Posted on December 05 2008
One of the fellows on the Fiberglass Flyrodders board, Howard Levett (cofisher), has spent the last few years putting together a very impressive Wright & McGill collection. It is always neat to see someone delve into a certain fly rod or reel maker and gather up quite a collection as well as a living history in the process.
"I’ve had a lot of people ask why I collect and fish Wright & McGill fiberglass rods. At first I didn’t know all fiberglass fly rods weren’t created equal and they were the best known fly rod builders in Denver. (Excuse me Phillipson owners.)"
(Wright & McGill catalogs 1954-1980, two Trailmasters, a deck of W&M playing cards (thank you middlemac), Wings Upon the Water: the Wright & McGill story, and a Wright & McGill Autograph fly reel.)
"I owned a Trailmaster, knew W&Ms customer service as excellent, and thought why not. When I started to really get into collecting it opened the door to a lot of questions that I thought would be easier to answer because I could be at W&M in twenty minutes. My first purchase was a 1954 3A complete with Trevarno blank, red aluminum reel seat and multicolored wraps...which no one thought could be original, so I stripped it.
What has become my passion is collecting the old tobacco brown Trevarno glass rods made in the 1950’s. Before I could get too involved I found it necessary to start another collection first...the W&M catalogs. They showed up often enough on eBay to have a nearly complete collection from 1954 to 1980 in a fairly short time. That’s when I found that the “clown” wraps on my 3A were original. Doh!"
(Left to Right: Sunrise, Sweetheart, Green Hornet, Symbolic, 3A, Dandy, All American, Holiday, Ambassador and Sweetheart. Missing are two Trailmasters and the Peter Pan.)
"I now have thirteen Wright & McGill fiberglass rods; the 3A, Sunrise, Holiday, All American, Ambassador, Symbolic, two Sweethearts, Green Hornet, Dandy, Peter Pan and two Trailmasters.
Wright and Mcgill rods aren’t terribly expensive and are still fairly available. (Although I won’t say how much I paid for the mint Symbolic.) Many of the rods I’ve purchased are mint or near mint. These rods, from the oldest to the newest are known as tip heavy and somewhat awkward due to their weight – both physically and line weight. Balance any of them with the proper weight reel and they cast as well as any other rod I’ve used."
"I’ve had a lot of people ask why I collect and fish Wright & McGill fiberglass rods. At first I didn’t know all fiberglass fly rods weren’t created equal and they were the best known fly rod builders in Denver. (Excuse me Phillipson owners.)"
(Wright & McGill catalogs 1954-1980, two Trailmasters, a deck of W&M playing cards (thank you middlemac), Wings Upon the Water: the Wright & McGill story, and a Wright & McGill Autograph fly reel.)
"I owned a Trailmaster, knew W&Ms customer service as excellent, and thought why not. When I started to really get into collecting it opened the door to a lot of questions that I thought would be easier to answer because I could be at W&M in twenty minutes. My first purchase was a 1954 3A complete with Trevarno blank, red aluminum reel seat and multicolored wraps...which no one thought could be original, so I stripped it.
What has become my passion is collecting the old tobacco brown Trevarno glass rods made in the 1950’s. Before I could get too involved I found it necessary to start another collection first...the W&M catalogs. They showed up often enough on eBay to have a nearly complete collection from 1954 to 1980 in a fairly short time. That’s when I found that the “clown” wraps on my 3A were original. Doh!"
(Left to Right: Sunrise, Sweetheart, Green Hornet, Symbolic, 3A, Dandy, All American, Holiday, Ambassador and Sweetheart. Missing are two Trailmasters and the Peter Pan.)
"I now have thirteen Wright & McGill fiberglass rods; the 3A, Sunrise, Holiday, All American, Ambassador, Symbolic, two Sweethearts, Green Hornet, Dandy, Peter Pan and two Trailmasters.
Wright and Mcgill rods aren’t terribly expensive and are still fairly available. (Although I won’t say how much I paid for the mint Symbolic.) Many of the rods I’ve purchased are mint or near mint. These rods, from the oldest to the newest are known as tip heavy and somewhat awkward due to their weight – both physically and line weight. Balance any of them with the proper weight reel and they cast as well as any other rod I’ve used."
