Vintage Fly Fishing

By Rod Petersen II

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to fish. I was taken fishing for the first time when I was just a year old. That according to my kids that was a long, long time ago. Well, ever since then I will take every opportunity I can to go fishing. Any type of fishing, though as of late it is mostly fly fishing. The tug is the drug!

So, a few weeks ago a coworker handed me a rod tube at work. He said that he was cleaning out his garage, which I need to do also but have been avoiding, and he found it. Knowing that I love fly fishing he was hoping I could use it. Inside the rod tube was a vintage Eagle Claw Trail Master fly rod. I was excited to give it a try. So when I got home I dug out an old reel and put some fly line on it and carried it to my local pond.  I had so much fun with that old fly rod that evening.

Fishing with that vintage fly rod that night brought back a lot of memories. The Trail Master fly rod is very similar to my first fly rod that I got that when I was ten. I still have it.  I don’t remember where I got it though. It is a Fenwick Glass rod. I cannot tell what kind it is because the writing on the rod has long since been rubbed off. I put an Abu Garcia reel on it that I bought the reel at a flea market. I had to mow a lot of yards to afford the fly line for it. I still have great memories of catching big Bluegill and Largemouth Bass using popping bugs on the Saint Johns River in Florida where I grew up.  I would use it every chance I got and would try to catch whatever I could.

Now that I am older I have several different fly rods for different applications. Saltwater, small streams, heavy rods for bass and pike, you get the idea. I am sure I am not alone in that. Still, for a short time that night, it was like I was ten years old again chasing sunfish with the fading light of day. I have used that rod a few times since then and it is just as fun as it was the first time.

So, whether you are an old-timer like me or a young fly angler, don’t overlook vintage tackle. Vintage tackle can be found in many places. Online marketplaces, garage sales, and flea markets are just some of the places where vintage tackle can be found. For the younger anglers don’t overlook your grandfather’s, dad’s, or uncle’s old tackle. Just be careful because there might be a sentimental attachment to that tackle.

For the “vintage” anglers like me, be careful using vintage fly rods. It might just bring back memories of a time gone by and, for a time, you might just feel like you are young again.