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Post 29 Jun 2021, 04:01 • #1 
Master Guide
Joined: 01/04/18
Posts: 397
Location: Belair Maryland/Swanton Maryland
I named this Fisher rebuilt rod “ The Heretic”
Since I’m sure some will think what I have done is strait up sacrilege .

So Just hold on to your tippet and hear my confession before casting me to the fires of FFr



This rod started its life in 1978 California forged in an oven of controversy from its beginning

The Fisher “ultralight series “ Rods have long been speculated to be blatant copies of the Winston Stalker rods that Fisher made for Winston . (Guess it pays to roll your own rods..keep those mandrels under lock and key)LoL

So we’re the Winston stalkers really Winston’s since Fisher Rolled and baked em?
Are the Fisher ultralights really Truly Fisher’s since it could be said they were made on Winston or Winston inspired/copied Tapers?

I suppose we’ll never know the whole story Which I guess adds to the whole mystique/ cult status of these Light Line glass rods.
I’ll let Dr Todd sort that out. But only after he puts out the Phillipson Book.

One things for sure the Stalkers and the Ultralights are both Absolutely incredible rods.

Here’s my story...
I actually won this Fisher model#
2047F 7’ #4 at a silent auction for $60
Tochtermans Tackle held a benefit to raise money for fish stocking of The Patterson park pond in Baltimore City.
So right off the bat I’m a winner .
The purchase of this rod may help some kids get hooked on fishing and not gang life in Bmore ..

I Also bid on it because it came with a minty Scientific Anglers reel spooled with some fresh NOS Mastery 4wt line
I sold the Line to buddy and recouped $20
I used the System reel for another rod project but I’d pay $40 for a system 1 reel all day so I’ve pretty much got $000 dollars in the rod before anything happened on the rebuild

When most see how Fisher was marking/labeling the blanks (like they used a metal scriber tool..)
And the plain Jane cigar grip and two tone stamped reel seat you may think it’s a home build/kit rod.
These are 100% factory Fisher rods .
I’ve seen several over the years and fisher also private labeled these rods for Eddie Bauer . Same cosmetics but Some were brown and some came different color like yellowish.

My rod originally looked just like FFr member richardkl249’s rod that he posted back in 2020 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=69945&hilit=Fisher#p380824
Except my rod was in some sad shape.
My cork was no longer a cigar more like a shriveled carrot , the winding check was toast , and the reel seat was held together with some kind of epoxy meets shoe goo concoction.
The stripper was nicked and the first snake above the stripper was smashed That was replaced by previous owner and dripped epoxy drops on the blank..
Oh and to top things off the ferrule gap was Nil..
Sorry I don’t have a before photo.. I lost over 50 before photos of project rods.. it’s a touchy subject About that hard drive.
I didn’t have much hope for the rod and since I had like zero dollars in it.
So as project rods sometime go the fisher rod sat in my basement Collecting dust in the project rods box...
Then a builder I worked with Successfully on a few Heddons
Muffed on 3 rods I had going with him
Reel seat put on crooked , 2 hook keepers put in the 12 o’clock position instead of facing down At 6 like I specifically requested ..
Then it came to this ....
Heretical Reel Seat

I asked the builder to get me a Flor Grade western grip from Proof and a REC al7/ Powell style seat From Mudhole for a Powell rod we were working on.
The builder gets me the western grip I ask but orders the Garrison/ Payne style from Proof as well cuz he thought that’s what I wanted but he mis heard me by saying I do not like garrison style seats Because of them scratching the reel foot on black reels.
So the builder fixed my issues I gathered my rods We parted ways and put this troublesome reel seat in the spare parts bin.

And man did this reel seat cause a stir up here on FFr back in 2018.
Some spirited discussion for sure ..
Fast forward I was referred to another rod builder in my hometown Toms custom rods in Belair Maryland

I took the “Written off..” fisher rod along with the Spare parts over to Tom to use as a design exercise for doing “Orvis superfine” style tapered winding checks on a bunch of my rods I fish.
I have a surgically repaired thumb and can no longer use it for traditional thumb on top casting style.
. I have to fish Lee Wulff / Gary Borger style with index finger on top driving my cast.
I fish over 200 days a year so having rods that fit me exactly is paramount to my success and comfort/enjoyment

It’s one of the reasons That drew me to Phillipson rods. Those tapered threaded winding checks and those conical hosels on the scotch ply rods are so bad a$$.

The design exercise went great
Tom has made the winding check mod on about 30 rods so far but this lil Fisher will always be the first..

I had Tom hot rod the fisher with a 12mm Fuji stripper to replace the haggard existing one and a 10mm Fuji stripper To replace the smashed first snake guide also polished the tip top.
Miraculously all the other snake guides and their wraps were money...


Harley girl thought it casted nice but Mr Bandit was still upset about the reel seat thing and he was super bummed about that spigot ferrule

I had remembered reading about fixing spigot Ferrules on FFr In the Rod Building and repair section about shortening the female rod section to reseat the taper
So I took the Heretic down into work for surgery ( I work at a Vw/Audi performance and Repair shop )

A bench circular sander makes for quick and efficient work ...
That’s more like it . The female ferrule still has plenty of reinforcement left and is all snug as a bug in a rug.
Should easily last a few seasons before having to sand it down past the wrap and rewrap/reinforce

Now Over to the supplies cabinet for some clear gorilla glue to seal the sanded edge.
Don’t try this at home kiddies...
Clean any shavings out the blank first

Let’s take a lil dip in the pool

Hit it with the qtip again inside to get any excess Glue off
Let cure for a day.

And Bobs Your uncle.. as they say.

Rod balances absolutely perfect with the $10 Ryobi Magnesium 255Mg reel I scored from the C. Boyd Pfeiffer estate collection (he wrote the Orvis guide to outdoor photography)


I had a $20 dick’s reward coupon I cashed on on this $30 Perfect hatch (Made in Canada) wf4 line
Spoiled up with some free Orvis backing I wanna gifted
So let’s run the numbers shall we
$60 for rod combo
-$20 sold Fly line
-$40 sold my self the SA reel
=$0 baseline
Plus
$43 proof Grip and reel seat kit
$50 Tom custom rods labor and the 2 strippers
$10 Ryobi 255Mg reel
$10 Perfect hatch 4wt line ($20off coupon)
$0 free Orvis backing gifted from mentor
$4 rio leader
$3 fly
All in I’m sitting at $120 for the Entire Combo

US built Fisher copy of a Winston taper rebuilt with
Portuguese Cork grip
Chinese copy cat reel seat
Japanese guides
Rebuilt in Maryland
Japanese reel
Canadian Fly Line
USA made leader
And a fly tied in Pennsylvania.
Wow this thing is getting quite cosmopolitan...

Am i a Saint or a Sinner??
All I know is ,
I can hear my dad saying from above
Son ..it’s like slipping in sh!t and coming out smelling like a rose...

Oh and how’s it cast ??
I’ll have let you know tomorrow .
I’m still waiting for the back cast to finish...

Tight lines til my next transgression.
Ottobahn


Last edited by ottobahn on 29 Jun 2021, 12:26, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 29 Jun 2021, 10:39 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/25/16
Posts: 1069
Location: Rocky Mountains - Colorado
Just about perfect is what that sounds like. I fine rod and cool project. Congrats


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Post 29 Jun 2021, 11:32 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 01/02/12
Posts: 1859
Location: Gig Harbor, WA
A thoroughly entertaining story. Thanks for that and hope the story continues. Roy


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Post 29 Jun 2021, 14:33 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Definitely not a sin to refurbish that rod. Now the only transgression would be to leave it unused any longer, so good thing that's not the plan.


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Post 29 Jun 2021, 22:49 • #5 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/02/16
Posts: 515
Location: Georgia
I agree with the previous responses - no moral qualms. I think most Winston purists would even agree that you did a good thing.

The rebuild looks excellent. Thanks for sharing the details. Let us know what you think of the Fisher/Winston taper when your back cast comes forward.

My only question (out of pure jealousy): how do you manage 200+ fishing days a year? You must live adjacent to some body of water.


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Post 30 Jun 2021, 06:45 • #6 
Sport
Joined: 08/13/17
Posts: 30
Location: PA
Great story, beautiful rod and all at a great price! Id say you did well.


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