I am a new member to the forum. My name is Chip Drozenski, Charlotte NC.
In the early 70's I met with Vince Cummings to discuss building a rod for small streams.
A mutual stream that we both loved and used as the example was the AMAWALK in NY.
Vince built for me this rod named the ' THE AMAWALK ' 6'8" #5.

No one seems to know about this rod but it appears that if anyone living knows it could be on this forum. I am having the rod restored by a fantastic rod maker / restorer Steve Hoye http://www.klondikerod.com/
for my grandson. Steve believes less is more and restoring as close to original as possible.

Under a 900x scope he has identified all the markings except under " THE AMAWALK " some illegible markings that might be the series or model#. Any info will be appreciated ... Chip

Could of been as long as forty two years. Some of us may not have your sharp wits, Dylan.

While someone gets to the bottom of this, here is an interesting link about Cummings and his perception of fiberglass. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/. .. /index.htm

Are you asking if that is a custom labled version of a standard model? Well, almost certainly the blank is not a one-off. The fittings might be but are more likely standard or from a small menu of options. Could be that only the label was personalized to your liking as he did have 6'8" models. That would be good "custom" fly rod marketing since it is true he built the rod for you and wrote something different on it than what was written the ones he built for everyone else. In fact, he built every single rod he sold for the person who bought it.

Here is a good link (you will find others using the search function) to a post with a Cummings catalog and with various photos in other posts in the same thread. I bet you can find the standard model that yours was based on. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12435&p=78773&hilit=rat#p78754

Sorry that my memory after forty years is not as precise as others. I thought that the forum would enjoy seeing the rod before and after restoration, might enjoy the story of how the rod came about and along the way we could gain some knowledge.

We can see that the almost illegible is FL -

It is highly likely that it is 468 or 568. We wanted to be sure.

Also we were looking to see if anyone could shed some light on the ' THE AMAWALK '.

Understand the blank, ferrule, wraps are standard but could the taper be unique. ... or is it the standard 6'8" and just called AMAWALK ... was there a series called the AMAWALK.

Any help would be appreciated and thanks for the thoughtful responses ... Chip

Hi Chip, welcome to the board and thanks for posting the pictures of your rod. It is beautiful.

I wish I could help with info on "The Amawalk" rod. On a related note, I cut my fly fishing teeth on the Amawalk River many moons ago. Back in the day I fished many an evening's sulfur hatch at the Wood Street Pool. As you may know, it was a wonderful stream with lovely wild browns. I lived in N.C. (Cary) from 1995-2000, and am now back in upstate NY.

My initial post on FGFR's has been a wonderful experience ... info ... memories of the AMAWALK ... and more ... thanks ... I will post the restored version once it is complete and more of the story of my meetings with Vince and Matt (Matty) Vinciguerra.

The last remaining restoration item is to fill in the blank ( and my memory ) about what to put after FL-?

Seems like 468 and 368 are the current choices ... where is Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau when you need him ... investigation still open for comments! Chip

Hi Chip and all I may be able to shed some light on Vince Cummings, I was a friend of Vince Cummings,a neighbor and fished with upstate ny b4 he got ill. He also built a few rods for me which I still own a few, he was a tremendous craftsman, Vince built rods for the President of United States, he was a specialist with Glass, rods, E-S glass,he got his blanks from a company in California. Vince was notorious with naming his rods, he had no real system, just randomly picked a name. Example he built a graphite two piece 7'9 rod for me, to this day I don't know what blank it is he would not tell me, i think it a Loomis early IMX.. It is a fine rod, he named the rod Supergrahite 1 right in front of me, great story of a great man, he was the first builder to use burled wood for reel seats, he built a set of rods I believe they were for Dwight Eisenhower that were presentation grade rods, I could go on for hours talking about the time I spent in his shops in Haverstraw NY Rockland co..conversations we had regarding the price of his rods, he finally had a heart condition which I believe was compounded by inhalng the glues, paints and rod finishing chemicals that led to his passing. .btw. .I've been offered alot of money for that one of a kind Supergraphite. .it isn't for sale. ..it stays in the family. .also own a few river rats and UL one piece glass spinning rod with a tenn handle. ..bait casting glass rods. .
Paul

Regarding the adding of the series number on the rod. .I would leave it alone. .it only detracts from the value of the rod. . There are some bogus copies of his rods out there ... I was asked to verify a river rat for a large sporting goods store in northern NJ. .the rod was a copy. .. Just a point of information his name was on every rod he built ... I question the authenticity of a rod that doesn't have his signature. ..and
Good luck with that fine rod, treat it well it is now a piece of American fly fishing history the same as Dave Lewis rods will be. . There will never be craftsman like them again, they may be gone but they gave left their mark on rod building forever. ..

Paul

LaGrange NY isn't that off the Taconic state Pkwy. .I was raised In a small town right around the corner called Pleasant Valley NY. .used to fly fish with Vince in a stream just alittle further north not far from Millbrook called Roljhen Jansn (don't remember the correct spelling of the stream ) great Trout habitat, place was loaded with 14-18 Inch Browns. ... I now live in Oregon another great trout fishing area but I cant ever forget the great early mornings and late afternoons that we fly fished those wonderful streams. .great great memories that I will never forget. ... after reading this thread i went to sleep dreaming of those days. ..

Paul

What a small world. . Learned to fly fish on the Wappingers creek in Salt Point NY. .did you know that the Roeliff Jansen kill was Vince Cummings favorite small stream, yes, great historic rivers, Beaverkill, Willowemoc, Delaware and dont forget one of my favorites, the Callicoon creek. .. Believe it or not u know what used to be a very nice productive spot, Ramapo river between Sloastburg and Tuxedo ... This is truly memory lane for me. .im sure if Vince was alive he would enjoy it also. .
Thank you. ... do you remember the Sportsman shows at Rockland Community college? ...
Paul

wow I cant believe I'm having this conversation ... it's like I found a long lost relative..there was a pool right under the overpass Rt44 aways full of Trout. .did you ever go up to Davis lake, just follow that trib about 1/4 of a mile right to the waterfalls. .I worked on Albrechts farm in summers when I was a kid bailing hay and taking care of the cows I used to try and keep the cows outa that pool..I lived on Creek road in PV. .unreal gotta call my brother in Buffalo and the tell him about this conversation. .good luck on the trip when the rod is restored. .i fished from Maine to Florida to Oregon with the rods Vince built. .he is embedded in my soul each time i pick up a fly rod I see his face clearly. ..Always a pleasant memory of him. ...
Paul

That was another top secret where he got his Fiberglass blanks. .I believe there
Was or still is a company on the west coast by the name of Kennedy or a name
Close to that, I recall seeing it on a box delivered to his shop near the railroad tracks
In Haverstraw. .. I'm not totally sure. .but he got em from the same place for years. ..I aso remember fly fishermans bookcase in Croton on Hudson. .
Yes, Scout camp on creek road going up to the steel bridge at the four corners. .the Wappingers was a great dry fly Trout habitat, We used to catch big LM Bass off the bridge in town by the dam. ..that entire area was great fly fishing. .then we headed down to the Newburgh area for some good fishing and end up in Central valley at that famous cane fly shop. ... Paul

Mamma mia, what a fishing places!

Maurizio