https://youtu.be/YVKLHVeNOy0
I never get tired of Johnny,His technique does seem to keep backlashes to a minimum.Dressed up
fishing in the 50s.Seems like the flex of the old fiberglass rod gets a little more distance on the cast with less effort :fish
vintage!!!!
Love those cool old comical videos lol. Those pads, did look quite a ways away though lol. Flex you say? IMG_6156.jpegIMG_6157.png
Goodness. Where did you find all those tobacco rod blanks?
Was hanging out with a couple tournament casters at the local casting pond lately. They still cast that way for accuracy competitions, just with a bit more oomph. They also still prefer those old rods, especially with that style of handle/reel seat. Same reels too, but in the smaller sizes.
Johnny was onto something...
-J
I got a NIB zebco handle/reel seat like that off ebay last year.I am looking for a rod for it,maybe graphite with an old school look.I might have to build one to suit.
The competition guys like fiberglass. They want a moderate action with a lot of flex so that the rod loads up easily on a short stroke. The shorter your stroke, the easier it is to be accurate.
Carbon fiber blanks can be designed to be more flexy with a layup that includes more fibers running radially, but these are not as common, especially in casting rods. People that buy CF want light blanks and sensitivity, which means more lateral fibers.
There has been a wave of modernized fiberglass blanks, but I am only familiar with the fly fishing side. They try to get the feel of classic glass, but squeeze a bit more performance out of it. You might want to take a look at these as well.
-J
Quote from: oc1 on July 01, 2025, 06:22:52 AMGoodness. Where did you find all those tobacco rod blanks?
Went to look at some rod building supplies on FB mplace, not too long ago. Guy was a rod builder, couple hours from my house. Had hundreds, upon hundreds, of old vintage glass blanks for sale. Was all spiral or linear glass. Some of them were white, green, brown and had tons of True temper translucent blanks too. But of course, got up there late to the party as usual, most of the really desirable blanks were gone already. Was just crazy, the amount of old glass blanks this guy had. He just had bundles taped up everywhere, down his long #### fence line. Wound up grabbing a 100 blanks and split them up with another guy. Got rid of a bunch and kept some of the straightest ones. Had I known then, what I know now lol! I would've bought every damn one, he had left. Did contact the guy the next day, but the rest of them were already gone!
Also,the flex of fiberglass goes along way fighting a fish before drag ever kicks in.IMO, fiberglass=fun :fish
Fiberglass gets "soft" and loses it's casting "snappiness" much more quickly than carbon fiber. When buying used fiberglass rods you never know what you're gonna' get because you can't tell by looks or even a waggle.
Great video!
Thanks for posting.
thanks for posting that..
my casting motion doesn't look anything like Johnny ;-)
my 5000C, was looking for pike, 18" trout took the 6" lure.. glass rod, Abu Parazoom 182
Nice fish! Looks bigger than 18" compared to the 6 inch lure, that's for sure lol. Looks like maybe a rainbow or a brown?
Quote from: jurelometer on July 01, 2025, 03:41:27 PMThere has been a wave of modernized fiberglass blanks, but I am only familiar with the fly fishing side. They try to get the feel of classic glass, but squeeze a bit more performance out of it. You might want to take a look at these as well.
-J
The place to look at is Graywolf, a place local to me in Michigan. Shane Gray is the owner and rolls his blanks on Steffen Brothers mandrels, as he bought Steffen Brothers a few years back. I have one of his ultralight rods and it's a complete hoot to fish with.
https://thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com/2021/05/graywolf-rods-acquires-steffen-brothers.html?m=1
https://www.graywolfrods.com/
He and I have been talking about him being an intake point for reel service for me as he has been getting into the spinning and BFS side of things lately.