South Bend Deluxe 2135-6' Rod

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Smitfla
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Location: NE Florida

South Bend Deluxe 2135-6' Rod

Post by Smitfla »

I have an older South Bend Rod - Deluxe 2135 - 6' - Green Double Wrapped Guides - Fiberglass - Wood Handle - Definitely a deep sea rod.
It has been sitting in the corner of my office for over a year patiently waiting to be mated with a reel.
I would like the reel to be roughly from the same period that the rod would have been made in. I have a number of older conventional reels from the 30's - 70's but cannot find any info when the rod was made.
I know the rod isn't anything special but it is in perfect shape and should be displayed with a period correct reel. My wife would also appreciate it if it moved from the corner to the wall out of her way!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.
Chris - NE Florida - ORCA - FATC
Salt Water Spinning Reels and Associated Tackle
Kevin McJunkin
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Re: South Bend Deluxe 2135-6' Rod

Post by Kevin McJunkin »

South Bend started selling glass rods about 1950. There are no fiberglass rods in my 1949 South Bend catalog and I couldn't find your model number fiberglass rod in my 1951 catalog. I don't have any South Bend catalogs later than 1951. Mark Williams (wrong99) has a bunch of South Bend catalogs and if you ask him real nice maybe he'll search through them to find your rod. As for a reel, you can't go wrong with a Penn, probably from the 1950's, if you have one.
wrong99
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Re: South Bend Deluxe 2135-6' Rod

Post by wrong99 »

I looked through my SB catalogs to 1955 and didn't see it. After 1955, I'm woefully lacking for SB. I'm guessing late 50's to mid 60's. Sometime in the 60's they changed their numbering system from 4-digit model numbers to 7-digit numbers. I agree with Kevin's Penn suggestion.
Mark
Smitfla
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Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2020 9:52 pm
Location: NE Florida

Re: South Bend Deluxe 2135-6' Rod

Post by Smitfla »

Kevin and Mark,
Thank you for your replies. I was thinking 60's so that was great to see I was in the ballpark. It just so happens that I have an older Senator 113 - 4/0 (late 50's) that isn't shelf worthy but will display nicely with the rod on the wall.
I really appreciate the knowledge! The more I've looked into SB and all the history of the company, the more I've realized I need to add them into my collection. The connection with Shakespeare and all the other companies is very interesting to me.
I'm on a time out for now as far as any new purchases (hence the idea to work on what I already have) but whenever I get back to it...SB will be on my list.
Thanks again!
Chris
Chris - NE Florida - ORCA - FATC
Salt Water Spinning Reels and Associated Tackle
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