Marco "Silver Monarch"

[Mole-Patrol]

I acquired this rod about 8 or 9 years ago from an auction of fishing equipment from a deceased estate. From memory it cost £10 plus auction fees. I also bought several other items and this rod was a project as it had a detached tip ring, another ring coming loose and bits of varnish missing. I was planning to move to France and thought that it might make a decent rod for catfish as it is somewhat substantial. The label states: "Double Built Butt" & "Steel Lined". At 10 feet long with a full length handle and metal screw reel seat it is quite a beast.





The rod had laid dormant since we got to France and so I took some unexpected enforced leisure time to get it into shape.

Because of its intended use I decided to use epoxy to secure the rod rings as all the rings rocked to some extent. The tip ring was first glued in place, then whipped using black fly-tying floss as I didn't have the original green colour in thread strong enough. As it turns out the green appears black after varnishing. The thread was coated in Super Glue gel as was the other loose ring after being restored to its rightful place by re-using the original thread. All the ring whippings were then coated with Araldite epoxy and then the cane was completely rubbed back using fine wire wool and three thin coats of varnish applied.

Once the whippings had been secured I decided to check the test curve of the old rod by fastening a spring balance to the 80lb braid and hooking the balance to a dustbin handle. I got to 4lb before I chickened out. Not for the rod's sake as there was no drama there. Not a squeak of protest. But I had undergone surgery in my stomach a couple of weeks before and am still not signed off as fit enough to lift and carry heavy weights. The leverage of a 10 foot rod lifting a heavy load could literally have bust a gut.

Once I am declared fit I will have another go. I have a feeling that the test curve will be over 5lb if I can apply that sort of load with such a long lever. I would certainly be able to chuck a 3lb bream dead bait as far as it needs to go.

The rod will be paired up with an old Alvey Snapper sea reel as this has a star drag. I once tried to stop a big cat using thumb pressure on my Speedia and still have the scar to prove it. The small version of the Alvey should balance the rod and is more in keeping with its vintage than the reel I used to test it with.



Does anyone know what the original purpose of this rod? I have seen one advertised on an auction as a sea boat rod and another as a pier rod. There was also a "Silver King" advertised that had almost the same spec'. The only difference was the lack of steel lining.

[Nigel Rainton]

The length and name 'silver....' might indicate a salmon spinning rod. It's too long for a sea fishing boat rod. Pier rods were only about 7-8 feet, no need to cast from a pier. Are the butt fittings original, they look almost new?

[Mole-Patrol]

I agree that 10 foot is at least a yard to long for a conventional boat rod and uptiding hadn't come into being as far as I know when this rod was made. The nearest rod that I have to its length and test curve is an Ugly Stick Uptide rod that I use fr catfish.

I initially thought that the Marco rod had salmon connotations. But if you look at the random names applied to other Marco rods; "The Nymph" for example appears to be a heavy pike rod not a fly rod as the name suggests and "The Test" is certainly not a dry-fly rod then that connotation is undermined. Also, a very similar rod with the same length and almost the same spec' is named "Silver King" intimating Tarpon.

The rod weights 3lb and would not lend itself to being held for any length of time as a spinning rod. Although it is well balanced. They used to dead bait for large salmon; that is how the record was caught, but I have no evidence of this rod being targeted at that market.

The reel fittings are in good condition although there is some slight pitting on the seat and also on some of the rings. None of the 5 rings are grooved so it hasn't had much use as they look original. The reel seat also looks like it belongs although there appears to be a flesh coloured bandage around the lower part of the handle below the reel seat. A repair to the corks perhaps.

There are no marks on the blank other than the transfer and writing as stated above, but on closer inspection I discovered a small number "4" stamped into both parts of the ferrule.

[Mole-Patrol]

A few more details about this rod; The total length is 3185mm or 10 foot 5 inches in old money and weighs a touch over 4lbs.

The tip section has an overall length of 1755mm and measures 14.4mm at the ferrule and 8.4mm at the tip. The two measurements are 1390mm apart. the tip section has four plus one rod rings.

The butt section has an overall length of 1560mm of which 880mm is the handle. The diameter of the cane at the handle is 20.7mm and 18.8mm at the ferrule. The two measurements are 555mm apart. There one ring on the butt section. This butt section is according to the writing on the rod, double built and the whole rod is steel lined.

So, if you want to land a whale the Marco Silver Monarch might be just the rod for you.

[Olly]

A full blooded salmon rod!

Lots of Co's made them (double built with steel core) but the anglers either had huge muscles to use it or two ghillies to use the rod and then pass it to the angler when a fish was hooked! Or just trolled from the back of the boat on the Tweed or Spey.

A Hardy LRH3 has a steel centre as does a Milwards salmon/pike rod and others.

[Mole-Patrol]

I think trolling was probably the intended method of use. Unfortunately I had to let the let the men go when death duties on Pater's estate reduced it to barely larger than the size of Rutland. These days I have a 90Ah battery and Minn Kota to do the rowing for me. Damned more reliable than those ghillie chaps

Seriously, the biggest problem with this rod is that nobody would be capable of putting the full 5lbs of leverage the test curve allows on the end of a 10' 6" rod. And the rod will not bend enough to reduce the effective length by nearly enough. I am hoping to get a large-ish catfish on the rod before the end of the month. That should give me a better idea of how it performs. I should have the vintage Alvey reel fettled and loaded with line tomorrow. Then it is just a matter of finding time to fish on a suitably dull or overcast day.

[Mole-Patrol]

I was wrong - twice!

This morning I teamed the Silver Monarch up with its new buddy; a vintage Alvey Snapper. I chose the Alvey primarily because I thought that it had a one-way star drag like a multiplier. It hasn't. The drag works both ways but in spite of that and the somewhat rudimentary engineering it suits the heavy rod in that the balance is now a couple of inches above the handle so quite comfortable with the long butt tucked under the forearm. This actually is far more comfortable than a 4lb rod and 1lb reel should be and whilst not exactly suited to a days spinning, will be OK for stalking purposes.The reel is in keeping with the vintage of the rod and will suffice until I can source an Alcocks Leviathan or Commodore reel with the lever brake. It has been loaded with 100 yards of 100lb braid and a 15 yard mono leader of 60lb.

Second point is that the rod has a test curve of around 5lb. I weighed a 5 litre plastic container with water in and gradually increased it from the 4lb I knew it would comfortably lift without passing through the 90 degrees arc. At just over 5lb I was sure that the required 90 degrees had been reached. Then I added more water and lifted the container with the rod butt tucked into my groin and got to an incredible 6lb 8oz of combined weight that could be lifted 12" off the ground And the rod never squeaked. I am confident that I could lean into any fish to the limit of my own strength and this rod will cope.

Next thing was to find out how the outfit cast. I found a small roll of tightly bound cable in the basement and that weighed 20 oz. That caused a nice little curve in the tip. Forget Wallis casting - the weights and measures are too great. Swing casting the cable resulted in a 10 yard cast. With a bit more practice I could hit 12 yards every time. Lightening up the casting weight to 3 oz resulted in a maximum casting distance of 15 yards. The Alvey was never designed to be a casting reel. That is why the made thousands of side-cast reels. They knew the reel's limitations.

So, anyone for a spot of mahseer fishing?

[Olly]

Well I don't think it is a salmon rod with a 5lb t/c! But could be very wrong! Silure or mahseer perhaps? Even tarpon?

An old Marco brochure would help enormously.

[Mole-Patrol]

I thought that the rod was overkill for salmon and given that Marco are somewhat imaginative with their rod naming it would be a fluke if the model name reflected its use. Even the Standard Carp is a bit light for that species and The Nymph - well?

They also did a model almost identical to the Silver Monarch named the Silver King which is of course the nickname for tarpon. I did a Google search and discovered that Silver Monarch is also a nickname for permit, another game fish. But they are usually fished for using fly rods and have a maximum weight of around 50lb according to the 1960's Field & Stream article I read.

As you say; a catalogue might give the answer.

[Duckett]

The rod is too long I would guess but the idea that popped into my head was that I have still never seen a split cane rod identified as being from the Northern Bluefin Tuna fishing boom around Scarborough in the 1930s.

Possibly moving in the direction of lunacy .......... shore fishing for conger eel and shark?

Phil