Normark 13 foot feeder rod puzzle

[PoddyPaul]

Hi Folks,
I'm a bit puzzled.
I now have two Team Normark 13 foot feeder rods, the one with the put over tip sections.

One has a screw up fuji reel fitting and the other has a screw down fuji fitting. Apart from that they are pretty much identical ( ring spacings slightly different, but I have found this also on the team Avenger rods ).

Is one of these a modification ?? or were there different versions ?

Any help appreciated.

Regards
Paul

 

[david white]

What’s written on the blanks just above the handles ? might then be able to help but my first thoughts would be both ( if early rods ) have had modified ( but different ) reel seats

 

[PoddyPaul]

think you may be right, photo attached.
I was hoping one of these was to the original specification.
Regards
Paul

 

[grey]

Both original. The screw-down duplon replaced the screw-up cork if I remember rightly. The older version sometimes came with a 2 foot extension which were rare, but might explain the slight difference in guide spacing?

 

[PoddyPaul]

Many thanks for your reply. I have an extension but it’s 20 inch . This was made by KN Angling for the screw up reel seat rod.
Thank you
Paul

 

[grey]

The cork top was also available with a 2 foot Normark original extension, they may have tweaked the guide spacing to accommodate this on all their rods at the time, regardless of whether it had the extension or not... or maybe Normark decided to review the spacing. Who knows? One thing for sure is they're a great pair of rods.

Something I'd be interested to find out: are the reels seats in the same position on both, and do you have a preference between the two?

 

[PoddyPaul]

Both reel seats and handle lengths are pretty much the same in their position. I think I prefer the screw up fitting best as the cork top stays put and matches the handle better. Also it lets you finish the whipping neatly right up to the butt section where the cork meets the rod. Also if you like a hook keeper this is also better fitted above a fixed cork section.