I always thought [url=http://www.fenwickfishing.com/about_history.php:f010a]Fenwick[/url:f010a] had the dubious honor of the first graphite fishing rod, the infamous HMG in 1973.

[url=http://www.orvis.com/intro.asp?dir_id=758&subject=1124:f010a]Orvis[/url:f010a] claims on their website 1974 as being the year of the first Orvis graphite.