Hawthorne Tubular Glass 9 surf rod

Question
I found this 9 ft Hawthorne Tubular Glass rod Model #60-6766m 9' two-piece. I re-wrapped the guides and gave it a coat of rod varnish.It's in great shape and hangs on the wall.Is it possible to get information on what company this was,how old this rod might be and is it usable at it's age or should I leave it looking good on the wall. and is it possible to get the line rating.I didn"t know how good my Harnell surf rod was until I left it in the attic of an ex-friends house,sigh..Thanks for your help!!

Answer
Hi Karl,

Montgomery Wards sold rods under the Hawthorne label for years.  I apologize for not knowing exactly who made the rod but Wards did not build rods, they only sold them.  So this is a private label or trade rod built by someone else and labeled for sale at Wards.

The rod is probably 40-50 years old.  As long as it is not showing cracks or splits anywhere, it should be sound and you should be able to fish with it.  These old fiberglass rods are pretty durable.  I still use the rods my dad owned from time to time and they include some early glass rods.

You will likely have to experiment a bit on line rating...but, I would bet it is going to be somewhere around a 7wt or 8wt in modern lines.  If you have some extra reels or fly lines, try several casting on the lawn until you find the one that works best.  You don't need to put the line on the reel to test cast.  You're looking for which one loads the rod best and works for your casting stroke.  Manufacturer line ratings are basically arbitrary designations anyway, so if you are off one or two line sizes in either direction it shouldn't harm the rod.  I have an old glass rod marked 7wt that performs best with a 5wt line and another that is marked 6wt but needs an 8wt to load it.

Value on this rod is not going to be high.  In reconditioned shape probably in the $25-$50 range at best.

Do you know anyone who is now a friend of your ex-friend?  Maybe you can get the Harnell back through a third party.  Unless it's an ex-girlfriend that you made mad in which case it may have already been fed through the garbage disposal.  Good luck.

Thanks,  Joe