The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I recently bought a Youngs The Otter Special 14ft rod.
I know little or nothing about it than being in fantastic condition other than the guides which are pretty rusty.
The rod itself is straight, no set, ferrules good and a decent tight fit.

What light can you chaps throw on this lovely rod?

It looks more like good quality whole cane than Spanish reed. A nice original rod by the look of it too.

Wal.

Yes indeed, that's top quality whole cane...look how little it swells and changes diameter over such a long distance. The only swelling is just above the transfer...a node I think....and look how far the other nodes are apart! I think this will be female cane and hard to find like this....Hardy had ' a man' upriver just to beat everybody else to cane like this. I sometimes wonder if the trade name of 'Tonkin'....Hardy used Palakona....wasn't a ploy to suggest the cane was sourced elsewhere from its true place of origin.

Not cheap to buy. The tip section is surprisingly dark and has been 'turned over'.

It would be nice to put a date to the plain gold transfer..I think the coloured ones are later in time.

Thanks for the info Nobby, I had not idea cane was male or female, thats very interesting.
The only issue with the rod are the rings which have superficial rust. I do not want to remove them, would just like to clean them in place as they are in very good condition apart from the rust.

Any good ideas about the rings very welcome Nobby!
PS. it may look like varnish but it's more rust than varnish.

Thanks

Those rings may be too far gone to renovate, however there is a method described by "shed monkey" in his post "cleaning up rod rings in-situ"
from Jan 2018. (sorry, do not know how to provide a link) this may be worth trying before replacing the rings? You should be able to find this by "searching users posts." Good luck.
Oh, yes it is a lovely looking rod by the way!

That is a lovely looking rod and I am sure it will give you great joy. If the rings show damage what you can see, who knows what may be lurking under the whips to maybe cause you a problem at some future date. I would be inclined to remove/replace the rings and whips but I am no expert of course, it is just what I would do for my own peace of mind.

Im used to changing guides but it's locating a matching whipping that worries me.
Does anyone know what this colour is, or where I can locate some?

Thanks