2 piece 10 ft Spit Cane Rod

[GeoffandWendy]

I bought a second hand 6 sided split cane rod the other day from an antique shop. It is 2 piece, 10 ft long with cork handle and aluminium threaded reel mount., marked up at £30. I managed to get it for £26. It has one large ring on the but and 5 rings plus the tip ring on the top piece. All parts of the rod are in very good condition.

On the aluminium reel mount it is inscribed;-

 

Modern Arms Company, Bromley Kent

.  

There is no date or any other markings on it. I expect it to have been made sometime during the 1950s, but it could be older. Can anyone throw any light on this rod, as to its age?

 

It is the first split can rod I have seen for a long time, so decided to buy it and try it out sometime.

 

[JennyMorgan]

1950 is probably a good guess although it could be as late as the 1960's. Ten foot long suggests that it is not a float rod so I'd guess either a ledger rod or a salmon type spinning rod. If it is a ledger rod then the 1960's is probably more likely. If it is a ledger rod then you got a good buy, in my opinion.

 

Just a thought, it might also be a carp rod in which case it'll probably be close whipped and worth about a ton in good nick.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Interresting.

 

when my sister in law and her husband moved into their bungalow 9 years ago, they found an old fishing rod in their attic and were going to throw it out as it was old. Instead, she brought it round to me and asked if i`d like it. It turned out to be a 3 piece split cane "Hardy`s General" being a general purpose rod (i think, but am willing to stand corrected?).  I showed it to a friend who`s going to replace the rings on it for me, as i would like to try it out. It even has the the turned wooden bungs that sit in the ends of each section, and the original case, which is a bit torn.

[JennyMorgan]

A Hardy cane rod is best left in its original condition and then put on E-Bay where it will probably get absolutely silly money which will allow you to buy a really good, top of the range modern rod. Hardy is to fishing rods what Rolls Royce is to cars.

[MauriceMynah]

As an antiques dealer, may I endorse what Peter has just said. Do not clean, do not restore!

If you are keeping the rod for it's antique value, cleaning and (amateur) restoring will destroy it's value quite probably by 90%. Leave well alone!

 

If you are keeping it to use...don't! You would be better off selling it on e-bay and taking the cash to Ludham bridge and buying a new rod there.

I don't deal in sporting goods so I'm not a potential buyer, but please trust Peter's and my advice on this one.

[JennyMorgan]

There is a Hardy General on e-bay at the moment:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HARDY-The-GENERAL-Cane-rod-/381143664328?pt=UK_BOI_Packing_Postal_Supplies_Labels_LE&hash=item58bdeec6c8

I see that it is not entirely split cane so perhaps not so desirable but we'll have to wait & see what it goes for.

The more specialised Hardy split cane rods can and do go for surprising prices, either in original condition or expertly refurbished. John/Morris is quite right, a 90% price drop for poor restoration is not unheard of.

[GeoffandWendy]

1950 is probably a good guess although it could be as late as the 1960's. Ten foot long suggests that it is not a float rod so I'd guess either a ledger rod or a salmon type spinning rod. If it is a ledger rod then the 1960's is probably more likely. If it is a ledger rod then you got a good buy, in my opinion.

 

Just a thought, it might also be a carp rod in which case it'll probably be close whipped and worth about a ton in good nick.

Hi Jenny,

               I would say it is a ledger rod, as there are no close whippings on it other than the ring bindings. Forgot to mention that the reel fastenings are on an aluminium section, that has a threaded nut to lock the bottom reel holder in place, so I expect that it could be mid to late sixties. Most earlier rods don't have threaded reel holders and are just placed over the cork handle.

But, it is a nice little rod and has a decent two compartment rod bag which came with it. I may try it out when we visit the Broads in September. 

[JennyMorgan]

Geoff, September and a good bream bashing rod, sounds good! Wendy will be able to keep your glass topped up whilst you do the hauling.

[GeoffandWendy]

We will be on the Broads in mid April, but will not be able to fish, as the closed season is in force on the Broads. But I will be bringing my tackle in Sept.

Bream are nice fish. Are their any Tench in the Broads? These put up a good fight, if you happen to hook one over 3 or 4 pounds. I caught one just over 5 lb last Oct from a lake, where I often go fishing, had a few nice Common Carp over 8 lbs as well. (all caught using luncheon meat). I don't go fishing as much as I used to, but occasionally, I like to get the rod out and try my luck. 

[JennyMorgan]

Tench are on the Broads, other people catch them, just not me! There are some whopping carp on The Broads, but you need the patience of Job to catch them and a lifetime to find them, or a lot of luck.

[MauriceMynah]

Never seen a tench on the broads, and only ever spotted one carp. That was between Belaugh and Coltishall, and boy was it a whopper (in my eyes) over 20lbs at a guess.

[GeoffandWendy]

Thank you guys for your replies. I must make sure I bring a few tins of luncheon meat, this bait is usually good for catching carp. Other than a rod licence, are any other licences needed to fish the Broads? From what I seemed to have read so far, fishing is free, except in restricted areas.

[Bonzo]

Hi Geoff and Wendy.

 

All you need is the ordinary coarse fishing licence.

 

In general, fishing on the Broads is free. Some public moorings state "No fishing from these moorings" but I believe this is only from the bank. No doubt somebody will correct me on this point which appears to be ambiguous. By the way, try a bit of cheese as bait. I had a couple of nice bream on it last year, one four and a half pounds and one three and a half pounds. Size 8 hook and bait around the size of a broad bean seemed to work.

 

Tight lines in the new season.