An FE Thomas comes to life

[Dave Westburg]

Jack Holdridge did a great job restoring an 8' 3/2 F.E.Thomas bamboo rod I purchased at Maltby Antiques. A huge thanks to Para Adams for the intro.





I emailed Steve Campbell at the Thomas Rod company and he filled me in on the rod: Here is the info on the rod, taken from the 1942 ledger. Rod #G-82 was the 82nd rod made in 1942 and is listed as: 8' Thomas Special, Dry Fly taper, with a Cork seat, Half Wells grip, Dark Brown silk, tipped with Dark Red (at the base of each section) and weighs 4 5/8oz. It was completed on 3/31/1942 and sold to Ship's Service Store on 5/11/1943.




Was lawn casting the rod and it feels like a 4/5 weight. Greg Armstrong, we need to have an FE Thomas day this spring at a certain local cutthroat pond.



Would be fun to fish this Maine rod some day for Maine brookies.

 

[Para_Adams]

So glad that Jack was able to handle the re-wrapping of some of the signature wraps. Those can be difficult to do well, but Jack is a very talented gentleman. That particular cork grip's shape is my favorite shape, pretty much exactly the same as the grip I chose for my custom ordered Chris Carlin. And cork seats are my favorite as well. You hit a jackpot with this one Dave, fish it well!

 

[Dave Westburg]

I was able to order a Thomas Rods decal for a rod tube so my refurbished 8' Thomas can look the part in the bamboo lineup...

 

[Wetswinger]

Fenwick cork grip for rod building

Classic fenwick grip for custom made fly fishing rods.

www.proofflyfishing.com

So glad that Jack was able to handle the re-wrapping of some of the signature wraps. Those can be difficult to do well, but Jack is a very talented gentleman. That particular cork grip's shape is my favorite shape, pretty much exactly the same as the grip I chose for my custom ordered Chris Carlin. And cork seats are my favorite as well. You hit a jackpot with this one Dave, fish it well!

View attachment 145844

Those grips look a lot like this Fenwick grip I’ve put on some of my rods. I love the shape also. It fits the hand..

 

[Tim Cottage]

Very nice. Please bring this rod to the Redmond gathering.

 

[Wade Rivers]

Happy 83rd birthday to the rod!

Enjoy and thanks for sharing

 

[Para_Adams]

That FET tube label is very cool. It's great that the FET rod company remains active and awesome today under a great current owner. It's a testament to the wonderful brand created by Fred after he spent his early years as one of Hiram's talented apprentices. Having a great rod made by FET in its earlier days is a treasure to enjoy.

 

[Peabody1955]

Jack Holdridge did a great job restoring an 8' 3/2 F.E.Thomas bamboo rod I purchased at Maltby Antiques. A huge thanks to Para Adams for the intro.

View attachment 145692

View attachment 145693

I emailed Steve Campbell at the Thomas Rod company and he filled me in on the rod: Here is the info on the rod, taken from the 1942 ledger. Rod #G-82 was the 82nd rod made in 1942 and is listed as: 8' Thomas Special, Dry Fly taper, with a Cork seat, Half Wells grip, Dark Brown silk, tipped with Dark Red (at the base of each section) and weighs 4 5/8oz. It was completed on 3/31/1942 and sold to Ship's Service Store on 5/11/1943.


View attachment 145694

Was lawn casting the rod and it feels like a 4/5 weight. Greg Armstrong, we need to have an FE Thomas day this spring at a certain local cutthroat pond.

View attachment 145696

Would be fun to fish this Maine rod some day for Maine brookies.

You know, when you hear 83 years old you think wow that’s history! My 70th is coming up so this rod is almost exactly 13 years older than I am.
That’s what wonderful about fishing these old beauties, it makes your age just as wonderful to you.
All the memories you have, the places you’ve been, the people you’ve know and the wonderful times you’ve spent bent over a fishing pole looking at the water expectantly. That’s what life’s about!