New Fiberglass Fly Rods vs. Rods from the 1970's 

Quite happy with my Abu Garcia rod that I purchased in 1985...used it today on the Willowemoc and will use it on the East Branch this weekend.

Well done. Thanks for having a look at fiberglass fly rods. Found it very interesting. Going to see what I can pickup on eBay and give glass a try. Cheers.

I still fish my first rod, brought in 1975, it is an eagle claw 7 6 inch 5 weight. That rod has caught more fish than the rest of my ros combined.

Great show! Great question! I grew up fishing fiberglass and I remember the first time I tried a graphite rod and I thought to myself how much nicer it cast than the fiberglass one I had. Now I have cycled back and I am playing with some of the new fiberglass. They are fun and cool and nice to have in the arsenal. I wonder if the new fiberglass rods might have different tapers which is how the bamboo makers are speeding up the new rods compared to those of old. Love these shows keep them up and old land cruisers rule!

*Love this rod I usually spend much more for my rods,however this is my second Fenwick and love them both.*

A good quality 70's glass rod in the hands of a experienced caster can closey match both in distance and control that of a top end graphite. And, when it comes to durability in general and tips in particular glass rods rocks. As for the old grips design and thickness, if it doesn't suit it's an easy change and if you aren't able to do it yourself it not big cost. I have an arsenal of graphite rods, single handed, a Switch, and severial Spey rods from Sage to Loomis, great rods, absolutely no complaint but it would, imo, far better for those wishing to learn how to become competant in casting would be far better served by starting off with a second hand glass rod and put the money they would have to spend on a mordern middle priced graphite rod into casting lessons. I travel often, fish a lot and so often I see guys and gals with top $ rods and reels spending more time dealing with wind knots and tangels than they do slashing their lines at the water. There's a RU-vid (or was) of Lefty Kerr giving a double haul casting demo when his rod tip broke (graphite). After removing the broken tip carried on with the remaining part of rod with no observable difference in distance cast). Tight lines! Be it with yew, cane, metal, glass or graphite rod).

Wish there had been some comments about Modulus of Elasticity, precise information about the composition of the "cloth" of the newer fiberglass rods e-glass or s-glass and the thickness of the "cloth". That would have made a more quantitative comparison of the older versus newer glass rods.

I started fly fishing in the late 50's with my Dad's old, early glass rods probably worse than the Sears rod you tried. By the mid 60's we all migrated to Fenwick glass rods. These were ok. I still use my high school Fenwick for big weighted streamers. But it's cumbersome and heavy. In those days, (pre-graphite) the best rods (generally speaking) were hand-made bamboo, and some people were emulating that slow soft action in glass. In the early 70s I bought a Scott "PowerPly" 4 wt glass rod. I had a Hardy Princess reel on it, and it was pure magic. I would fish that rod against any rod ever made. Could someone make one better? Probably, but what's better than phenominal, really?

I'm a newbie and know nothing. With that said I grabbed a Moonshine Revival 3 WT and I'm hooked. Love it! May build myself and Epic 476 FastGlass rod (pack version) someday soon here! Gotta do some fishing first though!

Its 2023. I still use an early Boron/graphite rod I purchased in 1980. Its still one of only three rods I have. N perfect shape. Point is a good rod can last your lifetime. And they don't have to be that expensive.

I'm a proponent of certain Wonderod vintage fiberglass rods with a preference for the Howald Process Fly rods of 6'6" to 7'9" in two-piece configuration. These Shakespeare rods are excellent for pan fish, trout, crappie, and bass. My favorite is the Pan Fish model, 6'6" in length. Using a 5 weight line, the rod performs accurately and with finesse. The cork handle is equivalent to Flor grade cork of today. I prefer to refinish these rods if the descriptors are missing or damaged, or the varnish is discolored, windings are worn, etc. Using modern guides, fine silk threads, stripper guides of agate, I thoroughly enjoy fishing them. Finding a worthy Wonderod is fun and very rewarding. Refinishing these rods helps to make them your own. The Wonderod fly rods, to me, are just about the best quality vintage blades out there.

There is one more new glass rod - Hardy Sirrus. Looks very promising, not in the stores in Europe yet

Nice work guys but you forgot the Powell sweet pea 7’6” glass rod for under 150$ and ohhhh is it sooo nice. It makes me feel like I’m like skywalker with the luminous green blank Sabre and the accuracies of this light Sabre are well worth several hundred dollars.. just wanted to spread my love of this way cheaper than my Sage RPL and all that and then some for a three weight

The shorter light line Shakespeare Wonderod fly rods are outstanding. Those weighing 4 oz. or less in lengths from 6'6" up to 7'9" in 4 and 5 weight 2-piece configuration are superior dry fly rods, in my decades of fly fishing with glass, graphite, and bamboo fly rods. As a collector and fisher of Wonderod fly rods, I have identified all of the rods that work best for stream trout fishing and pan fishing. They are so effective regarding casting, presentation, and playing fish to net, that I prefer Wonderods over the fine bamboo and graphite fly rods I own...particularly for wild trout fishing the spring creeks in the Driftless Region of the Upper Midwest. Ron U.

Fiberglass rods have a certain cool factor that graphite can’t match. I’m an NRX guy…I have four and love all four but the fiberglass rods my brother builds are on a completely different level. They’re *pitch perfect* small stream rods…deadly accurate at short range and durable for the various branches/rocks/tree trunks you’ll inevitably be encountering. if you’re a small stream fisherman, there’s no better favor you can do yourself than a fiberglass 2 and/or 3wt.

This is the greatest video I've ever seen on RU-vid. Thanks so much for making it when I was 7 through 12 I had three to five weights including that yellow wright and McGill and South bend and my first real fly rod was a saint Croix boron that I bought in Madison River Montana when I was 13 iFish graphite since and just bought my first blue Halo 7 weight and it just remind me of being a kid again and it's f****** awesome so awesome video thanks for making it if you're ever in Atlantic City look me up and we will fly fish!

My old 70's fg Hardy jet handles and casts far better than my Orvis Helios. I use my old hardy now all the time, its just better full stop

Many experienced fly fishers know that vintage fiberglass fly rods are generally at their best in lengths under 8'0". Fiberglass fly rods were brought to us by Dr. Howald and his "Howald Process" for making the Shakespeare Wonderod blades. His Shakespeare 2-piece fly rods in 7'9" or less were and are fine for trout and pan fishing. Only about 6% of the Wonderod fly rods were for fly lines 4 or 5. However, a number of the rods weighing around 4 ounces rated as HDH (line 6), can be used with 5-weight fly lines. So you have to actually cast these rods and not always go by the factory line rating. To think that your comparisons did not consider rod length regarding fiberglass is an huge over-sight, in my view. Casting heavy, long fiberglass fly rods of the past like those commonly found in hardware stores are generally very unpleasant to actually fly cast with. Newer fiberglass rod builders know this and therefore are making their fiberglass rods with different actions, better quality and number of guides, for example, than their vintage counterparts. As a stream trout fly fisher, I'd like to see your comparisons to consider comparing fly rods 8 foot and less with vintage fiberglass fly rods of 8'0" and less. Also of importance would be enlisting more experience fly casters along with "average" casters. Comparing trout fly rods, bass fly rods, pan fish fly rods, vintage and new, might be interesting and informative. Also there have been older custom rolled fiberglass rods which may be considered and compared with the newer fiberglass blades. Input from past and present fiberglass rod builders could be very enlightening. It is very good that you have brought attention to this topic and I'm looking forward this topic being developed much more! Ron U. and

Do you know anything about a chocolate stick or a Reliegh fiberglass rod made with Phenolics, from California?

Mr. Cameron made an interesting comment about being able to replace or fix a new, expensive rod whereas doing damage to and old classic rod could be something where there are no options - it's simply ruined. I've just picked up a 60s era 7" Fenwick FF705 5wt that my wife's uncle owned. It came with a Pfleuger 1494 1/2, both of them a bit dusty but in near mint condition. My only other fly rod (just purchase, not used) is beautiful little Lefty Kreh/Temple Fork Finesse 5wt 7'9" graphite with an matching Orvis Battenkill. I'm very new to fly fishing and will probably be banging these around more that I care for since I'm pretty much limited to tree-lined streams where I live. I believe the Fenwick is solid glass so I'd presume it would be quite a bit more durable. On the other hand, it's 50+ year old glass. Should I just treasure the Fenwick and display it or used it as it was meant to?

The Eagle Claw brand rods were made by Wright & McGill, not Wright’s McGill. The script on the rod may not have been very legible. Eagle Claws were low to mid-level rods of their time. The Sears rod was definitely low end.

I tried the butter stick last year and was surprised when i broke my tippet a couple of times while setting the hook. I ended up selling the rod but I still dont understand what i did wrong. I saw my humpy get engulfed, I lift my line and snap. strong rod though I slipped on a rock, fell on it and all it got was a scratch.

what can you tell me about the value of a new unused vintage pflueger megeflex 8-6386 WF10F...Ive just come home and observed this same rod/same numbers/in same original tube sold for 50 bucks "NEW"on ebay darned if it wasnt right after buying one "NEW" today for $80 I stumbled upon out of a garage still in its original tube...Looked like the same opportunity both being new and all..but of course i p[aid $30 more in my deal darnit...My question to you is what do the WF stand for and did i over pay...and what year was this rod made...basically what can you tell me about the materials and basic value on this particular rod...thanks for any info you can relay to me on this item..nice n light, ill say that much for it...new and nice n tight fit at the metal connections too...i like it...cant wait to try it..if anything,,I lost 30 bucks...so weird tho... its only 8.5 in length as was the one listed and sold on ebay..but look at the numbers???.so assuming its an 8 wt what does the 10 stand for??? all these questions...what kind of material is it... E glass?? is this in your experience a good rod?? have you stumbled on any of these and how badly did i get ripped off...lol

The good older fiberglass rods from the 60's and 70's, like a Fenwick, e.g., are just as good as anything new today, maybe, even better.

I thought my circa 1970 Eagle Claw 8' 7 wt was fine until I tried my buddy's Fenwick. Night and day, what a difference. Caught Alaskan sockeyes on the EC, but the Fenwicks were vastly superior. The $11.25 Eagle Claw steelhead rod cast better than anything else to date. I would gladly pay a bundle for one. I fish any and all ways with fly fishing the favorite. Nothing better than steelhead or sockeyes on flies. Couldn't tell you whether the new fiberglass is better than the old but the old is plenty good for me.

Ted Williams was a world class fisherman and also a spokesman for Sears' rods, so they couldn't have been that bad.

There is no "s" in Wright McGill...., would've been nice to see the young guys try a couple Shakespeare...now they had some nice glass rods...back in the day....not to mention Russ Peak's rods.

What the song?

Greenheart if you can find it

pretty bogus .... how about comparing old glass winstons, phillipson, scott, claudio, etc. instead of cheapo sears.

i thought hole point of the job is a bout the blank if blank weighs the same as before they not changed but the components on the rod no doubt there got to be differt feel slower than carbon but it should still feel a lot of difference from the old glass rods

Before watching too far in, I'm betting the old Eagle Claw is just as fishable and effective as today's counterpart.

Those "old" rods from the 60's and The 70's were built to be inexpensive.That's why the Eagle Claw handle was hardly sanded that rod new went for 25 bucks! Most of the time they were sold in Dept and discount Stores. Try to find an American made Fenwick and check some out. They are re releasing them again for 200 bucks. Imagine that. The new Glass Rods that are made by custom builders are great expensive but great. ECHO are decent too. Me I fish nothing but BOO! LOL Thanks for the great video keep up the good work.

THE 1st Music!?

Comparing cheap (even by 70s standards) rods to modern fly rods is like comparing a 3 speed Schwinn to a Cannondale mountain bike. Should have waited till you found some quality rods like Fenwick, Silaflex, Winston, Scientific Anglers, Phillipson, and Fisher. I know it wouldn't make the video as good or the comparison to have such a wide difference. Should try to do another. Those rods are a terrible comparison tool.

I'm with many of the other commenters here. Comparing new high end rods with what are essentially junk rods from the past isn't really a comparison worth making. I get that you bought what you could find locally. But...you put thought into the new rods you tested, so why not the old ones? It was like you wanted to compare a new Ferrari to a '74 Pinto. You can get great vintage glass on CL and ebay. I fish both new and old glass (as well as bamboo), and there certainly is a difference, in my opinion. S-glass tends to be faster then e-glass, in my experience, but speed is also dictated by taper, as well. This could have been a great and informative video, but it comes off as a poorly thought out afternoon project, with no real focus on what a true comparison would be. And simply lawn casting a rod doesn't tell you nearly as much as actually fishing it....pulling line off of grass is nothing like pulling it off of water. . Interviews with people like Tim Rajeff (Echo Fly Rods), or custom builders like C. Barkley, McFarland, etc., could have made the comparison between modern and vintage in a way that anyone would be able to understand. Cameron (Manifesto) was a good idea, but he didn't get into the nuts and bolts of it, but he's not a builder/maker, either. Too bad. This is a worthy subject....it deserves a worthy response.

whats the make of the red custom rod?

everybody's getting "all excited" about the "new" fiberglass rods because they think it's "new" fiberglass is fiberglass (kind of) . It's like the new "beard" craze. Both been around forever. Everything comes around in vogue again. One has to be into several decades to know this. ... good video

Try a vintage Fenwick. Crummy review.

would like to see a better comparison than this. it doesnt scratch the surface of glass - old or new - cheap or expensive. And while no one likes to admit it - knowing the retail price of a setup no doubt has a bearing on how you think of a rod. I would say grab a bunch of rods buy, borrow, steal (ok don't steal) - get something like a couple brand new Eagle Claw Featherlight - cheapest of the cheap at $20 each, get a couple Cabela's CGRs (when on sale they go for $60 - regular price $130ish), get some Buttersticks, a Blue Halo, some Echo Glass, new Fenwick Glass, borrow a Steffen - then get some old vintage Fenwicks, Lamiglas, Garcia Conolons, Wonderods, Philipson, and Winston - even thats just a scratch on whats out there for glass but would start to give you an idea what good glass is like. Glass doesn't always equate to a heavy useless noodle, and some of those old rods are outstandingly good and still hold their own against anything made today performance wise. Evaluate them as fishing tools not just lawn casting toys - get them bent on everthing from a farm pond bluegill to a buck nasty brown trout. I am not the most die hard of glass gurus by any means but my favorite fishing rods happen to be glass. I dig your guys vids - would love to see a more expansive approach to this topic.

Yes guy ..we had man hands back then ..we weren't on are phones all day lol

All I gotta say is how much you want for that Sweetheart?

can we get a song title

Ha ha, fiberglass rods have no backbone, never have, I still have the coveted 70,s reddington glass rod that was selling for $140 bucks to people who missed their old glass rods, it is still in my garage, it is a five weight rod, when my gear was stolen I pulled out the old reddington 5 weight, it could not even shoot out 20 feet of single taper 3 weight forward line, went down to 2 weight line same taper, no way, wet noodle rod, no backbone. Best flyfishing rod for anyone is a 10' graphite 5-6 weight rod with tip flex with a weight forward double taper 5 weight line, roll cast on small streams, this will get anyone where they need to be on any stream, but I am just hooked, lol.

Just watched this, not a very good comparison, you should have used cheapest new rod you could find if you were to compare old department store run of the mill cheap rods from way back when. If your going to do it, do it right, grab a high end vintage and apply it against a high end new rod, you should have bought your new rods from Walmart to contend against those oldies you guys picked up. As said in previous statements, a nice Fenwick FF, Hardy glass, Lamiglass even early Fenwick graphite rods HMG, World Class built either Canada or US, since they were the people who brought graphite to fly rods.

damn, we cant fish. I know, lets hammer some wood.

I wish you would have shown a better comparison between old and new rather than just you saying “this one feels much nicer” show some footage of you casting onto the water, and god forbid maybe actually catching some fish with the antique rod I mean come on that’s what we came here for

4:11 is he pretending to not know how to cast a fly rod?

Hipsters.

Why not use some of the better glass rods from the 1970's instead of some of the worst ever made in this case. Your conclusions are based one very poorly constructed tests.

testing litterally the worst garbage they could find.

Haha children talking about 2 rods made before they were born, so informative.

Next time add subtitles or don't get hammered before shooting a video.

The reason that the grips were so wide back in the 70s is because men had man hands instead of girl hands.