Reimagining classic rods

After 50 years of fishing, I have become increasingly disenchanted with many modern commercial rods. For example, I recently was given a new expensive medium-light graphite spinning rod from a well known brand. I took it with me to my local reservoir to test cast it compared to other rods I was working on. It failed. It was light, sensitive, and had the latest technology yet it cast the shortest distance, with the least accuracy of the other rods.

Compare this to a 1960's Garcia Conolon Five Star fiberglass spinning rod. This was the top of the line rod back then and Garcia really made the most out of this fiberglass blank. A spinner deeply flexed the top section of the blank and it shot the spinner like a spring, outdistancing the graphite by 20 yards. As I adjusted to the reflex action of the rod, I found that I was more accurate as I was not needing to snap a casting stroke like graphite requires. Was it heavier and less sensitive? Sure, but I bet I would catch more fish on it!

Then there are the looks. The Garcia has a burgundy brown bank with copper and black wraps. It has decorative, crossing butt wraps and brass colored aluminum reel seat and grip accents. It looked like the best rod on the market! Compare that to the plain grey graphite rod with matte black wraps- boring! The Garcia is the one I would want to look at all day!

So, if classic rods are your thing, then just buy one off E-bay in good condition and fish it. But, I think it could be so much more. What if you rebuild the rod using modern components and materials, but keeping the same design. I imagine what the rod builders would have used back then if they could select from today's materials. The rod is now refurbished and reimagined. It is not a collectors rod, it is a rod to bring joy to the act of fishing! This was the inspiration for Reimagined Tackle.