Hey everyone, I just realized I have a Dawn Holbrook bamboo fly rod among my mess of rods downstairs. It was given to me a number of years ago by a friend. Anyway, I see he has a bit of history in this neck of the woods, specifically among the ranks of the Deer Creek pioneers. Never put the name together reading through the likes of Bradner, Combs, and Arnold. Anyway, it is specified as a "Holbrook Special" written on the blank, the butt cap says "Holbrook Rod Builder - Seattle. I am going to assume it is original? Now that I am writting this, it also had another name written on it, maybe the original owner, now I'm going to have to go look. The date on it is 1953. There is no mention of line weight, so not sure what it is designed for, I could only assume dry-line steelhead. The numbers on the blank above the Full-Wells grip is 415 but the numbers at the ferrule is 416 matching both tips. Anybody know how to interpret those numbers. Also, is this a rod that has much in the way of value? Thanks for any info.
Sounds like you've got a little piece of NW steelheading history on your hands. Seems to me there was a Jack Berryman article in NW Fly Fishing a while back that mentioned Dawn Holbrook. I'll see if I can track it down and let you know. In the meantime, take good care of it. Keep it stored vertically in its tube, or better yet, in its sock (if it has one) hanging vertically from the clothes rod in your closet. K
Thanks for the advice. In my closet.....the wife would destroy it! It does have a sock that might be original as it has the divider for both tips. It is currently in a heavy aluminum tube that I imagine is way aftermarket. Being the idiot that I am, tell me why it needs to hang vertically and is it better out of the tube for air circulation? Thanks
Go check out Clarks classic rod forum it used to be called bamboo forum. People there know everything bamboo. Sounds like you have a decent rod. Go fish it!
Wow! You've got a real collector's item. In addition to building rods, Mr. Holbrook taught rodmaking classes for many years. Many prominient NW rodmakers learned the craft at these classes. There was a presentation on Holbrook at the Corbett Lake Rodmakers gathering last spring. If you'd like to contact folks who knew Mr. Holbrook, send me a PM and I'll try to dig up some info. I have a copy of the instruction booklet used in Holbrook's classes. The book has a a taper for the model 415, a medium action but strong 9' WF9 that looks perfect for steelhead fishing. On the next page is a short butt-section taper for model 415, which can be used with the tip section from the 9' rod to make a 7'9" WF8 dry fly rod. Just imagine fishing for steelhead in the morning with the 9 footer, and then assembling your rod with the short butt-section to chase sea-run cutthroat in the afternoon. Tom
Unlike tubular plastic rods of graphite or fiberglass, storing a bamboo rod lying its side can introduce a curve or 'set' in the sections if there's any sagging. Storing vertically reduces sagging and thus helps keep the sections straight. In our damp climate, storing the rod indoors reduces the possibility of moisture damaging the rod's varnish and thus possibly damaging the fragile glues used to build rods of that age. K
Kent - Thanks for the advice, it is now vertical! hedburner, I'll check out the link, thanks. Tom, that is some great info, the tops in this set are both the same length so no luck with the dual purpose rod. Nice to know the line this is sized for. I am sitting here thinking how to make this a display piece and what reel should accompany it, like a classic Hardy.....or something conventional with classic lines like the J Ryall #8 that I packaged up on Tuesday and mailed to the highest E-bay bidder!!:beathead::beathead: timing is EVERYTHING! As a sidenote, the name on the rod is James C. Quick if that rings any bells.
Camo, I was a student in Dawn Holbrook's rodmaking classes (72-73). Dawn built rods professionally in 1953 and didn't do rodmaking classes then as far as I know. So the rod was most likely built by him. The model 415 and 415 modified are 9' rods that cast a 9 wt as Prestion mentioned. Both tips are the same length, but some guys made a short butt section to yield the lighter weight 7'9" rod that Preston describes. Holbrook's fame as a rod builder appears to be pretty local. The rod's value should have appreciated in this region though. Not many people want to swing 9' of cane anymore, so it's probably not a high value. Beyond that I have no idea. I made a 9' 415 modified and a 7 1/2'. My 9' is heavy at 7 oz and needs something like the Hardy St. John to balance it out. I don't recall the name James Quick, so can't help you there. Sg
Salmo, thanks, you are right, this rod is very heavy, however, I have no intention of fishing it or even casting for that matter. More interested in asthetics as far as a reel is concerned. It's really amazing how the rod feels so heavy and delicate at the same time. Tim, Yes the tips are the same length as the butt, an exact 9' rod.
