"I’ve had a lot of people ask why I collect and fish Wright & McGill fiberglass rods. At first I didn’t know all fiberglass fly rods weren’t created equal and they were the best known fly rod builders in Denver. (Excuse me Phillipson owners.)"
(Wright & McGill catalogs 1954-1980, two Trailmasters, a deck of W&M playing cards (thank you middlemac), Wings Upon the Water: the Wright & McGill story, and a Wright & McGill Autograph fly reel.)
"I owned a Trailmaster, knew W&Ms customer service as excellent, and thought why not. When I started to really get into collecting it opened the door to a lot of questions that I thought would be easier to answer because I could be at W&M in twenty minutes. My first purchase was a 1954 3A complete with Trevarno blank, red aluminum reel seat and multicolored wraps...which no one thought could be original, so I stripped it.
What has become my passion is collecting the old tobacco brown Trevarno glass rods made in the 1950’s. Before I could get too involved I found it necessary to start another collection first...the W&M catalogs. They showed up often enough on eBay to have a nearly complete collection from 1954 to 1980 in a fairly short time. That’s when I found that the “clown” wraps on my 3A were original. Doh!"
(Left to Right: Sunrise, Sweetheart, Green Hornet, Symbolic, 3A, Dandy, All American, Holiday, Ambassador and Sweetheart. Missing are two Trailmasters and the Peter Pan.)
"I now have thirteen Wright & McGill fiberglass rods; the 3A, Sunrise, Holiday, All American, Ambassador, Symbolic, two Sweethearts, Green Hornet, Dandy, Peter Pan and two Trailmasters.
Wright and Mcgill rods aren’t terribly expensive and are still fairly available. (Although I won’t say how much I paid for the mint Symbolic.) Many of the rods I’ve purchased are mint or near mint. These rods, from the oldest to the newest are known as tip heavy and somewhat awkward due to their weight – both physically and line weight. Balance any of them with the proper weight reel and they cast as well as any other rod I’ve used."
22 comments:
Oh... Wonderful post!! Excellent collection too! I love those tobaco color blanks too! Those color and fine spots in them are just amazing!
I have a Green Hornet, 8' The line designation is 3GH.
What the heck? W&G must have been saying something very specific, but that doesn't match much of the old system letter designations.
Translation, pls? I know it's probably either a 6 or 7 ... but the designation just seems odd, yuh know?
Terry in eastern Washington
Hi Terry,
I can't tell you why, but WM didn't always put the line designation on their rods. 3GH should mean 3 piece Green Hornet. Is yours a 3 piece? I would definitely try a DT6 or WF7 to start out.
You seem to know your WM rods. I picked up a Vintage WM rod at a Estate sale and I am stumped as to this model. I can not find it mentioned anywhere . I know most of the WM models but this one I have never seen before . I know it dates from 1968 because it is engraved (looks like from the factory) of the Owners name and Dated 6-16-1968. Labeled on the Rod goes as Follows
Wright & McGill
"Granger" 8 ft
no. 6580
line-DT-6-F
The wrappings and color of the rod look similar to a Sweetheart but the Cork (original) is not the same as on a Sweetheart
Hope some of this helps Thxs
Mike in NH
great collection. I have used a 6 piece trailmaster on horse pack trips. Love the portability and spin/fly versatility so much I got another two of them of Ebay. What weight fly reel would you suggest for these?
Wow, it's nice to see others appreciate these under-appreciated rods. If you can cast any of the old WM rods well, you are a good caster.
Mik: That rod of yours is a Granger. It is listed in the 1968 WM catalog. They sold for $26.95 at that time. I don't think they made the Granger series for very long and I consider it a desirable rod for two reasons, it is a nice looking rod as is the Sweetheart (translates to cost more money) and Granger was WMs signature rod name going back to bamboo days. They put more love into the Sweethearts, Grangers another one I have that really isn't listed in any catalogs I have called the Symbolic. It also is a Sweetheart clone and also has the funky model number.
dspilman: I have several Trailmasters and I really love them, especially a 7 1/2' combo I bought in 1975 for a pack trip into the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming.
Many Wright & Mcgill rods are hard to balance because they are tip heavy. I haven't used my Trailmasters for a long time but I know I used a Martin 60 or 61 at one time. They're on the smallish side, but hold a ton of line and backing. I've also tried a Pflueger Medalist 1495 which is a heavy reel..still didn't balance well for me, so I added some lead core line before the fly line and that helped. Luckily the Trailmasters aren't nearly as heavy as a lot of old fiberglass fly rods so it's a little easier to balance. I have about 30 Orvis reels and only one or two really balance glass well.
Howard...thanks for dropping some more knowledge in this post. It is appreciated.
So..you seem to be the authority on W&M rods..maybe you can help me. I recently aquired an 8 1/2 ft W&M and I can't make out the model. It looks alot like the Dandy but has a green reel seat. Unfortunately the markings are faded..any ideas?
smallfly...Howard is the expert. Send me an email at heddonpal@fiberglassflyrodders.org and I'll get the two of you linked up.
I have just been given a "sweetheart sh300 2pc 8'6" line wt7 in the matching aluminum carrier and rod sock (carrier also bearing the Eagle claw sweetheart sh300 designation) it looks exactly like the rod 2nd from left in your pic. When was this rod made?
Hello Richard & Shellie,
That rod, which was brand new when I bought it year before last(without tube or sock)was made around 1983. Someone on Fiberglass Flyrodders saw it in a sporting goods store (gathering a lot of dust)in Montana and took a picture and posted it. I don't collect "modern" rods but had never seen a newer Sweetheart and had to have it. It surprised me on how nicely it cast.
Howard
I read the post you speak of. Thank you for the info. I couldn't have been more pleased to have the rod, my friends dad was a true treasure to have known and I was proud to have been a friend to him. Shot several deer from "his" stand and caught some great fish out of his ponds. Even learnt a thing or two bout Scotch. I will try to pair it with the right reel! Thanks again.
Richard
This is the most commented on TFM blog post ever. Thank you Howard for continuing to answer people's questions they have about their own W&M collections.
Question: I have a Wright and McGill Dandy marked only 8A -
8 1/2. Got in 1961 when I was 12 and I fished for rainbows for a couple of summers and it's been in a tube ever since. A. Does the fiberglass age well, ok to use now? and B. No weight or line size is given. Were these all the same and how do I know what reel and line to buy? Thanks! Erik and sorry that was two questions!
Erik...from Howard...
Erik,
You've got a nice very early WM glass rod and one of my favorites. I use a WF6 or DT6. It feels like it could handle a lighter line but it didn't work for me. You might want to check out the following link http://cofisher.blogspot.com/2012/05/this-post-is-dandy.html for catalog pages and more information.
Assuming the rod was dry and stored correctly, it should be in fine shape to fish. As a point of information, most all of the early WM rods were made for 7wts or 6DT but it's always good to see what feels good to you.
If you have any questions feel free to get ahold of me at windknots1949@gmail.com
Howard
I have a Wright & McGill Sweetheart Fly rod, this appears to be an older rod as it does not have the medal medallion on the cork handle and is just hand signed with no logo it has a 2A-3 designator on the rod, it weights just under 6 oz and is 8 feet long. I can't seem to find anything online that looks like it, they all have either the medal medallion or a logo along with the signature, any thoughts?
Thanks,
Stewart
Hello all. I have recently acquired an old W&M "Champions" 8 1/2 rod. What type of affordable reel can I use? Also will a 4F line work since I already have one laying around? Thanks in advance.
- Newbie Fly Fisherman
Hi Joey, Camerson forwarded this to me. Check out this link http://cofisher.blogspot.com/2011/06/questions-from-readers.html to see what I wrote on the Champion. These early rods were on the tip-heavy side and need a heftier reel to balance it out. I would try a Pflueger Medalist. The rod, depending on age is most probably a 7wt. It's a great bass rod although they were used back in the day with trout. Must have been some big trout around back in the day. If you need any more information feel free to drop by www.cofisher.blogspot.com and drop me a line directly.
Howard
Howard,
Appreciate the help! Yes this rod seemed on the tip-heavy side. Yeah i suppose trout were much bigger then. : )
Regards,
Joey
Hi, I recently brought a lightly used W&M 6 1/2', 2 piece, brown fiberglass, "Holiday" fly rod. It a black rubber end that is shaped like a mushroom, this might help date the production year. Any information on the year produced and value would be appreciated.
Brad
Thank you for your imfomation.when did WM add eagle claw as part of there logo on their rods?
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