Review of Victor R. Johnson's Fiberglass Fly Rods, 20th Anniversary Edition

Last week I received a copy of a highly anticipated book in the mail from my friend Vic Johnson, the fiberglass fly rod guru. It was his 20th Anniversary edition of Fiberglass Fly Rods: The Evolution of the Modern Fly Rod from Bamboo to Graphite (EP Press, 2016: 8.5” x 11” Black-and-White illustrations, 105 Pages, $29.95).



The original edition was coauthored with his father, Vic Johnson Sr., and was an absolute revelation. As someone who grew up with fiberglass, it spurred me to start seeking out some of the great makers and to start collecting glass fly rods. His book coincided with (and helped spur) a resurgence in glass fly rods, a movement that is still going strong today.

This isn’t a rewrite as much as it is a supplement, or a companion volume, to the original (which is also available from the author). Much new information is contained in its pages; this includes profiles of many modern makers of glass fly rods from Tycoon Tackle to Larry Kenney, as well as profiles of some great names in the field including Gadabout Gaddis and Dr. Arthur Howald.



As someone who has his own glass fly rod book in the works, I appreciate all of Vic’s attention to detail. Vic has done the collecting world a great service in updating his book, and this volume will take its place alongside the original as “must haves” for anyone interested in fly fishing, fly rods, of fishing history. It’s really a fantastic book and well worth adding to your library.

The book can be ordered directly from the author by emailing him at vrjvallejo@gmail.com.

You can visit his web site by Clicking Here.

— Dr. Todd

A Review of the Fiberglass Flyrodders Web Forum

Although I love to fish all kinds of vintage tackle, I have an affinity for three kinds. The first is a classic Heddon Musky rod with an original Ambassadeur 5000 reel, the second is a 1930s era True Temper casting rod and Shakespeare Marhoff reel, and the last is any vintage fly rod and reel. While I love bamboo, nothing is as sweet to me as my vintage Pflueger 1492 and Fenwick Ferulite glass rod combination. I've fished this set for upwards of 15 years and there is just something about it I love.


Anyway, as I am extremely interested in fishing rod history, I thought I'd profile a web site today that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves from the collecting fraternity. Fiberglass Flyrodders is a "web Forum for fly fishers that enjoy fishing, collecting, building and dealing in vintage and modern fiberglass fly rods." It is a fascinating place to track the lineage of that fiberglass fly rod that most people simply disregard as being too new to have any use or value. Well, nothing could be further from the truth.

While the story of the first fiberglass rods has been told and retold a number of times beginning in the late 1940s, I was first introduced to the expanded history of this era's glass rods through Vic Johnson's detailed Fiberglass Fly Rods, a neat history of the origins and development of the glass rod.


Fiberglass Flyrodders adds much to the world of the glass fly rod. It has a great and active forum helping people to ID and evaluate their glass rods (how many times do we see posts on other boards about these things?), and an extremely useful forum on fishing glass rods. Other forums include a for sale/want posting board, fly tying, classic reels (something ORCA members will enjoy), and a nice rodbuilding forum for those looking to rehabilitate, repair, or build their own glass rod.

I love bamboo, don't get me wrong, but there's no reason not to love fiberglass as well. I'm sure there are a few anglers over at
Fiberglass Flyrodders who will agree with me. I'll have a permanent link posted to the direct right for those who want to visit but haven't bookmarked the site.

-- Dr. Todd