Steade-Fast rods

[David Bruce 3]

Can anyone help?

I have just found a Steade-Fast Vulta 9.5 foot fly rod in the loft of my daughters 1930s house. It looks like light brown fibreglass and is in a Fibatube bag but this may not be its proper bag.A website search has not helped. I would love to give it a try but with no other information on the rod or bag I am uncertain what weight of line it will take.

Has anyone had or still use one?

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA)]

Buy a few mill ends from Mullarkys and find out that way. My guess is that it will chuck a #7 weight forward taper.

Steade-Fast was a Sheffield based company which specialised in coarse angling accessories such as brollies, keepnets, rod rests, landing nets etc. It was run by a guy called Harry Steade who lived across the road from me when we lived in Woodhouse. I didn't know that they built rods, but when the reservoir fly fishing boom began in the late 60s, I don't doubt that old Harry would have addedfly rods to his range of tackle. Fibretube, a British glass blanks manufacterer, would have been the logical choice for the supply of rod building materials.

 

[Julian Pardoe]

I have feeling this rod may have been made by East Anglian Rod Company (EAR). EAR did make short runs of rods for other Brands in the '70s. For their fly rodsthey only used Fibatube blanks. Fibatube was a subsidiary of Hardy's.Steades were clients of the original Leeda disribution Company in Southamton, which did an excellent job of distributing Mitchell reels, British Fly Reels, Scientific Anglers fly lines, Platil etc to the main wholesalers, which in the '70s & '80s were East Anglian Rod, Taylor & Johnson, Pegley Davies, Forshawsetc. With these products in their catalogue, it was only natural that Steades would add a few fly rods. I am 99% sure they did not make these in their Sheffield works.

I agree with Ron. Stick ona WF7 (preferably a floater to start with) & see what happens.

 

[Donald steade]

H.Steade & Sons Ltd was founded in 1949 by Harry Steade who was joined by his father Henry brothers Tom,Roy,Jack and Donald as the company expanded.As Mr Pardoe explains we did not manufacture rods in our Sheffield premises but purchaseed blanks which were made up to our specifications by a Redditch company recommended by the late Billy Lane. We were however one of the principal manufacturers of Keep nets,Umbrellas and ancillary equipment in Britain,having at one time 5 raschel knitting machines producing netting the only company to do so. We were the first sponsors of the England fishing team who won theWorld Championship under captain **** Clegg and the first to use the Logo Team England {now used widelly by England teams}.The company was sold in 1988 due to family disagreements and Harry,Tom,Roy and Jack have all died in the last few years. By the way Harry did'nt live in Woodhouse I did.