Traditional Glass

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The Monk

Guest
Back in the late sixties early seventies I was a great fan of Bruce and walker rods, the collection consisted of the Mark 1v carp rod, the stepped up carp rod and the ever versatile Avon for still water useage. In later years and with the carbon revolution the old Avon seemed to dissapear from the market as the feeder revolution took hold, in recent years however the Avon has made a welcome comeback albeit in carbonated form.
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The old Fred J Taylor trotter was an idea glass rod in my Ribbling days, it was the traditional 3 piece trotting rod ideal for chub and dace and used with an Avon Mark 3 centre pin reel, it proved ample for my needs. I joined the longrange bragade in the mid seventies and was the proud owner of 3 Jim Gibbinson Cloopers built by Bruce Ashby of going brothers, these rods really were excellent tools for punching out baits to the far margins. For the local canals it had to be the 14ft Sealey Blue match, an excellent tool for small roach, rudd and perch. I have some fond memories of the The Glass Era and the rods we used in that period.
 
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BAZ (Angel of the North)

Guest
There are some waters where the only rod worth taking is a glass rod because of the many pylon wires that criss cross the water. If you use a carbon rod you are not allowed to walk about with it. So they still have a number of uses.
 
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Alan Roe

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Still have a couple of glass rod an ABU mark 6 All England and a Noth West Blanks Avon still occasionally useful
 
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paul williams 2

Guest
I still have my Eustace big pikes.....they are the dogs danglies for big lives and the associated rigs
 
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?

Guest
I still have but do not use a 12 foot ABU Mark five and a Bruce and Walker 13A.
Plus an assortment of old swing tip rods.
Oh happy days
 
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Tony Rocca

Guest
Monk,
I have a Hardy RW no 1 carp and a B&W avon, the latter being the first brand new rod I ever bought. Lovely rods that I do take out every now and then.
 
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Evan

Guest
Still got the good old Bruce & Walker CTM 13A. Wonderful rod in its day, but can't hold a candle to modern kit I am afraid, love it dearly for sentimental reasons though I do....

Plus the old Mitchell 320 I won in my first ever match at age 13 or 14 (come to think of it the only bloody thing I've ever won in a match...)

I did ponder the possibility of a "novelty" fishing match, everyone to be over 45 and to have to use glass rods and reels over 30 years old plus a few other age related type restrictions..... strictly for fun doncha know. But I couldn't take the beating.... :-(
 
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Stephen Bracegirdle

Guest
In some respects glass has it's advantages over carbon, a personal view of course.
I have a loft full of glass rods, these include the B/W MK4 Stepped up version as mentioned by monk,pair of T24s(still used occasionally) Alan Browns Barbel and Chevin, this is a dream to play fish on I had a 22lbs carp onit a couple of years ago that I'm sure did'nt realise was hooked as it's only got a 12 ozs tc. along with these are also cane rods and a range of old reels and bite alarms including the old Herons(converted of course).
I also have some mistakes, like the ss6s monk will know what I'm on about.
Whilst writing this I realise I don't so much have a loft full of old fishing tackle but a loft full of history and happy memories.
 
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The Monk

Guest
yes Tony truely excellent rods mate innovations at the time, nice to hear you still put them to use on occassion
 
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Robert Woods 1

Guest
I had a Shakespear 13Ft International, B&W mk 4 Avon. My first carp rods were homemade AC6's.
 
Peter Jacobs

Peter Jacobs

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Monk,

I still use my FJT Trotter on occasion on the Avon, linked with a Grice & Young Royal Avon Supreme make a lovely trotting combimation.

With the price of split cane rods going sky high at the moment glass rods are begining to fetch some good prices on e-bay and some of the other better auction sites.
 
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The Monk

Guest
Is that Stephen from Manchester, if so its very nice to see you posting mate, sadly I`ve let most of my old gear go Stephen, yes the SS6s, I still use one of those as a spodding rod, and the T24s quite a innovation at the time, I think they called them a modified taper, a few of the lads bought them when they first came out, Alan Brown too, a name from the past, good rods though and the herons of course, old Del Romang modified mine back in the 70s, we`ve come a long since days Stephen, who could have envisidged how things could have changed, particulary in carp fishing
 
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The Monk

Guest
Hi Peter, yes they were a lovely combination, I used to use the Fred J on the Ribble in those days, early 70s, I`d stand in the middle of the river with a pair of waders on, a belt with a keepnet clipped to one side and a maggot bucket clipped to the other, and basically just stand there trotting all day from first light till dusk, you were absoluted knackered by the time the end of the day came, but we had some fantastic nets of chub dace and a few other oddments, no barbel in the Ribble in those days, they came a few years later.
 
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MarkTheSpark

Guest
The rods I really miss are a pair of NW SS4 carp blanks rigged for pike, with the old snap-in Fuji reel seats and leather-bound handles.

They were 10-foots, and perfect for deadbaiting. I have the pair made specially for me, then some years later, lent them to a mate on AT who promptly forgot about them, until one day when he car-booted the,!

Most unusual glass rod I've owned (and I've still got) is a Max Winters Wand - a little six-foot quivertip rod. Max won a good few matches with the wand in the early '80s. I wonder if he's still around?
 
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nick hodgkinson

Guest
i still use Hardy No2 glass spinning rods for salmon

they will 'kill' a fish far more quickly than any carbon rod and are far more tolerant of accidental damage in boats etc

in the past i had some great glass rods

a) original Hilton carp rods made by John Hutchinson
b) Jim Gibbinson Clooper carp rods
c) Jim Gibbinson Muncher Pike rods
d) SS5/6
e) Terry Eustace T24's
f) Hardy Matchmaker
g) Bruce and Walker CTM
h) Gerry Savage carp rods
i) Tony Fordham Ultralights
j) Tag Barnes Super Carp/Super Pike
k) Hardy Fred J Taylor trotter
l) Hardy Mooching rod
m) Bruce and Walker mk IV and SU MK IV carp rods
 
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Evan

Guest
Oh yes, forgot the DAM Blue ledger de luxe.... caught my first double figure carp on it, used to bend into a complete horseshoe shape, lock up not possible !

Sad to say I stripped it down and cut it up to make some spiggots to repair another rod.... :-(
 
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Stephen Bracegirdle

Guest
Yes Nick that's the steve from Manchester, don't put much up though as computer litracy is not my thing. Your right there about the changes, some good and some not so good. I got my SS6s to fish Grey Mist for the long range fishing, 70-90yds haha.I grow beans up them now. you'll probably remember the picking a lampost on the far bank and casting, happy days.Ihave a photo somewhere of a ship appears sailing up Grey mist but actually it's in the cut
 
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The Monk

Guest
haha, very nice to hear from you again mate, hope everything is alright, yes Grey Mist, the place was a tip when I last fished it, great days though Steve, where have all the years gone, mind you, you where at it a long time before me, great to hear from you again, we must get together for a pint sometime, Phils buying haha
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA)

Guest
I was fortunate in witnessing and being involved with the fibreglass revolution in in early 60s.

Around about 1963, many of us came to the conclusion that poor split cane was becoming a liabilty to the young progressive breed of specimen hunters. Frank Guttfield and his friends stated building rods from certain imported blanks which were very hard to get hold of. Then companies like Sportex started making a range of glass rods which quite honestly, outperformed the split can that was available.

Together with Tag Barnes, I and a few other members of the Northern Specimen Group were involved with the development of glass specimen rods.

Classics such as the Tag Barnes Carp Rod, The Hornsea Pike rod, various "Avon" rods, and a lovely 12 foot glass float rod came about.

Then, **** Walker aquired a 13 foot 4 piece Milbro "Enterprise" float rod that didn't have metal ferrules. It was as light as a feather and I lost no time and aquired one. Also a 15 footer from the same stable.

Within a couple of years or so, split cane rods almost dissappeared from the market place, except for a few fly rods.

One of the most horrible glass rods of than era was the Billy Lane match rod. It was glass of course but was heavy, had metal ferrules and proved ideal for barbel, chub and big tench fishing.

The spigot ferrule was the innovation that improved the action and lessened the weight of these rods of course.
 
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Sean Meeghan

Guest
Abu Ledgerlite 101 (I think) a beautiful light leger rod on which I caught my PB roach. I've also got a Fibretube 11ft 6in Trotter part built in my garage - might finish it some day! I bought it because my original one was stolen. I suspect its the same blank as the FJT Trotter or a close copy.
 
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