# Old vanguard fishing rod, kosher to use?



## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Hey all, I found an old rod in my parents garage that is probably from the 60's or 70's. All it says on it is Vanguard. It's a little hard to tell but it appears to be an ultralight, white, around 5', and is a slow action fiberglass rod. It has a Tennessee style handle, with a couple of rings that secure the reel in place by friction. It has attached a really cool old looking daiwa reel, which looks like something on the wall at TGI Fridays lol. The reel will end up a decoration for sure, as the drag is choppy as all get out, but would it be wrong to get this rod usable? The guides are rusty so they would probably need replacing. This combo would be a good wall piece for my study, but I finally have an ultralight and I really wanna use it! My dad thinks they used to brig it to Florida to fish off piers when he was young. Cool rod for sure.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Cool find man! Got any pics would be cool to see? And as for useing it. Thats all up to you. Might make ya feel good to catch some good fish on it,then retire it. It obviously was good enough at one time. But if you decide not to use it there are plenty of good priced ultra light combos out there, esp. at yard sales. Bad thing is though,if you replace the eyes it looses some of that old look?


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Here's some pics. I'm thinking at this point I'll just put it on the wall and buy a guilt-free new ultralight.








Cool vintage Daiwa reel:








Rusty guides, probably from saltwater use:


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Speaking of old fiberglass rods, check out the slow motion shots of these casts. This is the real advantage of fiberglass rods, and these skills have been lost among modern graphite rods. I think I will get one of those BPS yellow Microlite glass rods now. So cool!





Though, I don't know about a 1/4 oz lure with 4 lb test line, but what do I know. He doesn't look like he's having any trouble with it, and he's the pro after all.


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## Dizzy (Oct 1, 2012)

Cool, thanks for the video link. I have refurbished my Grandfather's Mitchell 314 and I have been using it lately trying to learn how to use UL gear. I have the reel mounted to a BPS Microlite graphite and it works for me. My only problem with the rod is that it doesn't have a loop for hanging your lure when you are moving to another spot. 

If I were you I would hang up the old rod and get something that you won't mind breaking.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Thanks for the pics!!! And the video. Those underhand casts are cool!


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## gulfvet (Apr 14, 2004)

The main thing about a 1/4 oz lure on 4 lb line is that you need to use a sweep cast not a snap cast. Snap casts will often end with a snap. I saw one other thing. I was taught to always set the drag through the rod, directly in front of the reel. Setting the drag right in front of the reel does not account for the drag of the rod guides.


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## deltaoscar (Apr 4, 2009)

Cool video. 



kingofamberley said:


> I think I will get one of those BPS yellow Microlite glass rods now. So cool!


 Ok, but don't get your hopes up because, "not everyone can become a champion..."


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## Dandrews (Oct 10, 2010)

kingofamberley said:


> I think I will get one of those BPS yellow Microlite glass rods now. So cool!.


Ive looked at those but theyre a little too whippy for me. 
http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Micro-Lite-Glass-Spinning-Rods/product/36946/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL

I have a couple Bass Pro graphite micro lites that I like. 
http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Micro-Lite-Graphite-Spinning-Rods/product/10204875/

I also have a Browning Silaflex which is fiberglass and I like it too.
http://www.basspro.com/Browning-Fishing-SilaFlex-Spinning-Rods/product/58483/


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