In a recent topic of mine seeking info of Sabre rods, Russell Brunt replied with an observation / question “There were a lot of great rod blanks from the past. I find it interesting as to which ones were prized the most by time period and area of the country” and “I'd love to hear what were your "go to" blanks from the past and for what waters/fish. Also how you feel they stack up to current/modern offerings”. WHAT A GREAT QUESTION!!!.
Let’s all have some informative fun. It may prove to be quite interesting as to which older rods / blanks were YOUR favorite for fishing YOUR targeted species in YOUR area of the country and how YOU think they would stack-up against modern offerings. It makes no difference whether spin, cast, fly, freshwater, saltwater, CF, FG, bamboo, steel(?). It also makes no difference if you supply hard data facts like CCS / CCF or just subjective terms like “soulful”.
I suppose it is human nature for one to prefer products which are locally produced. I was born, raised and still live in SoCal which has been a mecca for offshore blank and rod manufacturers for many years; Cal Star, Seeker, United Composites who are still in business, and in years past there was Sabre, Roddybuilt and even the inventor of the tubular FG blank, Conolon, just to name a few. I suppose I am guilty of local brand loyalty as all of my saltwater rods are either Cal Star (3), Sabre (1), Seeker (1), or vintage Conolon (5), with the odd-man-out being a Phenix Black Diamond Hybrid. Oh yah, and then there is the ~50lb bamboo rod my Dad purchased in the 1940s; a real beast of a rod weighing 2.5lb! All others are FG except for the Phenix. The Seeker, one of the Cal Stars and the Phenix are < 5 years old, with the others being pre-1995. Funny thing is that the oldest rods, the Conolons, are the newest to my arsenal, acquired after starting to build rods about 6 years ago. While some are <20lb Calico / Yellowtail rods and others are 100lb, roller stand-up Tuna sticks, I use and enjoy all of them. But I have to say that there is just something special about fishing a piece of history with the vintage Conolons. I would put them up against any modern FG or CF rod! Fish-Fighting-Fun-Factor at its finest.
My freshwater (mountain trout) arsenal is quite different with a mix-match of UL, mostly CF rods from numerous main-stream manufacturers purchased through the past 40+ years. They all perform admirably, even if employing COF guides lol. As with my saltwater rods, the newest additions to my freshwater arsenal are the vintage Conolons. Combining the vintage feel of an NOS Conolon blank with modern KR Concept guides produces a very unique rod; I rarely use my “old” CF rods anymore. Fish-Fighting-Fun-Factor at its finest.
Did I mention how much I appreciate vintage Conolon rods? LOL
It is safe to say that CF is the most advanced material yet discovered for a blank, offering lighter weight, increased sensitivity and quicker rebound. Understandably, CF has displaced many FG rods, just as FG previously displaced bamboo. Yet there are circumstances and considerations where CF may not be the ultimate choice of materials, and “toughness” is certainly the main one. For that reason, FG remains a major player in offshore blank construction. And then there are those, such as myself, who simply enjoy the full-lexing, “soulful” (some say sloppy) feel of a FG UL rod as well.
And although CF has had a profound impact on blank performance, so too have guides (including “concepts”) and reels as well. How many of you have used an old “knuckle-buster” reel? All the modern advancements in rod-and-reel construction can leave one baffled and wondering how anglers of yesteryear managed to catch fish with such archaic equipment. And yet many IGFA world records are still held with the use of such gear! But then, the modern marvels of today will become archaic some day as well; I can’t wait.
Thanks for contributing and having a little informative fun.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

I look at it like this...

The trend for years has been to make more responsive rods. Tighter. Crisper. More sensitive. Lighter, etc.

And so I followed this trend and one of my latest rods, not going to say who made it as they are a sponsor, but in my opinion it went too far. This rod is a 7'3" custom rod and so fast that the bend in the rod is only in the upper 1/3 or 1/4 of the rod. I've redone the guides on it 3 times and now it is a micro guide spiral wrapped rod and I am just not happy with it no matter what I do so it sits unused. Newer is not always better is my point.

Presently I have around 70 plus rods. 90% of them are all U.S. made. And my all time favorite is an AllStar Emerald Edition made when Morgan McCain switched from buy rods from LCI and had Don Mook, Gary Loomis' factory builder, come to Houston to build a rod blank factory for AllStar and my Emerald Edition is one of the first made out of that new blank factory. It is unique in that it is one of the first pencil rods and rolled tighter with a thicker wall than a lot of modern rods are, and a high pitch resonance higher than any rod I have. And for bass fishing and using rat'l traps and swim baits it is exceptional. I've never found a second one like it and new rods just can't touch it as far as I am concerned. So that is tops. And kind of funny when this rod was made and sold new you could buy them for like $20 and today I would not sell it for a thousand dollars. It is irreplaceable.

Another one of my favorites that comes close is some of my Falcon rods made in Oklahoma in possibly another factory Don built for Shikari if it is the same location I am not sure but I did hear Don built at least one blank factory in Oklahoma before returning to the northwest where he continued up there. The Falcon I like the best is a Bucoo. It is a thin wall rod I understand they no longer make this way because of reliability issues and ease of breaking, but it is super light and just an incredible bass swimbait rod as well.

Other favorites believe it or not is an old Browning rod that is awesome, and a Korean made Daiwa I have from the 80's, a rare team Daiwa medium that sat in a corner somewhere because the reel seat came unglued so it did not get used for decades and survived to now like new otherwise, but is now restored and just awesome. Rods like these are not made any more, and new rods are just too stiff really and don't bend as far into the blank like the older ones do and I guess I am regressing towards that since they work better with my braid line to have some give in them.

I inherited a rod my father made I love to use, but no idea what it is complete with old brown varnish instead of epoxy.

Another favorite is a rod made by Kistler for Ray Scott. Super light. Super responsive another great rod.

I have some awesome loomis rods and Lamiglas and others, but I find I am not reaching for them as much as some others.

I guess the point to this comment is I am liking my older rods more so than the rods that are made today. New technology is not necessarily better.

I started fly fishing with a Eagle Claw fiberglass fly/spin convertible. Is i pretty good spin rod, but a lousey fly rod! I then moved to Fenwick fly rods and found they performed better, but it was not until I purchase a Winston rod that I found nervana! My IM7 7' 3" 3 wt is still one of my favorites when fishing for trout in small waters, as the slower action works well for dry flies with short casts. Bigger water and longer casts, finds me moving to faster rods and with more power. Fly fishing as in most other types, rods today are pretty specie specific. For the very popular 5 & 6wts, I today prefer CTS and NFC. My go to Bonefish rod is a Batson Eternity 2.

Finally, a topic not started by or related to that endlessly honking and exaggerating gaggle of resellers. The brown colored St. Croix Legends from the early SCIV days were great rods. I’ve got a build on one that has to be one of the earliest BFS rods in the United States. I built it on a spinning blank and went “gray market” on the reel. The reel seat has now failed and needs replaced (see my first sentence), but it is one of my favorite rods to fish. The old Daiwa Heartland rods from the late ‘80s we’re incredible rods for the money. They had that Kevlar x-weave around the carbon. I landed quite a few salmon and steelhead on one without it ever breaking. The burgundy colored G. Loomis Muskie rods developed before the Shimano buyout were awesome, and still fish the same. I wouldn’t trade rods of the newest SCV Legend, GUSA, or the RX10 Eternity series for any of these, but they are great rods. The blanks/rods I wouldn’t trade for a modern are the Thomas &Thomas Horizon II and Vector fly rods from the late ‘90s through Y2K. The actions are so superb.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2022 07:46PM by Kendall Cikanek.

I just fish for bass, either largemouth or smallmouth, so all of my rods are bass oriented. My all time favorite rod from a performance aspect, is an old Shimano Speed Master 1554 Fighting Rod , (1 piece, 5 1/2', 4 power) It's a 5'6" pistol grip casting rod, heavy power, fast action. The Speed Master pistol grip rods of that era had the reel seat inlaid into the blank so that the reel foot was actually below the surface of the blank, which allowed the reel to be extremely low profile. It makes the rod so comfortable to fish with and very easy to control. If I ever break it, I am sure I will actually break down and cry because I could never build another one like it Which is why it is my all time favorite from a casting performance aspect.

Another favorite rod of mine is again, a Shimano Speed Master Fighting rod. A 1654, 6'6" heavy power, fast action. It's a two handed casting rod. The foot of the reel actually rests on the rod blank, I bought While it is still a great performing rod, it is a favorite because of the memories it holds. I bought it specifically for one purpose, and that was to fish the Mann's Ray, which was a hollow bodied bait shaped like a mouse. The amount of fun I have had with that rod is off the charts. Everyone knows how fun fishing top water baits are, but for me, nothing is more fun than fishing a hollow bodied frog over heavily matted vegetation. Some of the strikes are heart stopping, but even more fun is when you see a fish bumping the bait from underneath. Seeing the weeds bulge up under the bait makes me laugh because you just know that fish is going to be blasting the bait when it gets the right chance. I actually took big bass honors in a tournament this past year fishing a frog while using that rod.

My favorite rod of the rods I've built is hard for me to choose. At least for the casting rods I've built. Hands down the favorite spinning rod I've built is one I built just this past year. It's built on a RX10 ETEC72M blank. Not only is it one of my most beautiful rods, it may be the best performing rod I have ever built. It is a phenomenal rod.

As far as my casting rods go, my favorites are tied to my love of flipping and pitching to heavy cover, for largemouth bass. And because of that, the rod I built on an NFC MB 709 IM blank I'm (in the process of building another rod on that blank) is my favorite rod. It's not as sensitive as a rod I have built on an Immortal IMMC72MH, and it doesn't have the fish moving ability of the rod built on the Immortal, but the rod built on the NFC blank just instills confidence in me. It has a moderate fast action which is a huge benefit when you have a big fish on a short line. I pretty much know that when I hook a big fish in heavy cover on that rod, that fish is coming in the boat

Give me a little time to respond. I'll need a day or two.

I'd ask that the word "soulful" not be allowed in this discussion. I'd like to see people include their (approximate) age. I think a <30 year old who has switched to FG is more telling than a >60 year old. I do respect peoples privacy and the idea that we may divulge information that could allow others to locate us.

I'm also very curious about why there are millions of LMB blank choices, thousands of steelhead/salmon blank choices, hundreds of inshore blank choices, and only a few offshore choices. Seems to me there is so much more (fish) diversity in saltwater than freshwater. Is saltwater really that small of a niche market?

The hard part in all of this is knowing the true origin of a given blank, especially a factory rod. It might not be important to some, but a lot of us know that a relativity small number of names were involved, typically over and over, in what the consensus will agree were the best of the best. For example, I think a lot of us would hold lamiglas and St. Croix in high esteem but we don't equate them with the big league names behind Loomis/Seeker/Calstar/Allstar/Rouge/Shirkia/Kunnan/etc. Were some just high priced "hired guns" or were they surely a step above everyone else?

I'll come back when I have time. Had an operation and just returned to work so I am swamped. In the meantime I hope for some meaningful discourse.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

I agree with David on the Immortal series. I got the IMMP70H from VooDoo for great value relative to the performance it gives. It’s a very nice spinnerbait and chatterbait rod for the money. It’s also very good with more “straight reel” types of topwaters, like wakebaits and crawlers. Moderate-fast rods, like this one, have their place.

Kent, Phil and Kendall,
Thank you for the replies and hopefully they will encourage others to follow and contribute as well. Hopefully, others will be as interested and informed with your replies as I am finding them to be.
I was beginning to think that I was the only nostalgic freak of the site lol. All three of you seem to have a respect, if not love or passion, for some of the earlier rods while recognizing the advancement (good or bad) of more modern examples. The Daiwa Heartland that Kendall mentioned has been my son’s favorite rod for years (except for those I have built for him more recently, OF COURSE!) lol.
This has all been great, enjoyable information so far! I suppose with so many off-shore offerings available, my (and Russell’s) inquisitiveness as to local brand loyalty may not always come into play, but I am still curious.
Although the basic manufacturing process of a blank is extremely similar to that developed by Conolon back in the late 1940s, refinements continue; whether those refinements are ultimately appreciated or not may be revealed in the replies herein.
Thanks again for everyone’s interest and contributions. I (we) are here to learn!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Thank you to David and Russell for your contributions to the cause as well.
Please allow me to clarify a statement made in my last post as my choice of words may have been confusing; “with so many off-shore offerings available” was intended as the number of non-USA made blanks available and not “off-shore” / saltwater rods in general.
Russell, unfortunately, the term “soulful” will remain embedded within the brains of those who frequent this site as a result of one pathetic person’s personal, persistent, passionate plot to potentially poison the pot of common sense, reality, usefulness and positive contribution within the community. Accept that he conducted a minor battle but he will never win the worthy war!
I am 68 years old and started purchasing freshwater rods and reels around 1975, just after the introduction of CF rods. In fact, the first FG UL rod purchased wasn’t until around 2005, a yellow 7ft, UL Eagle Claw Featherlight for a whopping $19.95 (as seen on TV) lol! That is actually the first rod that woke me up to the wonderful world of FG fishing. I had already purchased FG saltwater rods in the early 1990s (2 custom wrapped) but those were a different breed. Shortly after taking-up rod building in 2015, a long-time friend gave me over 10 of her deceased father’s tackle inventory; the rods were mostly Conolons with 2 Heddon bamboo rods in the mix. Not only was I blown away with their beauty, but their fishing qualities converted me forever. I still build and fish CF, but there's just something special about vintage FG. Shortly after receiving such a generous gift, I stumbled across a source for NOS Conolon blanks; I was in Heaven!!!
So, while I may actually fit in the “>60 year old” category concerning FG blank construction of the day, I may also fit into the “<30 year old” category of initial exposure to CF rods.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Another one of my vintage rods that just keeps on racking up nice fish is a mid-1990’s G. Loomis Escape travel rod. It is a three piece casting rod in 6-12 lb test rating and fast in action. I always seem to use it as a backup rod with bass, walleye, and even light saltwater. It’s amazing how many times the big fish of the day has been landed on it. It has a nice action that is more moderate-fast than it’s actual rating. It’s moderately sensitive and has been beyond durable. Loomis rods of this vintage had all sorts of “Mutt and Jeff” components. The guides are likely Pac-Bay and they are really huge all the way to the tip. It’s always interesting to pick this wonderful abomination up after using a carefully planned modern build. It looks and feels a little silly, but still, good things usually start to happen. I think I have thrown every type of bass lure, except large swimbaits, on it. I keep an equally dependable, old Shimano Chronarch 100SF reel on it. A rod in this weight and action range has incredible versatility.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/2022 01:57AM by Kendall Cikanek.

The Sage RPLX is still a top-notch fly rod, casting as well as any. The fishing tackle industry has recently created a brand-new category of fishing tackle: Species Specific Fish Poles! But they are nearly indistinguishable from old-fashioned all-species fish poles - especially to the fish!

Kendall Cikanek Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I keep an equally dependable, old Shimano Chronarch
> 100SF reel on it.

Is that the gold colored reel? An older version? If so, then a great reel.

I have the lefty version of it the 101SF. Super smooth and powerful.

One day we gotta get your into a DC!

Yes Kent, it’s the gold one. If they ever DC the Bantam, I might be hooked. I’m hoping the Chronarch gets a good makeover. It’s often been a good real but neither version of the current one fits my needs. Someday, I am going to have to try an Emerald Edition rod to see what it’s about.

Ewaniki's post reminded me that I have an older Sage RPLXI 8wt that is a wonderful rod! The XI has more backbone then the RPLX, some even said it could lift washing machines!
Every time I bring it out around my guide friends, they try and talk me out of it.

The Sage RPLX and RPLXI still are sought by those who know them and hold value quite well.

Kendall Cikanek Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes Kent, it’s the gold one. If they ever DC the
> Bantam, I might be hooked. I’m hoping the
> Chronarch gets a good makeover. It’s often been
> a good real but neither version of the current one
> fits my needs. Someday, I am going to have to try
> an Emerald Edition rod to see what it’s about.

I have searched high and low for more than 10 years for a second Emerald Edition. They are extremely difficult to find these days. I am sure there are some sitting around in garages in Texas for sure waiting to come to light.

One thing I really enjoy is using new technology reels with the older rods. It really changes everything and makes those older rods even more enjoyable to use.

Which makes me curious Mark what is it about those Conolon rods you find so appealing? Do you also still use older reels with those or new technology reels?

Kent,
Although to a lesser degree with my heavier saltwater rods, I have always looked for, purchased and used the lightest tackle possible to enhance the fight and give the fish a chance of escape. For my mountain trout fishing (unfortunately less backpacking into the backcountry in the last 10 years), a 1-4lb spin rod, 750-1500 reel and 2-4lb test hybrid mono/fluoro has always been my weapon of choice. All the 20 or so rods were CF and would assume a nice bend with a 16in trout struggling to escape. I purchased the above-mentioned 6’6” FG Eagle Claw Feather Light because it was only $19.95 and really did not expect much; if I didn’t like it, I'd throw it away. It sat unused in my arsenal for at least 5 years until my son decided to try it. Within 5 minutes, that rod took-on a HUGE bend and we all were certain he had the trophy trout of a lifetime hooked. As it turned-out, it was a nice fish but only about 12in. After I tried the rod, I became “hooked” and it became one of my go to rods alongside my Cabela's Fish Eagle Trout Series.
About 10 years later, my friend mentioned above gave me 13 vintage rods, mostly Conolons; freshwater, saltwater, spin, cast, even two 10ft surf rods. The exposed weave of the medium-light brown FG was stunning and absolutely beautiful, especially the 6’6” Conolon Missilite “Titlist” spin rod with a Tennessee handle (TH). That rod elevated my love of FG to a higher level, vintage. That rod also exposed me to the benefits of a TH which will be employed on all my personal freshwater builds from now on.
Fun story; I was fishing the Missilite on a drive-to lake in the Eastern Sierra when an elderly (even more than me lol) gentleman and his wife started fishing a little closer to me than I thought was prudent. He kept looking my way and I thought it was because I was catching fish but he wasn’t. After about 30 minutes, he said “excuse me; is that an old Conolon Missilite?” I proudly replied that it was and he came over to take a closer look and said,”my dad bought me one exactly like it when I was a young kid”. I offered to let him cast it out and he immediately hooked a trout; same thing for his third or fourth cast as well as his fifth or sixth cast. Both of us made each other's day that afternoon.
So my love and admiration of vintage Conolons stems from numerous perspectives; practicality = they fish as well as anything else (I think better); visual appeal = the exposed weave is simply gorgeous, even uniquely recognizable; nostalgic = Conolon invented the tubular FG fishing rod and hence part of history; and entertainment = Fish-Fighting-Fun-Factor at its finest!
My rod building logo says it all, “Craftsman Tech Custom Rods” = vintage craftsmanship utilizing advanced technologies. Combining a vintage Conolon blank with an advanced KR Concept guide train produces a rather unique rod; best of both worlds. I totally agree with your statement “One thing I really enjoy is using new technology reels with the older rods. It really changes everything and makes those older rods even more enjoyable to use.” I think we are on the same page!
The biggest criticism I hear of FG rods is that to some they feel “sloppy”. While it is really a personal perspective, all I can say is “one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor” and “to each their own”. I will gladly sacrifice a little weight, sensitivity and rebound for increased Fish-Fighting-Fun-Factor.
As for reels, being the cheap bastard that I am, I have never paid more than $50.00 for a freshwater reel and am still using reels purchased many years ago. I have acquired a couple old “knuckle busters” but prefer to look at them once in a while rather than actually fish them.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

My first two fishing rods were solid fiberglass. I don't remember the name of the first, but my second was a True Temper matched with a Johnson Century. (There was a time they made both hammers and fishing tackle. If I recall correctly, they also used to make a rod with an integral spincasting reel under the handle.) In the subsequent sixty years, there has been steady improvement in nearly every aspect of fishing tackle. It's worth noting that there have been lots of other changes, too. A few years ago, when cleaning out a friend's garage, I found an 1989 Bass Pro Shop catalogue. I don't believe that there was a rod or reel in it that sold for more than $100 (no flyfishing gear, though). Regardless, my favorite rod is the one I have in my hand when I'm either on the water or in it.

From ghoulies and ghosties,
and long leggedy beasties,
and things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord deliver us!

Mid 60's, born and raised in the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area. Moved to Nashville in the late 70's for about 7 years. Other than that I have been in the Miami area. My Dad worked at a tackle store in the 50-60's as a reel tech and (I assume) rod builder. I grew up with rods and reels and probably started fishing when I was about 4 years old. By 6 or so I was helping Dad with rods and reels at the dining room table. Miami was a place that had a wide variety of fishing options. You had good freshwater fishing, backcountry/brackish/everglades swap stuff, and saltwater flats, inshore, and offshore. Bimini was about 50 miles away and could be reached in a 17/19 foot boat in you were brave (stupid?) enough. The Gulfstream was only 5 miles off West Palm Beach, so well within the reach of small boats.

I still have two old rods left. They have caught the most fish. One is a Shimano Triton conventional rod. Very well built, 8 guides plus tip on a 6.5 foot rod, and similar to a Sabre in action. It works but I don't love it. Or maybe I do since it I still fish it after 30? 40? years. The other is a 7', 15-30# rated Kunnan spinning rod. Dual helix type that inspires confidence. That one I do love. I have had it since the late 70's/early 80's (thank you to a certain gentleman at Woolworths who would hide certain rods in a bargain bin for me). If kingfish/wahoo/blackfin are on the menu it is still one of the first rods on the boat.

St. Croix, Fenwick, and Lamiglass, at different points in time, were all at the top of my short list. I started getting back into building rods around 12 years ago. I mostly bought Batson blanks. Always felt they offered a good value product. I have some of the titanium chrome popping rod blanks that I think are so good as anything anyone ever made. Also got some on closeout from Utmost. We weren't supposed to speculate on origin but I'd say Cascade Composites. They were marked RX8+ and are very nice blanks, above what I could normally afford IMHO.

For a variety of reasons I had to suspend my rod building. Recently I have gone hog wild buying NFC blanks, just need to actually build/fish them. Been playing more with target guns lately.

In some ways I had hoped some names would be mentioned. Most everyone knows about Don Mook. I'll post the following link and we will see where it goes.

[cd-fishing.us]

[www.compositedevelopments.co.nz]

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Russell Brunt Wrote:

> In some ways I had hoped some names would be
> mentioned.

Richard Kantner and his Graphite USA was one of the names I was going to mention as well, but could not remember it off the top of my head. I still have several of his original dual helix rods that are exceptional and different because their design. I understand his technique and/or design has been lost to time.

And believe it or not, there are a couple of places that still have some of his blanks, but the problem is since some of them are not marked after 40 years those blanks are now mixed in with others and it is not possible for me to be able to tell them apart from the others.

There is a thread started on here from 2015 mentioning the death of Richard Kantner and his secret work for DOD... [youtu.be]

[www.rodbuilding.org]

[www.legacy.com]

Richard DeWolfe Kantner Sr. November 24, 1926 - June 26, 2015 SAN DIEGO -- An Aviation Pioneer Offspring Dick was born in Miami, Florida to Mildred and Harold D. Kantner. His father, nicknamed "Birdman Kantner"*, was a pioneer in Aviation, holding USA Pilot's License #65. They moved to Meadville, Pennsylvania and then landed in San Diego in 1943 when Dick was 16. After his school days at San Diego High School, mid-40s and San Diego State, in the '50s, Dick started his career at NARMCO where he worked on classified projects such as the SR 71, "Blackbird". Dick was a pioneer in the use of carbon fiber in sports equipment such as graphite golf shafts and fishing rods. His company, Composite Development Corporation, established a fishing rod manufacturing company called Graphite-USA. Avid in model aircraft building, Dick was a volunteer at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. He is survived by his sons and daughter, Richard DeWolfe (Kit) Kantner II (Julie), Briggs Kantner (Hayley), Taiche Rudee (David); seven grandchildren, Mariana Potts (Trevor), Kelly Kantner, Katherine Kantner, Hunter Kantner, Ryder Kantner, Kyle Rudee, Sean Rudee; and four great-grandchildren, Mabel Potts, Walker Potts, Willoughby Potts and Duke Kantner. Dick will be laid to rest with his dear wife Taiche Willoughby at a private service at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on July 15, 2015 at 2:30 p.m. Friends are invited to join the family at a celebration of life from 5-8 p.m. at The San Diego Air and Space Museum, Balboa Park.

Published by San Diego Union-Tribune on Jul. 12, 2015.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another name I would like to throw in here is virtually unknown in the fishing world and it is a dam shame too because he got out of making fishing rods and went into making push poles said to be some of the best made today, and it is purely his fishing rod knowledge and experience that is being transferred into the push poles, and he no longer makes fishing rods because he could not sell them. But for anyone who has a Stiffy rod made by Kevin Shaw is holding onto a piece of rod making history.

I found out about Stiffy when I purchased one in the used tackle market I was involved in for decades buying and selling used rods and reels since I worked at a rod and reel repair shop, why not make extra dollars on the side buying and selling? And so I did and glad I did as it put me into contact with a lot of tackle I never would have seen nor experienced otherwise. And Stiffy is one of the best unknowns out there. I have one of his 7' spinning rods and it is an exceptional rod. Losing Kevin Shaw in the rod blank business is a blow to us all and most of us are not even aware of this loss.

Some way, some how Kevin Shaw needs to get dragged back into making fishing rods!

Here is an interview, the one and only one I can find of Kevin Shaw and his discussion of his work in graphite for rods and push poles... a very interesting read...

[skiffrepublic.com]

And the audio interview the text came from:

[s3.amazonaws.com]

Thanks for the additional information from Hunter, Russell and Kent.
Kent mentioned Dick Kantner and his career at NARMCO (National Armament Corporation) and their development of carbon fiber (CF) on projects such as the SR71 in the 1950s. Interestingly, NARMCO was employed by the US military to develop the fiberglass (FG) process (ground breaking technology at the time) during WW2 to build lightweight parts for aircraft and missile bodies. The FG parts were referred to as “Conolon” (for whatever reason). As the war was winding down resulting in fewer orders for parts, the “Conolon Corporation” was founded to utilize their vast knowledge to produce the world’s first tubular FG fishing blanks and rods. So NARMCO spawned Conolon, both the original laminate parts and the Corporation as well. Most well known fishing rod manufacturers of the era took advantage of the unique and revolutionary FG process and purchased their blanks from Conolon. Just another aspect as to why I love Conolon blanks so much.
When describing some of the FG rods I own, I forgot to mention that about 3 years ago, a friend gave me an UL 7ft Kencor PAC73. He only fished it for one day and is in 100% pristine condition. Apparently, they were quite prestigious (if not expensive) rods and still demand top dollar from collectors today (not that it really matters to me). It is the most “wet noodle” of any rod I own and should take my desire for a full-flexing rod to the highest of levels; I can’t wait to actually fish it. Funny thing is that there are only 5 guides, arranged in COF, with a monstrous size 30 butt guide. I am certain it would perform MUCH better with 9 or possibly 10 KR Concept guides starting with a KL-16H but refuse to bastardize such a pristine example of an old school rod.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.