I was given this L.L. Bean 7'6" Featherweight fiberglass fly rod. It belonged to a friend's grandfather who passed away. My friend doesn't fish and thought his grandfather would like it to go to someone who would appreciate it.

The rod came with what looks like the original tube and sock and all are in nice condition. I'm hoping someone on this forum might have more information about it. I'm interested in who might have manufactured it and when. I'm pretty sure it's a 5 or 6 weight but any thoughts on that would be nice too. I would also take any suggestions for a reel that might go nice with it. Maybe something that could have been purchased with it back in the day. I have a Pflueger Medalist 1495 that might work nice. Thanks for your help and thank you for letting me become a member. I've often come to this excellent forum for information and have been impressed with all of the knowledge so willingly shared.
Here are a few more images of the rod. Please let me know if I should have loaded them in some other way.

Definitely a Phillipson. It might feel like a 5 when you wiggle it, but try a 6 or a 7wt on it. These are wonderful rods.

That rod is either from 1960, just before the Phillipson shareholders sold the company to Johnson reels (Johnson cancelled contracts with other companies) or from 1964/1965 after Bill Phillipson bought the company back. Cosmetically the rod looks most like the Johnson Profile 8F76LC. The rod is not marked for a line weight, so I would lean to the earlier date.

The rod has a nickel silver ferrule. Make sure the ferrule is clean! Try a six weight line and see how it feels. I don't think a Medalist reel foot will fit this reelseat. You may need something thinner, such as a Hardy made Scientific Angler's System 6. A Johnson Magnetic No. 3 reel might fit too.


Tom

LL Bean has an excellent archive of old catalogs. With the time period and type already narrowed down, you might be surprised--the customer rep might be as well--how easily they can locate a display listing of that exact model in the spring catalog, 1960 or so. Worth an email to inquire.

People laugh at my rod protection equipment. I get these on ebay and they stretch over tubes for 8' 2pc rods fine.
They provide abrasion resistance for those labels.



That reminds me. I need a few more of these, and at $2.50 drop shipped from China, they are cheap enough to protect all my nice tubes. Though my rod storage does sort of look like an Anime collection.

Can you provide a link to the source. Would like to order a few. Orvis long ago sold tube socks, surprised they stopped.

Great ! Typically at that time, trade rods weren't identified as to OEM by the retailer. You figured it out by comparison with rods in the core brand form, or sometimes from hints in the wording of a description or advertising. For instance, the phrase "tubular fiberglass bonded under high pressure with epoxy" might have micmicked wording in Phillipson ads of the day or even been identical. Also, quite possibly--I don't remember in spite of having bought a couple rods in Freeport in the early 1960s--the store carried the Beans labeled rod and the Phillipson form as well, so they could be compared side by side. Over the years I have seen this from time to time with Beans or other retailers--JW Young Reels at the store, and then the same reel in a different color sold with the Bean's name--being the last I recall.

And oh my gosh, I can't resist looking at that catalog blast from the past. I had completely forgotten the Judge Palmer fly, a killer just as described, with much better castability/fishability than one of its popular evolutionary forms today, the wooly bugger.

That supplied ad text definitely indicates a Phillipson rod to me. Clues being under high pressure, epoxy and nickel silver ferrules.

Thank you!!

I was able to find a couple of reels recently to try with this rod. Thanks for the suggestions everybody. Now I just need to find a line I like!

I went with a weight forward six weight on the Pfluger 1494 with a couple wraps of lead tape to balance it out. It casts nice in my yard so looking forward to trying it out for real one of these days.