# Any Glass rod junkies?



## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

I recently bought a few fiberglass spinning rods on Ebay circa 60's 70's and 80's for trout fishing our rivers here in Michigan. They seem to have the action and power I have been looking for. (St. Croix has taken to building pool cues and broom sticks.) Does anyone else find value in fishing vintage rods? Please share your preferences.


----------



## flowie (Oct 26, 2015)

Lamiglass. Eagle claw made some nice glass rods in the 60s and 70s.

Browning glass rods from the 70s arent terrible either.

The crappy thing about vintage glass rods is you will find 10 casting rods for every spinning rod....


----------



## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

The rods I've been looking into are from California Tackle Co. using Sabre as their trademark. Seems as though they specialized in making salt water big game rods but a few light tackle rods were produced as well. Does anyone own or remember using Sabre glass rods? (Before the company was bought out by Penn.)


----------



## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

I seem to remember reading a thread a few years back where one of the moderators, Whit1 was extolling the virtues of using glass rods but I couldn't find it using the search function...


----------



## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

I often reach for my custom 9' fiberglass steelhead rod. Been with me 37 years. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.


----------



## flowie (Oct 26, 2015)

Glass rods are nice for crankbaits. Sometimes with graphite rods people rip the crank out of the fishes mouth because the graphite rod plus braid makes it so sensitive. Glass rods are nice for jigging too.
The comeback is slower with glass, theres more vibration at the end of a cast, but they can really fling a lure.

The older glass rods are nicely balanced, but they are heavier than graphite.


----------



## Lou is Blue (Sep 14, 2014)

flowie said:


> Glass rods are nice for crankbaits. Sometimes with graphite rods people rip the crank out of the fishes mouth because the graphite rod plus braid makes it so sensitive. Glass rods are nice for jigging too.
> The comeback is slower with glass, theres more vibration at the end of a cast, but they can really fling a lure.
> 
> The older glass rods are nicely balanced, but they are heavier than graphite.


I've got three glass noodle rods. When they were a rage thing; I was too young and too poor to buy them; and ended up with some wonderful graphite I and II Sage and GLoomis rods rods in the 80s and 90s. I added a few others Post 2000. 

One dull winter weekend I got in a bidding war on eBay for these s-glass lamiglas blanks. I'm embarrassed by what I paid; but they are a riot. The action is so slow, and the gradual dampening versus the immediate dampening of say a graphite sage 2106 or gloomis 1141; it really an entirely different sensation.

I'm sure that if I scaled them against the graphite, they'd weigh more, but the actions feel much lighter.


----------



## flowie (Oct 26, 2015)

I think some glass rods are balanced better and feel lighter. Ive held a glass rod that I know is heavier than a graphite the same length and grip style...but it somehow feels lighter. i coukd be wrong but I think its just a better balanced rod that does that.


----------



## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

I think I'm getting to a point where the weight of a rod does not really concern me as much as the ability to make a proper presentation and successfully land a fish.


----------



## syonker (May 7, 2004)

Ranger Ray said:


> I often reach for my custom 9' fiberglass steelhead rod. Been with me 37 years. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.


Who built/where was your rod built?

The spring guides/wraps look a lot like custom rods built at the now closed West Michigan Angler in Grand Haven.

PS-Like the Ultimate Fishing Rod Ties!


----------



## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

Ed Radecki built it. Good eye on the guides. He built them himself out of stainless. Wouldn't surprise me if he was making customs for the sport shops around Muskegon. He made three at the same time for two buddies and I. We all still use them today. Love them rod ties.


----------



## Lou is Blue (Sep 14, 2014)

syonker said:


> Who built/where was your rod built?
> 
> The spring guides/wraps look a lot like custom rods built at the now closed West Michigan Angler in Grand Haven.
> 
> PS-Like the Ultimate Fishing Rod Ties!


Eiler's rod shop in Shelby had a small batch of old fenwick one piece fiberglass blanks that he had lucked into. Last I'd heard he was trying to find someone to cut them and install spigot ferrules into them. If you were interested in a glass blank, it might be worth a call.


----------



## syonker (May 7, 2004)

Are the Fenwick blanks brown or yellow?

I never graduated to making glass ferrules so I would need to differ to someone with much more experience.

I remember at the West Michigan Angler we would take those brown Fenwick flyrod blanks & make some crazy custom noodle rods.


----------



## Lou is Blue (Sep 14, 2014)

syonker said:


> Are the Fenwick blanks brown or yellow?
> 
> I never graduated to making glass ferrules so I would need to differ to someone with much more experience.
> 
> I remember at the West Michigan Angler we would take those brown Fenwick flyrod blanks & make some crazy custom noodle rods.


Fenwick made some brown and some yellow; as did lamiglas. I recall it more of an issue by season than by model; but might not be right.


----------



## syonker (May 7, 2004)

Lou is Blue said:


> Fenwick made some brown and some yellow; as did lamiglas. I recall it more of an issue by season than by model; but might not be right.


We had both colors of Fenwick blanks in the store, but what folks really went nuts for were the custom built steelhead rods made from the yellow Eagle Claw blanks as those rods were about half the price of a custom built Fenwick rod.


----------



## frenchriver1 (Jul 5, 2005)

I'm not a rod maker but I was under the impression the glass ferrule match is intrinsic to the rod blank, not something to be learned, unless you are into making sections of different rods into one. I had one of these made and it is great for what I need. Can remember the old metal to metal set up which left a dead spot in the rod, but that was the state of the art at the time..


----------



## Lou is Blue (Sep 14, 2014)

frenchriver1 said:


> I'm not a rod maker but I was under the impression the glass ferrule match is intrinsic to the rod blank, not something to be learned, unless you are into making sections of different rods into one. I had one of these made and it is great for what I need. Can remember the old metal to metal set up which left a dead spot in the rod, but that was the state of the art at the time..


The alternative was the spigot ferrule. It was a piece of sanded solid Fiberglas which was custom fit to where the rod was cut in diameter. About 3-4 inches long, it would protrude from the butt end perhaps 2 inches; and be sanded to the internal diameter of the upper portion of the rod. The butt end would be glued in place. Manufacturers claimed the sensivity that resulted was equil to a one piece rod. Of course; graphite side swiped all discussion about it.


----------



## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

They did make both brown and yellow.


----------

