Here's a new one I've recently acquired. It was an Ebay buy that due to a poor description went unnoticed. The rod was listed as having two tips that
were 2", making it an 8'4" rod. It was also listed as a Leonard. Anyway, when I got the rod, I was shocked at the quality. It was basically in
great shape other than two replaced guides, a few nicks in the cork, a loose reel seat and the agate fallen off one of the tips. However, what suprised me
most was the tips sections themselves. These tips were not short, they were actually custom built 2" short. My reasoning for concluding this was
twofold. One, if you look at the pictures, the tips actually have full gold tip wraps which were common on the higher quality Eustis rods. I have two Abbey
& Imbries with these as well. The tip wrappings are all original and have never been messed with on this rod. Steve Blake confirmed this as well. The
second reason is that the tips come with a custom tip tube and custom linen or silk tip bag. There isn't any room to spare in this bag. It was clearly
custom made for these tips.
Anyway the rod is a gem in all respects. Wraps and varnish are in great shape. The wraps are a Gold tipped a Bright Orange, which I have only seen on a few early A&F rods. It has full intermediate wraps and the classic EW signature wraps. The rod also has the classic competion sized grip and NS seat with bakelite butt cap. The real seat is engraved with the A&F Touradif, NY name. The ferrules are in perfect shape and all fit right and tight. The rod comes with a high quality custom bag that also stores the tip tube. At some point the original tube was lost. What is hard to tell from this rod is how unbelievably narrow the guides and tip tops are....I lined up the rod tonight with a 5dt and litterally could not get the line through the last two guides if the line was pinched. I had to undo the leader to get it through. When I did finally get the line through I lawn casted it. It handled the 5DT Peach beautifully, but I suspect if I had a 4DT it would have been just right. The action is on the faster side compared to most Edwards, so it should be perfect for some dry fly fishing this summer. I can't wait to give it a workout on Harrimans Ranch!!
Anyway the rod is a gem in all respects. Wraps and varnish are in great shape. The wraps are a Gold tipped a Bright Orange, which I have only seen on a few early A&F rods. It has full intermediate wraps and the classic EW signature wraps. The rod also has the classic competion sized grip and NS seat with bakelite butt cap. The real seat is engraved with the A&F Touradif, NY name. The ferrules are in perfect shape and all fit right and tight. The rod comes with a high quality custom bag that also stores the tip tube. At some point the original tube was lost. What is hard to tell from this rod is how unbelievably narrow the guides and tip tops are....I lined up the rod tonight with a 5dt and litterally could not get the line through the last two guides if the line was pinched. I had to undo the leader to get it through. When I did finally get the line through I lawn casted it. It handled the 5DT Peach beautifully, but I suspect if I had a 4DT it would have been just right. The action is on the faster side compared to most Edwards, so it should be perfect for some dry fly fishing this summer. I can't wait to give it a workout on Harrimans Ranch!!
