I just discovered an old fly rod that belonged to my Dad. I inherited the flyrod but don't know how to identify it. The reel lock has the stamp "Pat May 15 1906" and the butt cap has the stamp "Slote" and underneath that is "Klyn, NY". The rod is a two piece rod measuring 74 3/4" in overall length with two tips. Both tips have double eyelets and appear to be some type of a reverseable tip. I have several pictures but am not sure how to include them in this post.

Any help or information would be appreciated.

It's the reel seat that was patented.

Go to the photo page and post your photos there. The instructions are above, and include complete rules and instructions for the forum as well.

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I know. I just posted all of the information on the rod. I uploaded some pictures. I hope they help.

Thanks

Many old bamboo/wood rods had the double guides as the blanks often took a "set" or bend with extended fishing. The double guides allowed the angler to rotate the tip section periodically to negate that effect. The "Tulip" tip allowed the line to flow from either position

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2011 10:43AM by Mike Barkley.

If nobody recognises it here, you might try this site under the Appraisal and Identification forum.

[clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com]

Thank you Bob. i'm new to this forum and am not yet familiar with which site would be the best one to use.

As Tom posted - the date is the patent date for the reel seat. May 15, 1906 references U.S. patent no. 820,685 assigned to Charles H. Terry of Bristol, CT: "threaded wedges lock nut against sliding band" of the reel seat.

This reel seat was used on many, many old bamboo rods - one noted manufacturer was Montague - and not only on fly rods. Which brings up another question. Are you sure this is a fly rod and not a boat rod? Double eyes on a fly rod would be unusual.

Perhaps a photo of the wraps just above the handle would also help as many companies had "signature patterns" (colors, numbers, spacings) of thread wraps just above the handle and just short of the first guide.

Steve,

Your rod is a "trade" trolling rod , not a fly rod, from the 1910-1925 time frame, more likely later (1915-1925) than earlier (1910-1920); the double guides were to correct tip sets from extended use, as Mike says. The handle looks more like Horrocks-Ibbotson than Montague. The grip wrapping is rattan cane. The stamping on the butt cap is probably the retailer's mark (Klyn, NY probably means Brooklyn, NY, but I don't have a clue as to "Slote"). From the level of fittings (I'm guessing they're nickel silver, rather than nickel plated brass) , it was a mid grade or better rod (pics of the ferrules would help).There's a guide missing on the lighter tip, but overall, looks like it's in fairly good shape. Not a lot of collector demand for these at the moment - it's probably about a $50 piece. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the information. It doesn't make sense to me though because my Dad never fished from a boat. He was a fly fisherman and bait caster. He was handy with his hands and made some rods in the mid 1950s. Do you think it is possible that this is an old "kit" rod. I will post some pictures of the ferrules...maybe that will give you some additional information.

Thanks

Steve,
You can contact Fred Kretchman in Maine. His e-mail is kretchmanflyrods@gmail.com He does all of Langs appraisal work for flyrods to be @#$%& off. He is also a very fine bamboo rod builder. I'm sure he can help you.

Dave Loren
East Bay Custom Flyrods
Warren,RI