A nice HL Leonard Catskill fly rod, an 8', 3-piece, 2-tip model. A very slow action, I would consider this for a #3 or #4 line. The lifetime of the wraps has been extended with a very thin varnish coat to the wraps (this causes a dark band where the varnish penetrates the original orange shellac color preserver). The rod has typical Catskill signature wraps (in a 3, 1, 1, 3, 1, 3, 1 pattern) and a reverse twist snake guide for a stripper. The ferrule fits are excellent for a rod of this age and are size #9 and #14. The ferrules are made in the pot belly style and the butt female has the patent date.
This rod is still very fishable for you silk line aficionados as the small size of the tip tops and upper reverse twist snake guides likely precludes modern plastic lines. How about a #3 silk for tricos? The grip is very short, 4 1/4" in a medium cigar shape. The reel seat is a slide band and cap and the varnished wood is white cedar. The cap is stamped "The, H. L. Leonard, Rod, Leonard and Mills Co, Makers". The rod comes in a dark brown poplin bag with no hang tag, but the aluminum and brass top tube is original. It is very rare to find one of these Catskills in such good condition.
