Super Fly: Heddon 8306 Mark1 8'3

So I have a deep appreciation and fascination with vintage fiberglass rods..Simply put..I love everything about them. I have to give credit to Cameron from the fiberglass manifesto for sparking the obsession. I now have 5 glass rods, all dating back to the 60's. I have a ridiculous number of reels as well...my collection mainly consisting of old Plfuegers......although I have a Martin and an old single action Cortland as well....I love hearing that click...All of these rods and reels perform just as well as when they were made. They are tough, the casting is slow and smooth and I'm able to still cast sink lines and big flies like a graphite rod.

I recently broke the ferrule on one of my rods..a Heddon 8'3 8 wt. It was on a pickerel trip, the rod slipped apart just a bit and snapped the metal in half. It really was my fault for not checking it more. So I did some questioning and found a man to send it to to have it repaired. Andy Manchester Jr. of Old Yankee Rodsmith's did an amazing job...Not only did he fix the ferrule, he repaired the hook keep, replaced the cork handle and re-clear coated the rod. When I received the rod back in the mail, less then a 3 week turn around....it looked as if I just went into a store and bought it new off the shelf. I will be in time sending the rest of my glass collection to him for restore...Amazing to say the least. It's probably all in my head, but the rod even seems to cast smoother now...If you are in need of a new rod, Andy also does custom builds, glass, graphite and bamboo...need a rod repaired or restored..he's the man...over 40 years experience perfecting his craft...Give him a call....

Andy Manchester Jr.
Old Yankee Rodsmith's
1-203-435-7948
andymanyankee@yahoo.com

Here's some pics of the rod in progress....