Charlie Brewers 50th Anniversery Rod

[Mobasser]

An older friend that I fish with recently ordered this rod. The rod is a 50th Anniversery rod, and a very close copy of the rods that Charlie Brewer sold, and pictured in his book " Slider Fishin".                        The rod is made of fiberglass, with three double foot steel guides, and a steel tip guide, with an insert. A dark yellow color, black guide wraps with red trim set this rod apart from the current rod colors that are popular these days.                             The rod features a cork Tennessee handle, approx 8" long. Mike had his rod rigged up with a size 200 Lews reel and 6lb mono. I made a few test cast in the yard, and casting distance was very good, on par with a 6ft Fenwick HMG that I've been using.                                                            I imagine a 1000 size reel would work well also. This rod helped to clear a few myths I've heard over the years about Slider fishing in general. I've heard some folks recommend an ultralight rod for this style of fishing. This rod is no soft, whippy ultralight. The action is closer to a stiff med action, with a slight tip flex in the top 8" to 10".                                                                This one would probably work well for wading fisherman, or in a kayak or canoe, or those that fish creeks, with bankside obstructions to deal with.                           For anyone here on BR who've ever wondered what the original Tennessee finesse fishing style made famous by Charlie Brewer, Billy Westmoreland, and a hand full of others was all about, this rod is as close as you can get, without having a rod custom made. It's a total throwback.                                             My old friend Mike likes it so far. In his words" it's a sweet little stick and, puts the fight back in my bass fishing". I'm planning on ordering one soon. Cost is around 53.00. Monofilament line in the 6 to 8lb size should work well.

[J Francho]

[Mobasser]

16 minutes ago, J Francho said:

J Francho, thanks for posting this pic. I tried to describe this rod as best I could, but a picture gives everyone a better description.

[QED]

I have fenwick glass and graphite tennessee handled rods from 4'9" to 5'5" in hmg, hmx, and golden wing lines.  They [mostly] have single foot ceramic guides and perform very well for UL spinning applications without being noodly/whippy.  I like them better, but the CB version is iconic.

 

BTW, I'm using 500 form factor reels from the vanford and soare lines, so the system weight is under 7 oz!

[DitchPanda]

So weird you posted this. I've been researching slider fishing the past week and was literally gonna ask about that rod. The whole system.intrigues me.

[Team9nine]

I bought two of them; one for the collection, and one to fish with. Just need to decide what reel I want to mount on the rod since it will be somewhat permanent. Would love to have one of the originals to compare it with. Honestly can't say how close or how far apart they might actually be in weight and action. This now makes two sub 5 ft rods I own, as my original Buck Perry Spoonplugger trolling rod is also a short rod, actually an inch or two shorter than these Brewer rods.

[Mobasser]

4 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

I bought two of them; one for the collection, and one to fish with. Just need to decide what reel I want to mount on the rod since it will be somewhat permanent. Would love to have one of the originals to compare it with. Honestly can't say how close or how far apart they might actually be in weight and action. This now makes two sub 5 ft rods I own, as my original Buck Perry Spoonplugger trolling rod is also a short rod, actually an inch or two shorter than these Brewer rods.

True, it's hard to say how close they are to the original. I think they're relatively close. I looked it because it was different, and cast well with a 1/16 oz Spider head. I'm sold

[Team9nine]

10 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

True, it's hard to say how close they are to the original. I think they're relatively close. I looked it because it was different, and cast well with a 1/16 oz Spider head. I'm sold

 

The originals he used himself were built out of fly rods, so they were pretty whippy, nearly getting doubled over (literally) on a good fish - but that was the way he liked to fish - a little lighter than he generally recommended. The company sold a few different versions over the years. I believe he used a mix of Cardinals and 308s for reels.

[QED]

Can't reiterate this enough - with 500 form factor vanford or soare reels, which are perfect for this application, you will have a resulting setup that can weigh under 7 oz.  Just amazing.

[Mobasser]

4 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

The originals he used himself were built out of fly rods, so they were pretty whippy, nearly getting doubled over (literally) on a good fish - but that was the way he liked to fish - a little lighter than he generally recommended. The company sold a few different versions over the years. I believe he used a mix of Cardinals and 308s for reels.

Yes. If you could get a Mithcell 308 or Cardinal 3, you'd probably have a pretty accurate rig. I'm plan on using a 1000 size Diawa, with an AR switch of course.

5 minutes ago, QED said:

Can't reiterate this enough - with 500 form factor vanford or soare reels, which are perfect for this application, you will have a resulting setup that can weigh under 7 oz.  Just amazing.

Those are very nice reels. But I wouldn't expect to get this glass rod too weigh in at 7oz. It sounds like fun though.

[Spankey]

Mo I still fish some of my slider stuff. Locally a bit tuff to get heads and worms these day. But can be had easily by mail order. 
 

Back moons ago I was bass fishing on my tidal section of the Delaware River and I snagged hooked a CB rod combo. Had not been in the water very long and not really damaged. Took it home cleaned it, took the reel apart and cleaned and relubed it, installed new mono. Pitched it around on the driveway some. I was gonna try to use it some. 
 

My next trip out while putting in at the ramp there was a kid fishing with a real decrepit setup. Sort of felt bad for the kid. I gave it to him and had it setup with the slider and a pumpkin seed w/ chart. tail worm. It was ready to catch a Smallie. I did see him around the dock at times afterwards fishing it. 
 

I still river fish with an old BPS signature series Billy Westmoreland Rod setup. When they clearanced those rods out I snagged two more of them. They are still in plastic sleeves w/ hang tags. Was a big fan. Thought they might be a collector item but I don’t think so. They set under my bed in the rod tube they came in. 
 

Would not mind having one of those CB anniversary rods as a wall hanger. 

[QED]

My "do nothing" rig.  Less than 7oz:

 

 

[Mobasser]

On 9/9/2021 at 6:50 PM, Team9nine said:

I bought two of them; one for the collection, and one to fish with. Just need to decide what reel I want to mount on the rod since it will be somewhat permanent. Would love to have one of the originals to compare it with. Honestly can't say how close or how far apart they might actually be in weight and action. This now makes two sub 5 ft rods I own, as my original Buck Perry Spoonplugger trolling rod is also a short rod, actually an inch or two shorter than these Brewer rods.

Thought I would add, just got home from a trip this morning with my buddy. Fishing a clear quarry lake near home. We switched rods for a good time, and I used his Slider rod. Ended up catching three fish, biggest at 16".  Casting with 1/16 Spider head is very good. Also used 1/8 Standard Slider head, with great casting distance. Plenty of power to land these fish, and overall weight is no issue, with size 200 Lews reel- 6lb mono.Aside from the nostalgia factor, the rod is an effective fishing tool, and loads of fun. Seems to be perfect for this type of fishing. It could very well become a new favourite.

 

[Team9nine]

50 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

Thought I would add, just got home from a trip this morning with my buddy. Fishing a clear quarry lake near home. We switched rods for a good time, and I used his Slider rod. Ended up catching three fish, biggest at 16".  Casting with 1/16 Spider head is very good. Also used 1/8 Standard Slider head, with great casting distance. Plenty of power to land these fish, and overall weight is no issue, with size 200 Lews reel- 6lb mono.Aside from the nostalgia factor, the rod is an effective fishing tool, and loads of fun. Seems to be perfect for this type of fishing. It could very well become a new favourite.

 

 

Thanks for the report. Was playing around with it last night trying to decide on a specific outfit. I've also decided to go with a 200/2000 size reel and 6# mono. Debating though between the short Anniversary rod and a 7' ML rod. May have to try at least one trip with the short rod, but leaning more toward the longer rod for practical purposes. We'll see.