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tonemike
FF79 ??
Post 16 Dec 2005, 23:28 • #1 
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Joined: 06/09/05
Posts: 2069
Location: Monroe, WA
can any of you help me differenciate between a fenwick woodstream ff79 and your standard feralite ff79? is the woodstream newer? i am confused, cause i thought "woodstream inc." owned fenwick from '79 - '88, and that the two digit (i.e. ff79 instead of ff806) gave way to the three digit model numbers by 1974. so why would woodstream be printed on a pre-1979 rod? any information here would be greatly appreciated. thanks a lot.
-mike
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paveglass
FF79 ??
Post 17 Dec 2005, 07:01 • #2 
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Joined: 06/09/05
Posts: 2525
Location: US-CO
Mike,

Fenwick's earliest few series of rods were on blanks made by Grizzly, they had numbers like 320 (the one I have, casts like a FF756) and the rods were early large weave fiberglass with metal ferrules, but they did have the Fenwick wrap by the grip you know so well. Their next series of rods were labeled with two digit numbers like FF 70, FF 84, FF 79, etc. At some time in the future they transitioned to a labeling system that represented the length of the rod and line weight FF 756 representing a 7 1/2 ft rod for a 6 wt. But ... I believe they continued to produce tapers and rods that matched the earlier FF XX series simultaneously and labeled them as such. I know that the FF 79 (8' 6 wt) and the FF 806 were both produced in the same year (you can tell the year by the letter in the serial number). When Woodstream bought Fenwick they later transitioned their method and labeled rods differently--the FL-7 is a 8'3" 7 wt. It is news to me that there is a Fenwick-Woodstream FF-79 because I didn't know they had continued the FF XX as well as the FF XXX series of rods into Woodstream years.

tell us more about it. Is the blank translucent, or chocolate opaque, what kind of tube, what color rod sock, is there a serial number (later Woodstreams stopped that), downlocking or uplocking, fenwick braid, grip style? I know Fenwicks pretty well but this is something I'd like to know more about.

Most here know that I think the FF79 was Fenwick's best dry fly taper. I have a couple of them and if I give a friend a glass rod as a gift it is usually a FF79.

paveglass
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paveglass
FF79 ??
Post 17 Dec 2005, 09:05 • #3 
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Joined: 06/09/05
Posts: 2525
Location: US-CO
Here's a Woodstream FF806.

cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayISAPI ... %3AIT&rd=1

Here's another thing I'd not seen before, a single footed stripping guide on what looks like a factory Fenwick.

cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayISAPI ... %3AIT&rd=1

paveglass
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tonemike
FF79 ??
Post 17 Dec 2005, 22:01 • #4 
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Joined: 06/09/05
Posts: 2069
Location: Monroe, WA
thanks for the response paveglass. i think i've helped solve the mystery by putting on my glasses. 8o the tube and bag say woodstream, but the rod does not! i can't believe i didn't notice the incorrect bag and tube. and i'm not even a heavy drinker. i guess that settles that. anyways, the blank is the lighter transluecent brown, but has a larger weave glass appearance that my ff75 does not. the reel seat is downlocking and the model number is 1588. i liked this a lot with a peach 444 wf6f and a wulf TT6 (if there's not too much wind). any other lines you think are better suited to this rod? and do you know why someone wrote "lite" after ff79? were there different tapers to the ff79s? thanks again for your input.
-tonemike
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paveglass
FF79 ??
Post 18 Dec 2005, 08:29 • #5 
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Joined: 06/09/05
Posts: 2525
Location: US-CO
Mike,

That makes more sense to me. The earliest feralites (no metal ferrule) were made with a broad weave golden glass that is almost bamboo colored. I have a very early FF84 (8 1/2 ft for HDH, DT5F) with this type of glass that has a reverse half wells grip (not the later Fenwick style). It also has the Fenwick decorative wraps and I am pretty sure that mine is a Grizzly blank. This blank is typical of the very early glass rods like the Conolons--you can see the fiberglass weave like a basket under the finish. Some time later when they changed to the more familiar brown blanks, the early translucent Fenwick blanks on the FF79, FF75 and others, were not the opaque chocolate of later years. When you hold them up to the light, they are translucent and light passes through them--what kind of glass is on your FF79 ... is it the same as your FF75? The wraps on my early FF84 rod also have mylar underwraps and it is a pretty showy rod, but not uncommon for the day. It is the earliest Fenwick I have with a feralite ferrule design and its serial number is B 11040 which tells me it was made in 1962. Does your serial number have a letter in front of it?

Earlier Grizzly-Fenwick blanks used metal ferrules and the one I have is a Fenwick 320 "Light" with no serial number. The 320 is the rod that preceded the famous FF-75 (7 1/2 ft, 6 wt) and later the FF-756 (7 1/2 ft, 6 wt). If yours says FF-79 "Light" and has the basket weave glass it may be between two I have in terms of a manufacturing date. I am curious about yours--let me know more about it, especially the ferrule, grip style, and if your serial number has a letter by it.

All the best.

paveglass
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majicwrench
FF79 ??
Post 18 Dec 2005, 15:10 • #6 
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Joined: 06/23/05
Posts: 4971
Location: US-MT
Hey Paveglass, I have a 756 with a single foot stripping guide, very much factory. Is the only one I had ever seen, real sweet rod. BTW that one on Ebay sure looks like the tip is short!
Also, I would sure be your friend if you would give me a FF79 as a gift, oh, I can't WAIT to see what is under the tree from Paveglass!
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paveglass
FF79 ??
Post 18 Dec 2005, 17:03 • #7 
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Joined: 06/09/05
Posts: 2525
Location: US-CO
majic,

It used to be I could come by them easy and cheap ... with my big mouth telling everybody how nice they are, now they all seem to go for about $75.

As I become more selective, the term "friend" now generally means--you have private water, a nice drift boat, or a pretty sister :-)

All the best. I'll be on the road for the next two weeks, with Christmas in Durango ... hope to get to the San Juan.

paveglass
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tonemike
FF79 ??
Post 20 Dec 2005, 06:26 • #8 
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Joined: 06/09/05
Posts: 2069
Location: Monroe, WA
hey paveglass,
mine is the transluecent earlier type you mentioned, whereas my ff75 is the newer opaque brown. funny you mentioned the mylar wraps, my ff79 has them and i wondered if someone rewrapped the guides as the wraps on my newer fenwicks don't (and have the standard brown wraps tipped with white). and yes, there is a B about a quarter inch in front of my serial number as well. i didn't know that that meant anything. the ferrule is the standard feralite glass ferrule and it has a reverse wells grip, much less pronounced than my newer fenwicks. almost like it's a cross between reverse wells and cigar grips. have you cast ff79s with the older style glass like mine, as well as the newer versions, and if so, what can you say about the differences if there are any? just curious. thanks.
mike
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