Thanks for the interesting post. Rods sure are more individual tastes and in the 70's I disagreed with the Consumer Reports rod reviews a whole lot more than the reel reviews. Of course in 1956 fiberglass rods were still in their infancy.

Thanks Gaddis. There are some surprising ratings on that list.

I think that's a fair evaluation of the mid-50s glass rod market. The Consumer Reports people must have liked rods with what we call a full flexing action. The two Heddons are very flexible rods built on essentially the same blank. Conolon was making some excellent glass. Their Conolon Citation rods were the top of the line for good reason.

Many of the 'fair' ratings went to rods that were not yet well refined, particularly as 8'6" rods. Many of those companies made better short fly rods, such as Shakespeare, True Temper, and Actionrod. Phillipson's Eponite rods weren't on the market yet and their earlier rods were average at best.

I am surprised at some of the companies not included: Silaflex, Lamiglas, and Horrock-Ibbotson. Fenwick was still a garage startup company so they wouldn't make the list. St.Croix was just getting established too.

This is the first time I've ever heard of a Richardson fly rod. Does anyone know anything about them?

Tom

The Richardson came from Richardson Rod & Reel Co., of Chicago.

The rods selected for testing were those which would be appropriate for dry fly fishing. Where possible, this was based on the manufacturer's own recommendation. When this was not available, they made an educated decision based on stated rod action or, if necessary, line weight.

The rod ratings were primarily based on casting qualities, with these being evaluated for distance, tip speed, delicacy, and accuracy.

kinda still makes me wonder what fly lines they were casting with ... .. .. ... .. ... .. Brian

I reviewed the article to see if I could ferret out any information about the lines used but came up empty handed. The only thing I would assume is that they were not silk. In the introductory material which discusses the reason behind holes in fly reel spools, the following statement appears: " ... Since most fly lines have a non-absorbent finish, no water actually soaks into the line,. ... "