What is this rod?

[Pony]

Has anyone seen something like this?? I have never used it because I'm guessing the internals may be rusted. My mom caught this rod while fishing on a vacation as a little kid. It is at least 50yrs old. I have yet to see something like it and am wondering if anyone else has.

 

[heycods]

Re: What is this rod?

Luke Skywalkers fly rod???????

 

[Ron G]

Re: What is this rod?

Almost looks like some kind of trolling or downrigger rod..i've never seen one like it either.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: What is this rod?

Great Lakes Whirlaway?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-GREAT-L...ryZ11143QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Looks pretty close.

spots

 

[jtexas]

Re: What is this rod?

looks like a clothes hanging rod to me...here in the south every house has at least one in every closet...

8)

 

[AJ168]

Re: What is this rod?

I've seen them before at garage sales. I think that they're like a predecessor to a closed face spinning reel that is permanatley attatched to the rod. The ones I've seen, the line runs through the rod blank.

 

[PAkev]

Re: What is this rod?

WOW.........

I believe it is one of the rare edition rods which pfluger developed that was originally intended to help to put both land game and fish on the table. This model was called "The Sportsman Special" and men using this combination literally formed the first rod and gun clubs.

Rumor had it that Al Capone who was also an avid angler had conspired with zebco to bankrupt pfluger in order to obtain the patent and have a few of these custom manufactured in larger calibers for his personal protection while muskie fishing some of his favorite Wisconsin lakes.

It's operation is not that much different than its big cousin and big Al's favorite "The Tommy Gun" Pull the tip section off the rod to double as a firearm. Flip the little lever which could be constued as the drag setting. Use the first two line guides as sights and each 1/4 crank of the handle fires out a .22 round.

On the market for less than a year, the use of these rod/ gun combinations were outlawed by many state fish and game agencies in order to discourage poaching as seasons and bag limits were establised.

You may have a valuable asset but you may also have a weapon that was used in a crime and deliberately thrown in the water. I'm sure there are collectors that would love to have your Sportsman's Special but I would guess a few years in the drink has compromised a majority of it's value.

Next time you are at a yard sale trying to haggle out a good deal you better start running for your car when the old lady walks over and pulls out what appears to be just an old fishing pole to whup you with.

 

[Pony]

Re: What is this rod?

looks like a clothes hanging rod to me...here in the south every house has at least one in every closet...

8)

LMAO

 

[Pony]

Re: What is this rod?

Spots that does look VERYclose.

I want to clean this one up and hang it over the mantle piece.

 

[jtexas]

Re: What is this rod?

bravo, PAKev!

 

[Ron G]

Re: What is this rod?

roflaoddd

 

[crunch]

Re: What is this rod?

Long tail bobber?

 

[jtexas]

Re: What is this rod?

roflaoddd

ok, I give up...I just can't figure out what "rofladd" means.

rolling on the floor laughing at dawgsdad?
rolling on the floor laughing attention deficit disorder?

 

[JAG59]

Re: What is this rod?

It looks like what I heard my stepfather talking about using when he was a kid. It would have been 50 to 60 years age when he used these things. He said his dad had a couple and described them as being shaped like a lightbulb.. They were a grand-daddy to the spin-cast real and had a mechanism that actually wrapped the line against the inside of lightbulb-shaped part. He said the only thing the were good for was a terrible internal tangle. I'm guessing that's why they haven't been seen in 50 years.

 

[heycods]

Re: What is this rod?

Rumor had it that Al Capone who was also an avid angler had conspired with zebco to bankrupt pfluger in order to obtain the patent and have a few of these custom manufactured in larger calibers for his personal protection while muskie fishing some of his favorite Wisconsin lakes.

But zebco wasnt organized as a company until the designer merged wit some oilfield down hole blasting co. in Tulsa Ok. In 47 or 48, I saw the history of zebco a while bac on some site, So I wont buy the capone theory.

 

[PAkev]

Re: What is this rod?

I wont buy the capone theory.

heycods,

From the context of your post, I am assuming you are taking things a little too serious.

Work has been a little slow since I retired from "The Liars Club."

 

[bassboy1]

Re: What is this rod?

Send a picture and descriptionto the "whats it worth" column in bassmaster magazine.

 

[jtexas]

Re: What is this rod?

I wont buy the capone theory.

heycods,

From the context of your post, I am assuming you are taking things a little too serious.

Work has been a little slow since I retired from "The Liars Club."

You mean "seriously", an adverb modifying "taking". "Serious" would be an adjective.

We take things serious around here.