Fenwick Fly Rod

[Bill Douglas]

My wife just came home from a visit to her folks. She brought back a Fenwick Iron Feather IF908 9' 8wt that my father-in-law bought while living in Florida and never used. I haven't had a chance to cast it yet, but it looks to be and feels like a fairly nice rod. Does anyone know anything about this particular rod? Is it worth holding on to?

Thanks :thumb ,

[Luke Filmer]

Not to say I am an expert on rods, however I have owned & used everything from Winston to Sage. My favorite rod is an old Fenwick.For some reason I can cast it farther & more comfortably than any of the others I own.
The best judge of what will work best for you is to try a few different ones. Regardless of price...The object here is to be able to cast comfortably, and good distances.
If the Fenwick works, than you are using the correct rod.

[Bill Douglas]

Well I can't beat the price! It feels good in my hands. I am anxious to get a reel and some line on it and try some casting.

[East Fork]

I remember the iron feather as one of Fenwick's upper-end models in the late 80s or early 90s. I owned some of Fenwick's other blanks form this era and loved and broke them all :(

I suspect you will find yours a good rod though perhaps slow by today's standards :)

[Nooksack Mac]

In the 1960's and '70's, Fenwick was to American fly anglers roughly what Sage is today: the national standard. Then some pointy-headed pencil-pushers decided that they could save a few cents per unit by having their blanks made offshore, and Fenwick quickly lost its favored market identity. They should teach this sad episode in business schools.:professor Fenwick never recovered.

[East Fork]

Here is an interesting short history of the Fenwick brand - a bit slanted but nonetheless informative :)

http://www.fenwickfishing.com/menu.c..._key=36&cm=319

:-)

[Donald Johnson]

I had one once (6wt) before it got bit by my tailgate. It was my favorite summer steelie rod. Fairly lightweight with relatively slow action.

[Jim Wallace]

Thanks for that! My 1965 8' 6wt languished unused in its case for nearly 36 years (from late '66) until I exhumed it two years ago, when I began fly fishing again. The handle is getting a little discolored now with use, but it is otherwise in prime condition. Slow action...flexes all the way to the handle when it has more than 40' of line in the air, but at shorter distances (less than 20' or 25') presents a dry fly nicer than my faster action 9' graphite 6wt TFO.

However, it feels heavier and slower when playing a fish.
The TFO has a much lighter and livelier action with a fish on, plus more "backbone."

Jimbo, the haven't tried many other rods, so take this all with a grain of salt

[Nooksack Mac]

Jaws:

You've pretty well summed up the nature of fiberglass compared to lighter and faster graphite. Here's one situation where your glass rod's limited range won't be a disadvantage, and where its soft action is a definite advantage: Use it for chironomid fishing. You know: a short cast from your boat or float tube with a floating line and very long leader, then patient watching of the line end, or strike indicator, then a quick, tippet-saving strike as a trout takes your chironomid pupa and turns away. :thumb

[chadk]

Sounds like the same rod I had for a while.

The rod I had was a very fast action graphite rod (9 1/2 ft, 8wt). Handled chums great. Fit and finish were nice, and I liked the removable fighting butt.

If it is the same rod I had, I recommend selecting your line carefully. I put 8wt WF floating line on it and felt like I should have put 9wt. The rod felt like a stiff board and I had trouble loading it up. It drove me crazy when I fished my med\fast 4wt for trout, then swithed to this 8wt for steelhead\salmon - it felt all wrong to me. Maybe it would handle tips and full sinking line better. I think it was made for salt water fishing and shooting line - under the right conditions I can see this rod shooting line like a cannon...

I paid around $100 for mine a few years ago. It was on clearance (regularly over $300) and I think they discontinued the model.