My son sent some pictures to me last night of three beautiful rods a very generous man bestowed on him . Two look like very big water/ river rods. One is a two handed # 11 in 9 ' ( hard to read them on pics) the other is a Sage 9' GFL 1190 RPLX # 11
The smallest is a 9' 6" #6 IM6 ? They all say Gary Anderson Custom Rods , and or GAC. One is dated 1987. they look like new. Are these all salmon/steelhead rods ?
Any info would be appreciated.

BP

BigPine:

I'd not classify the #6 as a salmon/steelhead unit. Yes though for the #11's, and they're really a little stouter than need be for that type of work. Sound almost like single hand saltwater rigs or something one might use on big pike or muskies where one is tossing chicken sized flies.

I've not seen any 2-handed units that were 9 footers. Might just be equipped with a fighting butt. We have a couple single hand Sage 10 footers in 7 and 8 wts that we use for steelhead. They're equipped with detachable fighting butts but they are single hand casters. We also have 4 two-handers (Spey rods), and the shortest is 12 ft 6 in an 8 wt. Then a 14 footer and two 16 footers that are all 10 wts.

That said, Cookie uses a 9 ft 6 in a 5wt Sage for steelhead with a 7 wt line to help bust the wind and 175 yds of backing she can give away. She would be in trouble though if she got into a yard+ long fish.

Did he score any reels and lines with those units? I suspect he has the passion, as that's probably why they got passed his way.

Some day I'll probably have to do the same, as young son has little interest in my outdoor endeavors.

I told him he needs to sit down with this man and ask a lot of questions about them. We've always used some cabelas 5 wt specials around home for bluegill and bass and trout up in Michigan. These are for more serious stuff than he's used to. When he graduated from Purdue I gave him my 3 wt Orvis graphite "tippet" model that I dearly loved. He's been using that since he's been in Colorado. He did not get line or reels. He usually fishes smaller rivers and mountain lakes up high. Yes he loves to fly fish. I took he and his little brother up to The Ausable river in Michigan when they both got out of high school.

I don’t know if he still sells sage blanks that he custom wraps or if he and his son are is only building on there own blanks now. I have spoken with Gary on a number of occasions and 2 of the 3 2hand rods I use the most are from Gary. Love them. Any issues with repair or maintenance he is very reasonable. He will be able to tell you about he rods if you call.

Thanks for the reply and apologize for the late response.
BP

And if they survive 175rltw fishing them, they gotta be tough!

😉😅

Gary is one of the best custom rod builders out there. Call him at Anderson Custom Rods he will answer any questions you might have. He lives in the Medford Oregon area and is a class act for sure. He has forgotten more about two handed rods than most will ever learn. He can get you set up with lines if you don’t have them.

Without seeing a picture of the rod I can't say with 100% certainty but I would guess what you are calling a 11 weight two hander is in fact a light tarpon rod with the second fore grip for fighting. There are no 9 foot 11 weight spey/switch rods. A true two handed rod has an extended butt below the reel for the lower hand. The rod you have is designed to be cast one handed and when playing a fish you can grip the rod on the second fore grip for additional leverage if its what I think it is. The RPLX is several generations removed from the current graphite but good rods none the less.

Thank you ,
I will have my son call Gary to find out .

BP