Horrocks Ibbotson rod

Question
I have been trying to find information on a Horrocks Ibbotson rod that was used by my father infishing for Landlock Salmon on Canada in the 1920's. The rod is made of split bamboo and has a Pflueger Monarch reel with braided copper line. The rod is only about 42" long overall and has an oversize handle about half way up it's shaft. I would appreciate any information you can give me as my father never said much about the rod when he was alive. Thank you. John

Answer
Hello Mr. Hartter,

The rod you are describing by H-I sounds like one I restored a number of years ago. While I have never been able to find a reference for the style, I believe this design was produced for trolling and drift fishing as a "boat" rod. The restoration I did had no decals or discernible writing on it to indicate the model. Perhaps yours does? The rod was split cane, the seat was German silver and the grip was turned hickory. The rod did have some unique features: a ferrule near the grip and two opposing guides on the rod shaft with a unique tip. This rod was designed to rotate after each use and as it began to take a "set" so the rod would stay straight. By the design features, I believe this rod was pre-WWII.

What type of reel seat does yours appear to have? Is it chromed? Is brass showing through the finish? Is there any plastic in the reel seat? What does it look like? Is it a solid color or Marbled?

Without further detail or perhaps a nice set of .jpeg images, I will only be able to speculate the type and will likely not be able to I.D. the model. If you would like to, please forward some pics to help with the I.D. Any clear, well lit images of the entire rod, the butt ahead of the grip and the guides will help...Any labels or decals will be invaluable.

Try to look closely for any trace of these labels or decals or perhaps even ink writing...black or white, that might be on the rod.

With a bit more information, I would be happy to research your rod using some of my references.

Thanks for the question. Please send along some pics...

Mark