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Translucent rods
Post 16 Aug 2011, 06:55 • #1 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/08/05
Posts: 435
Location: US-IN
For me, the look of a fiberglass rod is almost as important as its feel. I love the look of my translucent Fenwick FF79 in the dappled forest light along a stream. Duff posted a picture of his translucent yellow Kabuto; I know that at least some of the Cortland FR-2000s were translucent; and somewhere I saw a picture Ron (Bulldog) posted along his hill country stream with a gorgeous translucent rod bending to a nice fish. So my question is, what brands and models were translucent?

Thanks!\
Peter


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Translucent rods
Post 16 Aug 2011, 14:50 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/29/10
Posts: 1048
Location: Osage Orange Range, North Texas, US
Yeah—I feel you on the aesthetics.

An image search pulls up a few.  Have a look around.  Those whitish, Casper-the-Friendly-Rod blanks are pretty eye-catching.


(Edited to replace a dash trashed in the move.)


Last edited by swellcat on 24 Dec 2011, 04:18, edited 1 time in total.

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Translucent rods
Post 16 Aug 2011, 14:59 • #3 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/27/09
Posts: 573
Location: US-SD
Translucent is pretty! I foresee a day when we will have very translucent rods and with the new translucent lines all you will see when an angler makes a cast will be the little snake guides flitting through the air like mayflies; all else will be invisible.


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Translucent rods
Post 16 Aug 2011, 15:41 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/16/08
Posts: 3540
Location: Upstate-NY
Lamiglas 'S-Glass'
Norie 'Amberstar'
Fenwick 'Feralite' FFxx
Cortland 'FR-2000'
Kabuto

Are what pop into my head, off the cuff ...


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Translucent rods
Post 16 Aug 2011, 22:52 • #5 
Guide
Joined: 09/23/09
Posts: 168
Location: Australia
Lemon Drops too


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Translucent rods
Post 17 Aug 2011, 14:44 • #6 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/23/10
Posts: 784
Location: SF Bay Area

Some of St Croix's rods were translucent.



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Translucent rods
Post 24 Sep 2011, 09:33 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/29/10
Posts: 1048
Location: Osage Orange Range, North Texas, US
Are there other (besides Kabuto and Norie) generally available clear-translucent fly rods/blanks?

Do any of the Shakespeare Wonderods approach this look, or are they essentially shades of opaque off-white?
Image

What about other painted rods/blanks through the era? Stripped of the coating, would any of them appear sort of clear-translucent? Are there poor man's Nories lurking somewhere under coats of tacky 1970s paint?


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Translucent rods
Post 24 Sep 2011, 11:08 • #8 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 08/25/08
Posts: 1526
Location: Delton, MI
Shakespeare glass Wonderods/WondOrods came in a number of different colors. I remember a Shakespeare WondOrod that was a beautiful Winston-like green. I can't remember whether it was translucent or not but it seems like it might have been slightly translucent.


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Translucent rods
Post 25 Sep 2011, 00:03 • #9 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/26/06
Posts: 3837
Location: Northeast Of Heaven
Hello

River Rat.

Reed Flex 2.

Some H.I. Rods

Tight Lines and Translucent Loops

Andy M


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Translucent rods
Post 25 Sep 2011, 01:35 • #10 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/16/08
Posts: 3540
Location: Upstate-NY
@swellcat: yes, some painted or otherwise opaquely-coated, vintage rods are very nicely semi-transparent when completely stripped and re-varnished.

As it happens, I'm in the midst of re-making a Berkley 'Curt Gowdy' Parametric 7'0" rod. I was very pleasantly surprised how attractive the underlying blank is. It looks *really good* stripped and re-varnished. Very visible spiral/weave patterning, (just barely) semi-translucent in sunshine. I'm very excited to complete this project! Breathing new life into another of my Dad's 40 year old rods. (W+M Eagle Claw 6'6" was the first, a few years ago ... )


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Translucent rods
Post 02 Oct 2011, 01:53 • #11 
New Member
Joined: 10/01/11
Posts: 1
I just started fly fishing and purchased a St. Croix - Bliss it looks like it's translucent and it has 195 imprinted on the rod with 6' 6". Can anyone tell me what size reel and line to use with it. I trout fish in upstate NY in the mountain streams and thought this would be a good size for those small places ... what are the pros and cons of a small rod and does this rod have any value, I paid $20 at a consignment store and the rod has never been used ... it is in mint condition and was told it was made probably in the 60-70's
Thanks for the help and any information on it.
Chuck


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Translucent rods
Post 02 Oct 2011, 13:58 • #12 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/03/07
Posts: 2055
Location: Marble Falls, Texas
Chuck,

Welcome to the board! I'm not familiar with the rod but a 6'6" glass fly rod of that period would probably have been rated for a 5 wt and you may find it quite fishable with a 4 wf/dt. A 5 wt was ultralite then. Good condition 6'6" glass fly rods usually go for more than $20, probably in the $60 + range. Show us some pics and we can take it further.

They are great for small streams and the couple of glass rods I have had in that length roll cast rather well. At that length, glass has it all over graphite or bamboo.

Enjoy!

Hayden


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Translucent rods
Post 02 Oct 2011, 14:57 • #13 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Chuck,

Welcome to the Fiberglass Flyrodders! I have never heard of a St. Croix Bliss or a model 195, but that doesn't mean much. There are many great rods out there. I think a 6'6" to 7 foot rod is a nice rod for small trout streams. Hopefully Corlay will add his opinion here as he fishes some of those very New York streams.

One of the speed bumps in learning to fly fish is the "Myth of the Matching Fly Line". The myth goes that every fly rod label is imprinted with the exactly correct, Matching Fly Line* and that is the ONLY fly line that can be used with the rod. The myth continues that calamities will plague the fisherman who varies from the exactly correct, Matching Fly Line - warranties will be voided, the rod will cast poorly, movie starlets will shun him, and enormous trout will always escape his grasp. Furthermore, if the rod and the exactly correct, Matching Fly Line do not perform well together, it is the fisherman's fault! Of course this can only be remedied by spending more and more money on leaders, tippets, perfectly proportioned flies, casting lessons, guiding fees, expensive trips to exotic locations, and, of course, the exact correct, Matching Fly Reel.

Phooey. It just ain't true. The gear should match the fisherman, not the other way around. Everyone casts differently depending on their experience and style. The correct line for your fly rod is the one that matches how you cast your rod. It might not be the same fly line I would like or Lefty Kreh would like.

Choosing a fly line is extraordinarily easy - you choose the line by casting the rod. String the rod up with a line (say a 5 weight on your St. Croix) and cast it for a few minutes. If the rod bends nicely and delivers the fly the way you want, then it is probably the right line. If the rod feels soggy and hard to control (almost like someone stepped on the line behind you), then the fly line is too heavy. If the rod hardly bends, the line is too light. Try heavier and lighter lines - you may find one is better than the line you started with. Once you have a line you like, take it fishing. If you are still casting it well after some time on the water, then it is a good match.

A good local fly shop should have a selection of fly lines for you to try. If the shop insists you should buy a different fly rod, or they don't have test gear, or they spout the Myth of the Matching Fly Line, then find another shop. You want a shop with great service. A shop with low prices is easy, a shop with great service is priceless.

Tom

* Of course, the myth further implies that fly rods labels without the exactly correct, Matching Fly Line are hopelessly antique, heavy, egalitarian, and will irreparably damage your ability to fly fish with rock stars and supermodels. All such rods should be discarded at once. Er, um, I can arrange safe and responsible disposal ...


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Translucent rods
Post 03 Oct 2011, 09:57 • #14 
New Member
Joined: 10/02/11
Posts: 1
Thanks Hayden & Tom. The information on selecting line that feels right to me was very helpful and I will be doing just that. I was down in Blue Ridge Ga.the last 2 weeks and caught some real nice rainbows on a friends big bass rig ... go figure ... I went to Wal-mart and got some 4lb line and some small gold meps and had a blast ... He stuck with his 25lb test and only caught the low hanging branches ... ha. I was nice though, I kept him in fresh trout for a week. We both had a nice time, but down in that part of Ga, your either going up or down and nothing in between.
Chuck


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Translucent rods
Post 03 Oct 2011, 10:24 • #15 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/15/06
Posts: 804
Location: Fayetteville, NC
I know they're not vintage, but I started building up a Kabuto 662-3 blank in his new brown color, and just received one of Fred Paddock's "the One" blank today. While Fred's blank is much darker than Kab's, they are both translucent, virtually transparent, unsanded, and absolutely GORGEOUS! The richly colored pale coffee and deep cinnamon blanks with the light shining through and glistening as it reflects off the polished tape ridges makes me wish I were new to fly fishing and coming upon such lovely tackle for the first time. I'm going to love building and fishing these two rods. Since they are designed for very different situations, I won't even have to feel bad about picking one over the other.
CC


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Translucent rods
Post 03 Oct 2011, 22:41 • #16 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/19/08
Posts: 1218
Location: Branson, Missouri
Here is a Heddon Golden Mark 50 :

Image

When I fish it. .. my friends call it the carrot.

Image

Brian


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Translucent rods
Post 04 Oct 2011, 02:33 • #17 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/03/07
Posts: 2055
Location: Marble Falls, Texas
Brian, that is one sweet looking rod.


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Translucent rods
Post 04 Oct 2011, 20:13 • #18 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/29/10
Posts: 1048
Location: Osage Orange Range, North Texas, US
Quote:
Heddon Golden Mark 50"”The Carrot

Similar to some of the Fenwick FFs. . . maybe a touch paler.

Thanks for the picture; it's said to be worth a thousand words.


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Translucent rods
Post 07 Oct 2011, 07:04 • #19 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/19/08
Posts: 1218
Location: Branson, Missouri
I have a couple others around here ... I might take a few more pics ... but nothing looks like them Lemon Drop rods.. those are delicious :-)


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Translucent rods
Post 07 Oct 2011, 18:53 • #20 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/23/10
Posts: 784
Location: SF Bay Area
Couple of my favorite translucents.

Lamiglas SFL

Image

Herter's ( Made by St Croix) and St Croix Imperial

Image




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Translucent rods
Post 07 Oct 2011, 23:17 • #21 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/29/10
Posts: 1048
Location: Osage Orange Range, North Texas, US
Oh, boy—The Carrot has company!


(Edited to repair text corrupted in the move.)


Last edited by swellcat on 24 Dec 2011, 04:15, edited 1 time in total.

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Translucent rods
Post 07 Nov 2011, 17:10 • #22 
New Member
Joined: 11/06/11
Posts: 3
I love the look too, but find some irony that chasing small stream trout we will dress in full camo but fish with a light saber ...


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Re: Translucent rods
Post 12 Jan 2022, 21:19 • #23 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/19/08
Posts: 1218
Location: Branson, Missouri
Updating : Heddon Golden Mark 50, 8ft 7wt

Taking "The Carrot" out for some midge fishing today...













The old yellow'ish Shakespeare wishes it was clear like the Fenwick...


The white Shakespeare has troutble glowing Fenwick style too.




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Re: Translucent rods
Post 13 Jan 2022, 22:30 • #24 
Sport
Joined: 02/02/14
Posts: 31
Location: US-CA
Surprised no one has mentioned Epic glass. My 686 in olive looks good when backlit, but the same stick in salsa just glows!


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Re: Translucent rods
Post 15 Jan 2022, 08:50 • #25 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/05/07
Posts: 2153
Location: West Virginia


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