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Post 01 Dec 2020, 18:01 • #1 
Sport
Joined: 12/01/20
Posts: 44
I purchased a package of four fiberglass fly rods off Ebay. One was a Wright McGill which was the main reason for the purchase, as I wanted the reel seat. The rest I had planned to use to make fiberglass ferrules, or other repairs. Package arrived today and I was surprised and delighted to find Fisher 7 1/2' in the package. The tip was short by a few inches, a few guides had been upgraded. As it turned out it was the only rod with all the guides. Took it to the park and laid out 60' no problem, and 70' with a double haul. I am no whirlwind caster, I don't believe I have ever cast a 5 wt line 70', fiberglass, bamboo, or graphite. Needless to say I'm impressed. This rod will not be used for parts.

There is writing on the blank, most of which I cannot make out, other than the last word, "Fisher." It has a gold spray on a brown, not smooth, blank. Pictures included, wondering if anyone can tell me who sold/marketed the completed rod.


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Post 01 Dec 2020, 19:59 • #2 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Welcome to the Forum!

I'm not sure your rod is from the J. Kennedy Fisher Rod Company. That style of the fiberglass, ferrule, and reelseat are likely from the 50s, not the late 60s/70s when Fisher rods became justifiably famous. I'm really not sure who made your rod. My best guess on the inscription is, something, something, "Royal Fisher". That doesn't get us any closer to the original rod maker.

That said, it really doesn't matter who made the rod if you like the way it casts.


Tom


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Post 01 Dec 2020, 20:38 • #3 
Sport
Joined: 12/01/20
Posts: 44
I'm not sure your rod is from the J. Kennedy Fisher Rod Company. That style of the fiberglass, ferrule, and reelseat are likely from the 50s, not the late 60s/70s when Fisher rods became justifiably famous.

That would explain why I was having such a difficult time finding anything like it online ;). The ferrules did look like a photo I saw of a fiberglass Fisher, but online pics can be deceiving.

My best guess on the inscription is, something, something, "Royal Fisher". That doesn't get us any closer to the original rod maker.

Yes, it is either "Royal" or "Regal" Fisher, I could find neither one anywhere.

That said, it really doesn't matter who made the rod if you like the way it casts.

Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking before deciding to post here. But after lurking for some time I finally had something to show, and I was curious. If it is an inexpensive rod, all the better, I will look for more. I have found some real undervalued gems in the bamboo realm, I imagine there are as many, if not more, in fiberglass.


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Post 01 Dec 2020, 20:41 • #4 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
you found a rod that talks to you - why most of us like glass


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Post 01 Dec 2020, 21:30 • #5 
Sport
Joined: 12/01/20
Posts: 44
Hello Bulldog, I have read many of your posts on the Bamboo Fly rod forum.

Like many, or most anglers my age, I started fly fishing with fiberglass, an Orvis made by Phillipson. Only 6 1/2' as short rods were a bit of a fad at the time. I later bought a longer Eddie Bauer, not sure who made it. It was slooow! My first graphite was a Sage. IM6 I imagine, and I made sure, after reading Leonard Wright's "Fishing the Dry Fly As a Living Insect," to buy the longest rod I could find. It was either 10' or 10 1/2, a 6wt." I loved it. Never found another graphite I liked as well.

Currently I fish bamboo exclusively for trout, graphite in spey, , and a mix of fiberglass, graphite and bamboo in salt. I will see where this rod fits into the trout fishing mix. In the same package was a W&M Green Hornet, 8 1/2'. Tip is short by a foot or more. I read here that it is a 7 wt, maybe 8. Who knows, may join my Echo BAG Quickshot for bonefish on my next expedition in Mexico.

Along with the two rods already named was a South Bend Gladding Outdoorsman 8'6" both sections equal length and another rod I cannot identify. I am embarrassed to say how cheaply I obtained these. Let's just say that if they were all lost, broken or stolen on a trip to the Costa Maya, I would be out no more than a modest dinner with drinks for two at that location.


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Post 02 Dec 2020, 00:28 • #6 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Quite a few Eddie Bauer rods were built on Fisher blanks. Hopefully you still own the Eddie Bauer and the Orvis.

If the Green Hornet is a foot short, maybe salvage it for the reelseat and the ferrules. Life is too short to mess with seriously short tipped rods.

The Gladding might be the sleeper in the group. South Bend/Gladding made some glass ferruled rods that were gentle and slow. An acquired taste.

More pictures are always good.


Tom


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Post 02 Dec 2020, 10:23 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
That's a great way to have fun with 'glass rods, enabling you to judge them for what they are, not what someone else says they are in form or performance.

No reason to be "embarassed" for the cheap price. If I find a diamond in the rough that is seriously underpriced and I can see that the seller isn't exactly living on 5th Avenue, I'll offer more or to help them sell it. I'd be embarassed if I let them cheat themselves. But you'd be surprised how often people say no thanks and be glad for someone to have the item and appreciate it. It's different if the seller is a junk huckster. Then you need to dicker it to a lower price (or cash to you for taking it to the dump) and be embarrassed if you pay "full" price.

The best clues for each letter may still get somebody there. Almost certainly "Fisher" is part of a model name, and unrelated to manufacturer J Kennedy Fisher. Just the common meaning of the word is more likely than any thought or connection to J Kennedy Fisher, whose retail presence was small in the fiberglass era. You could compare the script style to the Fisher style by searching here for rods described as factory made. Probably searching factory graphites on other sites would also show typical scripting/labeling. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=63991&p=333114&hilit=factory+Fisher+rod#p332157

The more you can piece together possible letter sequences that clue the full name or model name, the more it will ring a bell for someone and lead to an i.d. Like many of the type, at that length it would whistle a 6 or 7 weight pretty well, or a 5 if you carry a lot of line. Stiff tip section, maybe 6/64 tiptop?

Looks like a 1960s or earlier rod based on cosmetics, fittings, and what appears to be a fairly coarse weave glass. It could be a trade rod from one of several possible makers and thus not labled with the company name. My best guess, and it is little more than that, is Horrocks Ibbotson.


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Post 02 Dec 2020, 14:56 • #8 
Sport
Joined: 12/01/20
Posts: 44
That's a great way to have fun with 'glass rods, enabling you to judge them for what they are, not what someone else says they are in form or performance.
Agreed. Before I purchased the BAG quickshot I asked a couple of people about it. One a graphite fly maker, who told me not to, that Tim was a great marketer, but that this would not be a good rod for the salt. The other, a salesman at a big fly shop, was of the same opinion, told me that the rod in lighter weights was fine but the heavier, saltwater versions were "a mistake." So I bought a 9 weight graphite, one I like more than most graphite rods, but a couple of months later a used Quickshot 8 wt showed up for half the price of a new one so I grabbed it. I was able to cast it only a few feet less than the 9 weight with much less effort, even in 20mph winds. No one can tell you what rod is right for you, there are too many variables. Perhaps the many years of fiberglass use in my early days still play a roll in my casting stroke. I do not much like the speed of graphite and have even less tolerance for it's fragility. Yesterday, I picked up a used 9' 10 wt BAG, we'll see if that is too much rod for me.


No reason to be "embarassed" for the cheap price.


To be honest, I am tickled pink :P

The best clues for each letter may still get somebody there.

Yes, that is what I was hoping. It is hard to decipher. The first two words begin with either an "R" or a "P", "R" more likely for the first word, "P", for the second.

Stiff tip section, maybe 6/64 tiptop?

Where the rod enters the tip top, it is 8/64", but remember the tip is short, by 3 1/2".

It is definitely a 5wt for me. I don't carry a lot of line in the air, about 60 feet max, but a 6wt was too much for it at 60', and I like to overweight my rods.


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