Though there are five fly rods in the 50th Anniversary collection and the F703/4 is a pull for me since the first "premium" glass fly rod that I purchased over twenty years ago was the black glass Fibertouch 703/3. It was my second fiberglass fly rod and if I remember correctly, I stumbled across it on a Colorado fly shop website. It arrived a few days later and I was immediately obsessed with it. It furthered my sudden take to fiberglass which continues to today and was the start of a small collection of fly rods from the Scott Fly Rod Company which includes a few light line weight glass fly rods and the weird but wonderful Fiberhammer.
Jim, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions and congratulations on this milestone anniversary. I hope everyone enjoys this insightful interview on this special F model offering.
What was the first fiberglass fly rod you remember when you started with the Scott Fly Rod Company? What were your thoughts on it and how has your focus on fiberglass changed over the years?
There were a lot of glass rods from the '70s and '80's around the shop when I started. Some production models, some prototypes, and the control rods Harry and Larry used to check production runs. I recall they mostly sat around gathering dust. That was at a time when glass was considered old or obsolete and everyone was hyper focused on the graphite wars that dominated rod maker and angler attention in the early 90's.
Glass hadn't quite hit the revival phase back then. Today, I see glass as an essential rod building material, and as relevant to anglers as ever.
How has the F703 changed through the many generations of the fiberglass?
We've never offered a four piece model since it was introduced in the original F series, pre-graphite. We have made 7' 3-weights and fly rods close to 7 feet, but never actually offered the exact 703/4 model that we are with the 50th Anniversary model. Probably the two closest are the Fibertouch 703/3 which was a 3-piece rod, and the current production FS72/4, at 7' 2" and 4-pieces.
As you chose the lineup for the 50th Anniversary fly rods, what pointed you towards creating the F703/4 instead of another F series model?
The F703 was arguably the most iconic of the original Scott glass rods. It hit all the sweet spots for the material and application. It also showcased the hallmark smoothness of Scott glass in multi piece rods and the benefits of the Scott hollow internal ferrules. Since we've never offered this specific model in four pieces, it was the clear choice for commemorating this milestone.
In designing this 50th Anniversary F703/4, what were you working most to achieve?
First and foremost, staying true to Harry Wilson's design. I consider myself just the caretaker of this rod from a design standpoint. We left our subtle marks on the rod in the construction and component choices. Our latest epoxy resin system is used in the blank along with our latest iteration of the Scott hollow internal ferrule. We also used today's best-in-class components like titanium stripping guides with Zirconia inserts, Snake Brand snake guides, and precision milled aluminum reel seat. None of those components were available when this rod was introduced in the mid '70s. Some have become available only in the last couple of years. Other than being noticeably lighter, the anniversary blank maps very true to the control blank Harry chose in the 70's to benchmark this model.
Do you have any particular memories of fishing the F703 over years that you'd like to share?
I wish I had. This was a model that routinely sold out during the years it was made. I've owned and fished the 2-piece version, but never got the original F703 out on the water. My original 2-piece F703 met a sad fate when a friend I loaned it to absentmindedly left it on top of his truck at the end of the fishing day and drove off into the sunset.
Any last thoughts on this that you'd like to share?
The F703/4 is recognizable as a vintage Scott yellow glass rod from the
'70's but clearly modernized. Both are built from E-Glass on the same
tapers but the latest epoxy resin is used in place of first gen resin.
The Scott hollow internal ferrules are our latest version so they are
lighter than the original version.
This has been a very meaningful project to everyone at Scott. We offer these as a tribute and heartfelt thank you to anglers who fish our rods. We could never have made it 50 years, with the singular mission of handcrafting high performance fly rods, without their support.
Learn more about the 50th Anniversary F703/4 on the Scott Fly Rod Company website. To order your own limited edition F703/4, reach out to a dealer. This will be a special one for your collection.
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