Its an interesting topic, because it is entirely subjective
This is a good thing for seeing what people regard as turning points in their own experiences.
Historically i suppose there has been several "Leaps" forward, the Brits were the first to laminate Cane but the preference was for greenheart so the technology went stateside and Sam Phillipe took it to the level of the 6 strip rod, now regarded as the norm.
Hiram Leonard as Euan Points out is a Key figure, He was the first to machine the strips making the rods more affordable and more easily adjusted, hence the proliferation of tapers to his credit. In turn his workshop apprentices became some of the most famous builders, like Ed Payne who was the first to really make the rods "Pretty"
Later, Young, Dickerson, Garrison, etc did different things with tapers and ferrules but never made any blinding leaps.
Post war, Fiberglass appeared in several companies, about the same time, this made for a cheaper medium and less intensive process, making rods more affordable and coupled with PVC lines the world of Flyfishing was becoming more accesible to ordinary people.
In the late 60's graphite started to appear, again the Brits started it , but the yanks moved it on to the levels we now expect. To my mind the turning point for Graphite would probably be the Sage Graphite 111 RPL rods and Loomis IMX in the mid 80's they created a new benchmark and have made the companies reputations they way they are now, everything since has been a development from there.
Other notable moments may be Sharpes doing Imprenated Cane to make it more durable and cheapen the process and perhaps Scott being the first to do a hollow ferrule on a graphite rod, hence making multi piece rods viable.
Normark using Boron for increased strength, and so on, i think most manufacturers have added something unique to the Mix that we now take for granted.
Materials have been the biggest developments of the last 6o years as most rods are still built to roughly standard tapers as laid down by the laws of physics, its the way the materials are used and where they are placed in the layup that makes the differences.
I would expect the rate of change to start to slow, in fact i think it has been slowing since the 80's.
So onto my Key moments in History.
Casting my cousins Red Diawa 9ft6" 7wt in 1983, it was awesome compared to my milbro and could chuck size 8LS White Chenilles and Black tadpoles for what seemed like miles
I still associate the song "Radio Gaga" with that red fly rod
A natural progression through various 9'6 and 10ft 7/8 wts, A Bob Church Rutland stands out as a favourite for rainbows as does a Shakespeare Radial for the river. Later an 8ft president also brings back fond memories
and my first foray to a lighter line it was a 4/5.
But my epiphany was in 1998 when i had sold all my tackle due to apprenticeships and Redundancies and found myself in Falkirk trying to survive with Sandra and Dan. I got a Sage 8'9" 3wt LL blank made with Graphite 111 (a cancelled order at sportfish) and saved up for the componants in stages, i spent many hours researching weight, balance, etc and when it was finally built it was the most amazing rod i had ever cast, not the fastest Sage ever made, but still my favourite.
So i make it into the 20th century just
with mid 80's Technology and an american company, a sign of the times i guess.
All my rods are American these Days even my Bamboo and i've just bought a Fibreglass rod to play with next season so perhaps i'm looking to see what else i may have missed out on by being born in the 70's
Sandy
