More pics.Can you tell I'm bored.Hope u like

[johnnyrazorhead]

Well,i'm playing around in the bowroom today,re-arranging,hanging stuff,looking at more goodies and thought some of you might like to see this.It's a Granger flyrod that belonged to Nels Grumley.Like Fred,not only did they like to bowhunt,but flyfishing must have been a big part of their enjoyment as well.I recently aquired some belongings of A.J. Michelson,1st President of the N.A.A.,the N.F.A.A.,Michigan Bowhunters,was instrumental in establishing the first Michigan bowseason and was also a good friend of Fred and Nels and hunted with them both.I also got a beautiful flyrod that he made and used as well as a couple of reels and a Marbles trout knife.I'll post pics of those at another time.But fishing seemed to be a big part of their lives so I thought I would let you enjoy seeing some pics of Nels' flyrod.The tube has his name and his Rockford address on it and is dated 1941.
 
 
 
 
 

[hormoan]

 Neet piece of history!

[Cody Roiter]

WOW john great stuff I love old bamboo fly rods as much as old wood bows great stuff....

Cody

[Bjorn]

John that's fantastic-what a collectible-do you think Nels made that fly rod?

[alaskabowhunter]

Great stuff John, you have a creative flare that I enjoy very much.    

[reddogge]

John,
Here's something on Granger fly rods.  
  http://laceyflyrods.com/grangerindex.htm  

It's not surprising they all were into fishing since their proximity to the AuSable River.  On one of the videod footages of Fred Bear's employee rememberances his production manager snuck out one day for some fishing on the AuSable and ran into ole Fred himself on the river who also snuck out that day.  Fred yelled to him "I won't tell if you won't tell."

Wonderful artifact by the way.

[johnnyrazorhead]

I'm glad you guys liked these pics.It really is  cool piece of history.Not really archery but in a roundabout way it is connected.Imagine where that flyrod has been as it looks like it was used quite a bit.Something I forgot to show was an added piece of thin copper that Nels added to the handle under where the reel would go.His reel must have been a little loose fitting so he added a "shim" to the rod.I'll get a picture of it and put it up later.
 Bjorn-No Nels didn't make the flyrod,it is made by Granger in Denver,Colorado.
 Chuck- Thanks very much.That's why I liked your post of your display you did at the Captain Cook recently.Vintage archery(and fishing)memorabilia tastefully laid out in front of me really stirs my soul.Feels like they have a story to tell and I want to hear it.
 Reddogge-I remember that story too about Fred "catching" one of his employees playing hooky on the AuSauble with him.Priceless.And thanks for the link,I'll check it out.

[Wade Phillips]

John - Nice photographs of the signed fly rod. Is that fly rod the one that was sold on auction not long ago?  Knowing nothing about fly rods but knowing fly fishing collectors have far more money then us poor archery memorabilia collectors, my modest bid was not very serious.

Yes, Nels enjoyed fly fishing just like Fred. In one of Nels scrapbooks that I have, there are photographs of him on fishing trips and with fish.

The flyrod tube you mention with his name and his Rockford address on it and dated 1941, is not logical to me....

In 1941 Nels was in Graying working for Bear Archery... He did not move to Rockford until 1948.

Did you intend to type 1951?

Or perhaps Nels filled in different pats of the label in different years, or even erased Grayling and wrote Rockford.

Or perhaps the 1941 date is a mailing label and the owners label was filled in when he moved to Rockford in 1948.

Let me know if you figure out this inconsistency in dates.

[johnnyrazorhead]

Wade,
 Ya,I thought the same thing when I saw it too.The time frame didn't jive.I'll take a better pic of the date and post it.It's old,small and hard to read but it does appear to be 1941,not 1951.As you said,maybe the '41 date was put on the case prior to the Rockford address.Just a thought.I know the Goodwin Granger Colorado rods date back into the late 30's and 40's.

[hormoan]

Kind of makes your mind wander, about there trips. And what they packed on a fall hunting adventure. You know they had a lot of midday time on there hands. An a trout filled stream or creek. Will really, allow a guy to unwind.
     Thanks John, the pictures and thoughts have taken me back there.

                      Brent  

[johnnyrazorhead]

Brent,
 Glad you liked the pics and they took you to the same place I go to when I see this stuff and daydream what it was like in the "good ol' days".

[reddogge]

Could be the rod was built in '41 and Nels happened to buy it in '48.  Not unheard of.  I assume he put his handwriten signature on the rod.

[johnnyrazorhead]

Reddogge,
 It is his handwritten signature on the rod and I believe he also drew the little fly on there with 5oz. as it is a 5oz. rod.I'm not a flyfisherman so I don't know what that means but it says it's a 5oz.rod on the tube too.None of the other Granger flyrods I've looked at has the little fly on it so I assume Nels did some artwork on it as well.Here's what I think is a date written on the tube.Maybe it's something else.Looks like 3-41.
 
 Here's the little fly drawn on there by his signature.
 

[reddogge]

John,
You have yourself a wonderful little artifact in that rod aside from the fact that it was Nels Grumley's rod.  Most fly rods were rated by the weight line they threw and were marked 4W, 5W, etc.  Granger marked them with the weight of the rod in ounces apparently.  I'm sure an expert on bamboo fly rod could tell you more.  Go here to see what a couple of Granger rods are selling for these days plus some vintage fly reels.

  selling prices

[D.Sheppard]

Looks like Nels added a little art work to his rod. I have a Wright McGill Granger Champion and the only writing on the rod is the name Granger Champion wrote in cursive on the rod near the cork handle and Made by Wright & McGill Rod Co. Denver Colo. stamped in the reel seat.
 

[johnnyrazorhead]

Reddogge,Thanks for the link.I'l check 'em out.I know the Goodwin Granger rods are earlier and more valuable than the later McGill Wright rods but othe than that I'm no flyrod expert by any means.Heck,I still got a lot to learn about old bows let alone flyrods.But between this one and the one from A.J. Michelson,I'm starting to become a flyrod collector too.HELP!!

[johnnyrazorhead]

D. Sheppard,
 I thought the same thing too about the little fly and the 5oz. mark on the rod.All the Granger rods I looked at so far didn't have that markings.

[Wade Phillips]

Brent – In your post when you stated

“…Kind of makes your mind wander, about there trips. And what they packed on a fall hunting adventure. You know they had a lot of midday time on there hands. An a trout filled stream or creek. Will really, allow a guy to unwind.”

Brent & John – We all daydream about this old tackle and how it was used buy these old bowmen.

In the written accounts and photographs from the era, we may be able to discover if Nels used a fly rod on any hunting trips.

John – I already checked the scrapbooks with photographs of Nels with pike and with trout. Unfortunately these photographs do not show your fly rod. The only fishing rig is an unusual one that I do not even recognize, but I'm not a fishing rod collector. Nels is pictured with warmer clothing than you would expect to need during Michigan’s November Archery Deer Seasons that began in 1937. Nels had his own well-documented distinctive wool hunting garb, and I have never seen photographs of him in that garb with fish or fishing tackle.

Although Nels was an avid fisherman, I don’t recall any recorded account of him fishing while hunting deer. As I am sure you know, Nels was one of the most serious and successful deer hunters of the era. Nels killed a deer in each of the first three years and took 7 deer in the first 10 years. Over the next week or two, I will re-read everything written by and about Nels during the era and will let you know if I uncover any evidence that he took fishing gear with him while hunting deer.

It is well documented that Fred did some fishing on some out of state trips, but don’t recall any accounts of fishing tackle being along on November deer season in Michigan.

Heck, I don’t even know dates of the fishing seasons in Michigan in the 1930s and 1940s… John you are right there in Michigan, you can probably find that out pretty easy.

[reddogge]

I was babysitting all weekend last weekend and was watching the Outdoors Channel and inbetween Extreme Bowhunting, Head Banger Elk Hunting, and Rambo Rack Hunting they slipped in a good segment on a modern bamboo fly rod collector and maker but I can't remember his name.  I did learn he is probably the most knowledgeble historian on bamboo rods out there right now.

A maker builds his rods from scratch, segmenting the bamboo and everything but a builder builds rods from components, another little tidbit.

The bamboo rods are a little delicate and when fighting a fish the man in the segment turns the rod upside down so as to not put a permanent set into the rod.  I guess fighting a fish with the rod oriented only one way would do that.