ThatGuyRyRy
Life of the Party
Anyone got any backstory on this rod. 
Bristol Collapsible stainless steel fly rod.
- Thread starter ThatGuyRyRy
- Start date
Looks like a pretty vicious weapon!
BigSplashTom
Steelhead
Hmmm, Nice carpet.
Wow, made of stainless steel. That is crazy.
You should load up a line for a cast test. Might be interesting.
I found this article that might help.
Author Philip Anctil : https://www.fishingtalks.com/nothing-up-your-sleeve-it-may-be-a-bristol-steel-rod-569.html
As a resident of Connecticut myself, The Horton Manufacturing Company from Bristol, Connecticut has always been an interest to me. In the 1880’s, a fishing mogul named Everett Horton invented Bristol Steel Rods. Mr. Horton wanted to enjoy fishing on Sunday, which was not accepted behavior in the Puritanical township of Bristol, Connecticut; no Sunday slackers here.
Mr. Horton solved his problem by constructing an easily carried telescoping rod that he would hide in his shirt sleeve. His invention turned out to be the backbone of The Horton Manafacturing company. The Bristol Steel Rod was the most popular rod in the nation in the early part of the 1900’s, especially as they had quality steel rods with fine fittings.
The original design was a piece to behold and is sought out by collectors to this day. Instead of having the line run on the outside guides, the line ran through the steel tube making it easy to poke through bushes and tree limbs to get to that desired fishing hole. The Horton Manufacturing Company manufactured bait rods as well as fly rods and some of the telescopic models could be taken apart and reassembled to fit both needs (what a marvel). Even though the the original idea for the rod came in the 1880’s, they remained popular enough to sell through the 1930’s.
Owning several Bristol rods and being stubborn enough to fish with them, I will tell you that the telescoping models are heavy to fish and fishing them does not last long. The bait rod or Gentleman’s Rods is a beautiful piece and fun to fish. Fishing on Sunday in Connecticut may have been frowned upon back then, but it was not for Everett Horton.
Nothing up your sleeve? Presto a Bristol Steel Rod.
Great Fishing Philip Anctil
Wow, made of stainless steel. That is crazy.
You should load up a line for a cast test. Might be interesting.
I found this article that might help.
Author Philip Anctil : https://www.fishingtalks.com/nothing-up-your-sleeve-it-may-be-a-bristol-steel-rod-569.html
As a resident of Connecticut myself, The Horton Manufacturing Company from Bristol, Connecticut has always been an interest to me. In the 1880’s, a fishing mogul named Everett Horton invented Bristol Steel Rods. Mr. Horton wanted to enjoy fishing on Sunday, which was not accepted behavior in the Puritanical township of Bristol, Connecticut; no Sunday slackers here.
Mr. Horton solved his problem by constructing an easily carried telescoping rod that he would hide in his shirt sleeve. His invention turned out to be the backbone of The Horton Manafacturing company. The Bristol Steel Rod was the most popular rod in the nation in the early part of the 1900’s, especially as they had quality steel rods with fine fittings.
The original design was a piece to behold and is sought out by collectors to this day. Instead of having the line run on the outside guides, the line ran through the steel tube making it easy to poke through bushes and tree limbs to get to that desired fishing hole. The Horton Manufacturing Company manufactured bait rods as well as fly rods and some of the telescopic models could be taken apart and reassembled to fit both needs (what a marvel). Even though the the original idea for the rod came in the 1880’s, they remained popular enough to sell through the 1930’s.
Owning several Bristol rods and being stubborn enough to fish with them, I will tell you that the telescoping models are heavy to fish and fishing them does not last long. The bait rod or Gentleman’s Rods is a beautiful piece and fun to fish. Fishing on Sunday in Connecticut may have been frowned upon back then, but it was not for Everett Horton.
Nothing up your sleeve? Presto a Bristol Steel Rod.
Great Fishing Philip Anctil
Bambooflyguy
Legend
“When the tip bends double”….does it stay that way? I heard they soon after they went into the automobile radio antenna business…..
Is there a typo in that ad? It reads "...when the tip bends double, you should worry!..." I think they mean "shouldn't" worry. Still a cool old ad though!Hmmm, Nice carpet.
Wow, made of stainless steel. That is crazy.
You should load up a line for a cast test. Might be interesting.
I found this article that might help.
Author Philip Anctil : https://www.fishingtalks.com/nothing-up-your-sleeve-it-may-be-a-bristol-steel-rod-569.html
As a resident of Connecticut myself, The Horton Manufacturing Company from Bristol, Connecticut has always been an interest to me. In the 1880’s, a fishing mogul named Everett Horton invented Bristol Steel Rods. Mr. Horton wanted to enjoy fishing on Sunday, which was not accepted behavior in the Puritanical township of Bristol, Connecticut; no Sunday slackers here.
Mr. Horton solved his problem by constructing an easily carried telescoping rod that he would hide in his shirt sleeve. His invention turned out to be the backbone of The Horton Manafacturing company. The Bristol Steel Rod was the most popular rod in the nation in the early part of the 1900’s, especially as they had quality steel rods with fine fittings.
The original design was a piece to behold and is sought out by collectors to this day. Instead of having the line run on the outside guides, the line ran through the steel tube making it easy to poke through bushes and tree limbs to get to that desired fishing hole. The Horton Manufacturing Company manufactured bait rods as well as fly rods and some of the telescopic models could be taken apart and reassembled to fit both needs (what a marvel). Even though the the original idea for the rod came in the 1880’s, they remained popular enough to sell through the 1930’s.
Owning several Bristol rods and being stubborn enough to fish with them, I will tell you that the telescoping models are heavy to fish and fishing them does not last long. The bait rod or Gentleman’s Rods is a beautiful piece and fun to fish. Fishing on Sunday in Connecticut may have been frowned upon back then, but it was not for Everett Horton.
Nothing up your sleeve? Presto a Bristol Steel Rod.
Great Fishing Philip Anctil
ThatGuyRyRy
Life of the Party
I ended up giving it to a kid. I wasn't going to break my arm trying to cast this thing, but maybe it will inspire him to fly fish more or now that I think of it. Maybe it will make him never want to fly fish again
BigSplashTom
Steelhead
Go with inspire. It sure sounds better.
Just in case you are missing that zippy stainless steel double haul zing, Ebay has several Bristol's for sale starting at $8.99