South Bend guys - early glass fly rod

[Ron Mc]

Guys, I have this 7-1/2' South Bend fly rod that is used a bit and has a few finish marks, but is very close to pristine. The guides are spaced too far apart to make it fish well, but the action of the blank is al dente. There's a very slight wobble around the pins in the foot. If someone doesn't rescue this rod from me, I'm going to have it rebuilt with modern guides on modern spacings.







BTW, if somebody can date this from a catalog, I'd love to know.

[SWIM JIG]

Ron, the 4 diget #s came in in the 60s,3386 was 1965 2270 was 1965 , hope this helps till I get my master Cataloges out ! Your Ohio conection on Lake Erie , col. Milton lorens aka SWIM JIG

[Ron Mc]

thanks, Milt.
It has an opaque coated finish, so I can't tell if it's phenolic or epoxy resin.
I was thinking the reel seat would also help date it.
The date surprises me, though, because it has narrow wire guides that won't fit a modern plastic line - I thought it was made for silk.

[JeffK]

The seat appears to post-date the bamboo rod seats used in the last few bamboo production years in the 50's. The smaller snakes can be explained by the fact that the earliest nylon lines weren't plastic coated, but oil-impregnated like silk lines. Use of that grip goes all the way back to about 1940 and its thumb relief can be traced to a modification of the Marvin Hedge tournament rod design.

[Ron Mc]

OK, I'm starting the rebuild. Thanks, guys.