Parker-Hawes Fly Rods

[Dean Romig]

I think auction results of the past decade or so will show that some of the rarest and finest cane rods have commanded prices considerably higher than the lower end of Parker shotguns . . . unless one considers grades up to B or even A to be included in the "lower end". Of course, such cane rods are as rare or rarer than a fine graded Parker.

[October Woods]

Since my father's unexpected death in 2007, leaving us with an unsettled estate and funeral expenses for which a few rods got sold to keep us above water, I've seen prices all over the map for quality cane and quality condition Parker guns.

I also had the misfortune of having to sell off more of my rod collection, several reels and a 98% 16 VHE to defray medical expenses for kidney failure and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

I'm currently holding my own and thankful for that and for having once owned some fine specimens of rods and shotguns which paid me back when I needed it most. Both bird hunting and fly fishing have meant so much to me they both played a key role in rehabilitation just wish I felt stable enough to try the woods of October for myself and Levi my Weimaraner.........

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

I think auction results of the past decade or so will show that some of the rarest and finest cane rods have commanded prices considerably higher than the lower end of Parker shotguns . . . unless one considers grades up to B or even A to be included in the "lower end". Of course, such cane rods are as rare or rarer than a fine graded Parker.

[Old and Reliable]

[QUOTE=Dean Romig;5949]I think auction results of the past decade or so will show that some of the rarest and finest cane rods have commanded prices considerably higher than the lower end of Parker shotguns . . . unless one considers grades up to B or even A to be included in the "lower end". Of course, such cane rods are as rare or rarer than a fine graded Parker. I concur Dean. Just as some VHE Parkers have been "counterfeited" and sold to folks (and I don't include the Pachmayr upgrades in that lot) many cane rods were also "counterfeited" and sold to the uninformed as to the 'insider info"..Case in point- the fine Jim Payne 201- a nice 8 ft. 3 pc. 2 tip rod in either 5 or 6 wt. tapers- nice dark cane, swelled butt with keeper, various styles of reel seats offered, blued Payne (not Super-Z) pinned ferrules- and in many ways similar (except for market value) to the middle to higher Heddon rods made in Dowagiac MI- A friend brought me his "Payne" 201- one tip blued ferrules, wraps intact, die straight- but not in original bag and tube- so the lack of the second full length tip, original labelled bag and tube made the rod "affordable" to him, and he had always wanted a Payne- BUT- it was a Heddon 20 with changed wraps and reel seat (Heddon like the molded screw Bakelite style, sometimes in black (like the San Francisco R.L. Winstons) sometimes in a blend of colors like a marble0- and the node spacing on the Heddons was the same as Jim Payne used- BUT the nodes had been altered (Payne nodes were always flush with the surface) and the ferrules were NOT pinned- Payne didn't glue his ferrules, he heated the cane to swell it to a tight fin and a 1/64" dia. GS through pin was inserted in the through drilled finished ferrule--You'll have the Devil's own time removing a Payne ferrule without causing damage--Must be something akin to what others have said about the always in demand for a top quality double (Parker) and a fine cane rod (Parker-Hawes, Leonard and Leonard Mills, Everett Garrison, Harold Steele Gillum, Loman Hawes) and amazing also how many of these rodsmiths had an engineering background- The great Super-Z ferrules developed and patented in 1948 by Louis Fierrabend also speaks to this, as Z is the modulus of elasticity--

Also, as Sante means "health" in French I believe, my respects to our brother PGCA member Sante and hopes for an upturn in the health situation. We are all, in some way, merely custodians of the fine shotguns, rifles, fly rods and reels, etc. that speak of the higher echelons of the sporting life.. Some day they will pass into other hands- Fate I guess!!