Milwards Fly Ranger.

[Pentonhook]

Hello gent's.

Do any of you knowledgeable fellow's, particularly those in possession
of the old Milwards catalogue's have any info on the Fly Ranger.
The only info I could find on t'internet suggest's it's a spey casting
double handed salmon rod.

I thought I bought a Float Ranger, but instead it's the 12' 6" split cane
Fly Ranger, all ring's except butt ring are shot so will be doing a
restore. I would appreciate any suggestion's from the old hand restorers
to the best coarse fishing application for this rod.

[Nobby]

Yes, it's a double handed salmon rod. Yours should only weigh 18 1/2 ounces. It might make a nice float or light leger rod, though perhaps a bit long and heavy in the hand.

The rings should have lasted, the book says they were stainless steel. It should have knurled suction ferrules and a screw down reel seat.


The rod is double-built, by the way!

It was designed to take EBg double taper or GAAF forward taper lines ( whatever that means!) It rather looks as though it is a trong old rod.


I'd stick a reel on and try it out before you commit yourself to a restoration, you might find it heavy or too soft, but it might just be a great rod for roach and bream at a distance....and if it'll handle a salmon it'll handle near anything!

[Pentonhook]

Nobby, thank you for the quick response, extremely helpful info.
I am always in awe of your knowledge of vintage fishing tackle,
whatever question's are asked, be it reel, rod or any other related
item you come up with the info time and time again.

With regard to the ring's, they are cradle guide's but look very
black/tarnished. The butt and tip ring's are clear agate lined, although
the tip agate is cracked in several places. Do you think the ring's are
salvageable if cleaned up or would you advise new ring's just to be on
the safe side.

[Nobby]

Some Milwards rods did have black plated rings. Whether or not they are the black chrome rings that were around in the Seventies, I don't know...those have a reputation for grooving up. In fact that's something to watch out for on any fly rod...some fellers only get a season out of a set of rings!

They groove up on the sides from casting, not at the base of the ring from playing a fish as you might at first think. Quite hard to spot....I had to be shown...and then you can't believe how bad it is!


I'd try a bit of Scotchbrite on them and see how they look.

As to the knowledge of tackle, I'm just a beginner really. So many people have helped me over the years, I just like to try and pass on the favours, if I can. It was Adrian of the 'inthenet' site that first gave me a photocopy of a Milwards catalogue years ago. I found it so useful that I started collecting more catalogues.

[SeanM]

Far be it for me to contradict St. Nobby (all-be-it in a very minor way), but the specification of the Fly Ranger does appear to depend on the year of manufacture. My 1953 catalogue gives the specification of the 12 1/2 ft model as follows:

The Flyranger. designed for all round salmon fishing, these rods have sufficient power to cover all requirements, yet are so light and well balanced that one can fish all day without fatigue (anglers in the 50s were obviously made of sterner stuff).

12 1/2ft light salmon
Weight 16oz
Double built Hexacane
Gripmaster knurled suction serrated joints
Agate butt and end rings
Round bridge intermediate rings

If the rings are "black chromed" then it might well be a 1960s model, my Floatcraft had black chromed high Bells Life rings so I guess there was a trend to fit them at that time.

Despite what Milwards say in the catalogue I'd guess that a rod like this will only really be comfortable fished in the rests. I'd use it for barbel tench and carp as it should be good for 8 to 10lb line.

The fly line ratings used in silk lines are the thicknesses in thousands of an inch at the end of the taper at each end and at the middle:

AA 65 thou
A 60 thou
B 55 thou
C 50 thou
D 45 thou
E 40 thou
F 35 thou
G 30 thou
H 25 thou
I 20 thou

A 5wt double taper line is rated HEH and the recommended line for salmon fishing was FCF (approx an 8wt). The GAAG that Nobby quoted was a bit of a beast so I suspect that the spec he gave was for the medium salmon model.

[Nobby]

No probs Sean, I was only quoting a catalogue

[Neodali]

I have a Milwards Fly Ranger rod. It is a 13' one 3 piece with 2 tips in lovely condition and I am very happy with it.
The whiping souns to be original in black and white thread as it is for the fly ranger.
I wonder about two questions.
First which weight of line does it works best with?
There is an black ink inscription on the butt section which is "1436". I wonder what this means...? I thought it should be1336:
13for 13'
3 for 3 sections
and 6 for #6 line
but it'snot it is definitly1436. Do you have any idea about what this number means ? I thought it could be a serial number? But in that case what it does refer to?

Thanks for answers
Regards
franck

PSI also have a 7'2'' 2 sections milwards which is "as new"condition and which cast very xell with a #4 line.Is it the right weight for it ?

[Nobby]

I think it is indeed a serial number. I don't have any at the moment, but from memory, every Milwards rod I ever owned had one.

[Paddex]

EBG is a strange taper, GBG would correspond to a heavy (sinking?) #10 DT line,
different letters would mean a double taper line with different diameters on both ends?

[SeanM]

From the 1953 catalogue:

Forward taper lines:

IEH for Milwards rods up to 9ft
ICH for rods 9ft and over
GAAF for Milwards Salmon rods

Double taper lines:

HEH for Milwards rods up to 9ft
HCH for Milwards rods 9ft and over
FCF for Milwards Salmon rods

HEH corresponds roughly with a modern 5wt line.

I suspect that there may well have been some variation to this simple system on later rods, especially shorter "brook" rods.