Every so often there is a post on the Tackle Tour forum about Daiwa Interline Rods. These are graphite rods in which the line is threaded inside the rod shaft, rather than through guides mounted on the outside of the rod blank. I only saw salt water versions of the Interline rods in the most recent Daiwa catalog, but they have also manufactured these rods in freshwater baitcasting versions. For years Cabela’s sold the Interline baitcasting versions with their own house brand name.

I have no interest in arguing the merits of this type of rod. Anglers have been testing these “guideless rods” for over a century and the overwhelming majority want guides on their rod shafts.

The first rod in which the line ran inside the shaft was patented by Everett Horton, a clockmaker in Bristol, Connecticut. Horton made a telescoping tubular steel rod which he could slip into his pants and hide from his neighbors in Puritanical Bristol. He was then able to enjoy fishing whenever he chose – even on Sundays. Luckily for Horton, some honest businessmen in Bristol felt his rod had some merit and acquired a patent for him, which was granted on March 8, 1887.

These businessmen then formed the Horton Manufacturing Company, paid Horton royalties and built the company into one of the largest tackle manufacturers in the world, and Everett Horton went back to making clocks.

Bristol tubular steel rods were of the highest quality and were produced for all types of game fishing, from trout to tuna. Most of these, however, did not have the line running inside the rod shaft. Their three piece steel casting rods with agate guides were probably the most popular bass rods in the country in the early 1900s. An example with an early 1900 Shakespeare level wind reel is shown above.

The Bristol steel rod with the line running inside was produced by Horton Mfg. Co. until the 1940s when World War II interrupted fishing tackle manufacturing. Horton continued to produce the shafts for the duration of the war, which were used as antennas on trucks and Jeeps. Production of this rod was not resumed after the war.

The Bristol steel rod was promoted in Horton’s 1910 catalog as “at their best when used along streams that are lined with brush, and are especially popular in the Rocky Mountains where this condition prevails.” The first inner line rod that I ever saw was a Bristol steel rod used in this exact manner by a very good teenage fisherman in a small town in eastern Oregon. He fished a small Colorado spinner with a worm on “step across” creeks that were surrounded by brush. No one else in town was able to fish his spots and he caught some dandy trout.

My first fishing rod was a telescoping steel rod with a reversible handle that allowed it to be used as a fly rod or casting rod. It was an inexpensive “Rainbow” model manufactured by Horton. It has the line running through snake type guides on the outside of the three sections.

The next time someone argues the merits of a Daiwa Interline rod, just remind them that this type of rod has been around since 1887 and still hasn’t grabbed a major share of the rod market. Nothin’s New.

A few examples of Bristol Telescoping Steel Rods from my collection are shown below: