I recently purchased a pile of 11 older rods and reels at a garage sale (80 bucks). These seem to date to the 50’s & 60’s. Most are spinning and conventional rods, and most are tubular fiberglass, but a few conventional saltwater rods are cane. A bunch of spinning and conventional rells were included (Airex, Mitchell, Penn, Pflueger). The rod makes are J.C. Higgins, Airex, Wright & McGill, and possibly Pflueger, but some are unmarked. There is also a 3-pc tubular glass fly rod with a neat wooden holder to hold all 3 pieces plus an extra tip (missing). None are in really great condition, but a few are actually still fishable (I don’t know if I would, though).
Generally speaking, are these rods worth restoring?
I am not really a collector, just like having old fishin’ stuff around (reminds me of my younger years, I guess). I have not built or restored any rods , but only replaced some guides and tips in the past…
It’s hard to really say Jim. If by “worth restoring” you mean if you restore it is it gonna be worth a lot of money, then probably not. But if you you mean are they decent rods that would be fun to use and cool looking if you restored them, then sure. Old glass spin rods are pretty neat when you restore them with old style “perfection” guides and do some neat old 60’s/70’s butt weaves or spiral wraps on them. And you can pick up some of the old style components like Lakewood red/blue seats and guides on places like ebay really cheap so it won’t cost you much to restore. Biggest headache will just be stripping the rods to get it ready to redo. A lot of those old glass rods have paint underneath the wraps so you not only have to strip off the old guides&finish but also the paint underneath and then smooth it out and repaint it. So it’s really more of a labor of love then true vaule, but if it’s for yourself then it can be a lot of fun to redo one of them old rods like those.
Hi Steve,
Many Thanks for the info and expert opinion. I would only be interested in keeping them myself, just for fun. I am thinking that I should experiment on the worst one first. If all goes well, I can do the others later (would be a great winter hobby).
The reels all seem to be in working order, including a 1953-ish Airex half-bail spinning reel (Bache-Brown, manufactured by Lionel Corp.).
Another question: One of the Penn conventional reels is majorly stuck on it’s saltwater boat rod, due to corrosion of the reel seat, which I cannot seem to budge. I have been soaking it in WD-40, but no luck yet. Any suggestions?
A little heat will go a long way to getting the rusted seat to let go of the death grip it has on the reel. Try a heat gun if you have one and heat up the offending lock ring. Just make sure you have as much of the WD40 wiped off as you can, don’t want it bursting into flames on ya lol
White vinegar will remove the corrosion so you can remove the reel. Just be sure to wash it all down with clean water after-wards so the vinegar doesn’t start to eat the brass.
Thanks a lot for your help. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me… Who knows?..it may be a whole new hobby for me (the 12 or so I have now are keeping me busy enough)…
