayak.
Should have bought a CGR 7/8 last spring, but they're all gone now.
I'm guessing this rod to be a soft 7-wt, making it a good in-close sit-down rod.

that's tastefully done mylar, though - and agree the thread is kind of bright, but my Valentine will actually play it down
here's my favorite mylar example - Phillipson E80 (true 6wt)

Very cool!

Received the Harnell today.
It's a wonderfully sweet progressive 7-wt with a powerful butt.
Didn't get to cast it a lot, but stood on the wet driveway and handled some slime line in the air with my back cast over the fence and my forward cast just into the sage over the pop-up, which is pretty typical redfish range.
I can't describe it other than it oddly felt so right - the combination of the reel and slime line on the rod - like the rod had been looking for this line all its life.
Does just what I wanted, super control in close, tight loops, forgiving, quick to get out - accurate.
Will also be a great rod for dock-fishing at night.
Weight is 4 oz, comparable to any salt rod, and a perfect match with the Valentine. .

The Harnell reel seat has Patent pending stamped on it, and is quite solid.


If I was designing a rod, I would have spec'd this cork. Note how it compares to my favorite Phillipson 6-wt above,
the action of this rod is almost identical to the Phillipson EF80-S I had built from blank, and basically the same cork
and of course if I hadn't sold it, wouldn't have gone looking for the Harnell.


As far as the progressive tip goes - you know the feeling with a fast graphite rod when you have more leader than line out and you're casting like a one-armed paper hanger trying to keep the leader off the water? A progressive glass rod doesn't do that. In close, the casting process with just the leader is the same speed or slower than when you have more line out and are loading deeper down the blank. Overall, everything about loading a glass rod is a bit slower, but that's not a bad thing, because it gives you more control.
It's this taper, plus the 6" shorter length that makes this rod the choice for sitting in a kayak, over my 6/7 Izch inshore para.

thanks friend - looking forward to getting it wet

the e-bay seller reported it 4/5 wt, but I searched our forum and found the same rod reported as 7-wt.
That's when I set up my snipe - the rod looked too good to leave alone.
When it came home, it's definitely a 7wt - it was alive with the correct line.
That said, it probably would trout-fish well with a 6-wt or even 5.
Interesting, the rod feels tippier when it's unlined, but really feels right lined. Again, it's a virtual twin of the Phillipson EF80-S, but one-line-weight lighter.
That could be the stiffness of the monocore slime line - but they're a perfect match.
Watch out for people who don't get glass.
It's a great rod wearing old clothes, and I knew the Valentine was a perfect match for it.

Ha, I’d forgotten that I got that sweet System 7 from you Ron. I put a fighting butt on it and it’s ended up being a real workhorse, catching thick Rainbows in Alaska. It’s actually at my buddy’s cabin up in Denali National Forest. I do love the System fiberglass rod series!
I hope that Harnell rod serves you well out on the cost!

Chris, I got the 1960 Harnell catalog - I'll get copystand photos sometime over the next month.

Harnell made a series of UL dry fly rods, all end in R, but 600, 601, 604, 605, all 5'
656, 657, 658, all 6'

in longer rods, 645R, 7' light
650R, 9' medium
652R - mine - 8' medium
654R, 8' light (there's a rough one on ebay, BIN)
655R, 8-1/2' medium

I am interested in these: 656R, 657R, 658R all 6' and 645R, 7' light...Would be cool to see some examples if anyone has them...also curious to know their action..

Sandman