1970s? Fenwick Fiberglass 7wt

Evan B

Evan B

Bobber Downey Jr.
Staff member
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This past weekend at the swap n shop, @Salmo_g brought a sweet vintage glass 7wt that he built up a few decades ago. After casting it, I knew I probably wouldn't be leaving without it. Then @Wetswinger (I think it was him I bought it from) brought a JW Young Multiplier reel that was way too cool to not get, and was the perfect size for this rod I was about to buy. So I grabbed both.

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While part of me really wanted to preserve the rod just as it was built, the handle setup just wasn't a good fit for either myself or what I planned to use it for. And it WILL get used. Probably quite a bit. So I decided to rework the bottom section with a new handle, reel seat and fighting butt. This is a 7wt, and it's going to be battling some large carp. So it needed some extra somethin somethin.

Since I have 0 in the way of equipment to do this job, and because I have a friend who works for a very well known, high end rod company, I passed it off to him for a little side project at home.
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and the big reveal:




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pretty excited to get this one out there :) - I lined it up with an SA MPX 6wt I had on-hand. I know rods like this "deserve" a peach or something more classic, but with the heavier flies I'm turning over, I wanted some horsepower. I think this 6wt line matches well to the softer action and will give me the ability to send longer casts without overloading the rod with a modern 7wt line.

Yay
 
duuuuude!


I'm disappointed I didn't see that multiplier before you! It probably showed up around the time when everyone discovered my own disappointment in missing a musky eat!

That will make a fantastic carp rod!
 
I turned a classic Fenwick grip style because I like the feel of them, but I'm not wedded to the style. I put a classic cigar style on my 7 1/2' 6 wt. Plus you have a much classier reel seat. I just used a basic aluminum one that I had laying around.
 
Salmo_g said:
I turned a classic Fenwick grip style because I like the feel of them, but I'm not wedded to the style. I put a classic cigar style on my 7 1/2' 6 wt. Plus you have a much classier reel seat. I just used a basic aluminum one that I had laying around.
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Yeah and the other issue with the reel seat is the top locking nut was actually glued to the bottom of the cork, so that was an issue to address as well :ROFLMAO:
 
Evan B said:
Yeah and the other issue with the reel seat is the top locking nut was actually glued to the bottom of the cork, so that was an issue to address as well :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
Guess I should have known about that, but I didn't. Or I would have fixed it. I honestly don't know how that happened, but it was a long time ago.
 
That's the 8.5' blank, right?
 
That's such a sweet blank. I used one of those for a number of years for steelhead prior to my Steffen addiction.
 
Too many hundreds of dollars between Steffens and this setup even with my Burkheimer upgrade ;) Maybe some day....
 
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I love that! I've wanted a JW Young reel for a long while. I've also got a fenwick of a similar vintage that I've enjoyed many times over the years.
 
I absolutely recognize that grip shape, your fortunate to have that guy as your rod building buddy!
 
Just a standard Fenwick 867 story here. Several years back I broke the tip section of my Sage 697XP. Since I’m from that neighborhood I packed it up and dropped it off at Sage. I had been SRC fishing with it and the 6wt Outbound Short. So for grins I simply put that reel on the 7wt Fenwick for a while. An impressive rocket. I maybe lost a couple feet in distance, but it’s a very good match.
(Sage fixed the XP, NC. Toured the plant with friends when I picked it up.)
Those Fenwicks will huck some line. I had an 806 that would throw all of a 6wt DT.
 
My very first "real" fly rod was an 8ft 7wt Fenwick that I scrounged up the money to buy in 1971. I loved that rod fitted with an old Pfleuger Medalist that I found at the thrift store in Aspen. It got me going on a lifetime career of chasing fish. I really wish I still had it but I don't even remember where it went.
 
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