Man on the catolog

[The Great Maudu]

I've been reading Mike's excellent book on Penn reels. The picture of the man casting a squidder ran for several years. I was wondering if he has ever been identified? What type rod was he using? What kind of line?

[Penn Chronology]

I've been reading Mike's excellent book on Penn reels. The picture of the man casting a squidder ran for several years. I was wondering if he has ever been identified? What type rod was he using? What kind of line?

Great Question. The catalog cover you are talking is this one:


              This cover was used from Catalog # 9 to Catalog # 14, 1941 to 1949. It is the longest running catalog cover issued by Penn.

The fisherman is a mystery. Being that the picture was probably taken around 1939 or 1940, and he looks like a man in his 20's or close to them, making him close to 100 years old if he is still alive. If you are the fisherman in this picture and you are reading this post, please step up and identify yourself

The rod is a split cane surf rod. I cannot identify it exactly. I can say it is not a Tycoon or a Vom Hofe. Other makers of that era were Shakespeare, Montague and others. Each maker had many varieties of Split cane surf rods, so it would take a very astute eye to know who made this rod. I would guess Montague.

No doubt the era dictates the type of line used. For surf fishing, a #12 thread Cuttyhunk Linen line would be the standard, some sporting fisherman may have moved down to a #9 linen, while insecure fisherman move up to a #15. The approximate pound test of linen line is 3 pounds per thread.

Hopefully someone has more inputs on this. Inquiring minds would like to know

[The Great Maudu]

Thank you for the great reply. Are their links where one can go to learn more about this linen line? Is it made today? Is their a vintage/collector market for it?

[Penn Chronology]

I do not believe linen it is made today, even for the collector market; but, there is a strong demand for the vintage stuff. Undisturbed spools of Cuttyhunk vintage linen can sell very high, especially uncut spools of big game line. The maker name on undamaged spool labels can also make a difference. Watch the Ebay listings for undamaged spools of big game Edward vom Hofe Curttyhunk linen when they pop up from time to time. It can be entertaining to see how much people will pay for these obsolete lines.

[Penn Chronology]

BTW, if you type "linen fishing line" into the Google search window, you will get many sites that explain some of the history of Linen fishing lines.

[oc1]

The rod looks like a calcutta cane to me.  Very little taper and some inconsistencies in the diameter.  Guys were making surf rods out of imported calcutta canes into the mid-sixties at least.  The tiptop would be something like 10 to 15 mm tube size.  Most did not have a fancy handle like in the photo.  Just a traditional cord handle, perhaps with a turks head or some diamonds.  They cast like a heavy weight, medium action rod rated at 3 to 8 ounces.  After a day of fishing, especially if anything of size was caught, the rod was hung up by the tip (with reel attached) in hopes it would straighten itself out before the next outing.  A squidder, calcutta cane and army surplus tackle bag would get you into surf casting at a reasonable cost.  Nylon squidding line replaced linen shortly after WWII. 

[The Great Maudu]

Here's my modern version of vintage surf fishing. The squidder wearing a tiburon frame and spooled with 50# braid. The tip is of unknown manufacture but was given to me by an old fisherman from NC. I replaced the old guides with NOS German silver and red agate guides. I turned the handle from birds eye maple and stained with aniline die and coated with spar varnish. The reel seat is Varmac with locking ferrule. The hook keeper is a gold toe ring that was placed on my toe at birth. I have fished this set up for years and it has become my favorite. It likes to throw a 3 or 4 oz weight and bait. I've landed big reds, stingrays, pompano, small sharks and whatever else has bit over the years. I have an extra spool and some linen line I think I'm going to try out this coming season. I love the vintage stuff especially the old Penns.

[Penn Chronology]

Wow, that is great. That rig is really special. You did a beautiful job of creating it. I bet you are the onlyperson on the beach with a set up like that. Actually I never fished with Linen line. When I was a young boy, living in Brooklyn, New York, I used to throw bait from the beach all the time. I have not done it for so long that I would have to educate my thumb all over again.

Thank you very much for sharing.

[coastal_dan]

That is too cool!  Great job on that rod/reel combo.  I put a vote in for Photo of the Month, especially because it is IN USE!!!!

[basto]

That is too cool!  Great job on that rod/reel combo.  I put a vote in for Photo of the Month, especially because it is IN USE!!!!

I will second that!!

[thorhammer]

Ok, wait, wait, wait here....you can't detail all that and bogart on the pics...let's see the guides and hook keeper up close! Are you fishing in NC? Nice work.

[Tightlines667]

That is too cool!  Great job on that rod/reel combo.  I put a vote in for Photo of the Month, especially because it is IN USE!!!!

I will second that!!

X3

[Bill B]

No mercy from this group..... ....gotta see more pics brother...

[The Great Maudu]

Mike, you're right. I've never seen anybody surf fishing with this kind of stuff. But it works for me. A rod with that kind of back bone and the cast ability of the squidder make for a perfect combo. Casting braid, I wear a glove on my right hand to brake with. Otherwise it would tear the meat right off it.

I only have one more decent pic. I keep the rods at our place near Panama City Beach. But, if you look close you can see the gold toe ring hook keep on the underside of the rod just up from the ferrule lock. You can get a pretty good look at a couple of the guided with the "Ruby Eyes". Glad you gentlemen liked the looks of it.

[CapeFish]

nice classic setup with a modern twist of braid! use that huge wide shoulder of the spool  to brake the spool then you don't need to use a glove and there is less chance of a wizz bang as you are not fluffing up the line by pressing on it and less damage to it from friction.