John McGinn (dec.)

John McGinn

John migrated from the UK about 1981, initially to Adelaide before establishing himself at Woodridge, south of Brisbane. In a newspaper article from 1988 by Ranald Moore, John stated that he had been making bamboo rods for 35 years, which suggests that he had started his apprenticeship in England about 1953. He had been a contractor to several UK split cane rod makers for a two decades before selling to Partridge of Redditch and migrating.

From the article, John’s rod making process followed the standard steps starting with baking the cane culms (in a rotisserie over flames, based on a photograph) before splitting. Bevelling of the split sections was by machine set for the required tapers, rather than by hand planing. His rods were impregnated. John's output of rods is unknown,[1] but he was targeting the US and Japan as well as the Australian market. He was assisted by his son Callum. All his rods are numbered.

We do not know when John ceased making bamboo rods, but in the early 1990s he made hexagonal graphite rods involving the assembly and gluing of graphite T-sections in a process analogous to the steps in bamboo rod making. In the mid-1990s the rights to the product were purchased by a US company.

John’s son Callum continued to make bamboo rods into the 2000s, but we do not know if he still makes them.

The McGinn rods[2]

John McGinn’s UK-made rods come up for sale periodically. Rods we have been able to identify are:

· the Highlander (blonde, 3-piece salmon rod, 13ft for #9-10 line)

· the Lakeland (blonde 2-piece, equal lengths, 9’6” for #7 line, 10ft for #8 line)

· the Triumph (blonde 3-piece, 9ft for #7 line)

· the Troutbeck (blonde 2-piece, equal lengths, 9ft for #6 line, 8ft for #5 line, 6’6” for #5 line)

· the Chalk Stream (flamed 2-piece, equal lengths, 8ft for #5-6 line)

· the Nimrod De-Luxe (flamed 2-piece, equal lengths, 8'6" for #7-8 line)

In a 1989 catalogue, John offered his Australian rods in the following models:

· the Classical (blonde 2-piece, equal lengths, 2 tips, lengths 6’6”, 7ft, 7’6”, 8ft and 8’6”). We have images of a 7’6” for #5 line

· the Creewah (blonde or flamed 2-piece, staggered ferrules, lengths 7ft, 7’6”, 8ft and 8’6”). We have images of a 7ft for #4 line and a 7’6” for #5 line.[3] We also found reference to a 7’4” Creewah, two tips, for #4 line, which may have been a one-off

· the Bidgee (flamed 2-piece, staggered ferrules, lengths 6’6”, 7ft, 7’6”, 8ft and 8’6”). We have images of the 7’6” and 8' (shown below) for #5 line

· the Bombala (flamed 2-piece, staggered ferrules,lengths 7’8”, 8’2” and 8’8”, all for #6 line, all tips 55”, variable length butts). This series was based on the Sharpes Seventy-Nine, Eighty-Three and Eighty-Eight rods, with equal length, interchangeable tips, variable length butts, same-sized ferrules. Shown below is a pair of 8'8" Bombala Deluxe rods McGinn made for a father and son (he made a third Bombala Deluxe for another son).

· the Tasman (blonde 2-piece, staggered ferrules, 7’6”, for #6/7 line, made “especially for Tasmanian conditions”)

· Spliced (blonde or flamed 2-piece, for binding or taping the two pieces together, 7ft for #4/5 line, 7’6” for #5 line, 8ft for #5 line, and 8’6” for #5/6 line).

The Classical, Creewah and Tasman rods carried gold wrappings edged with red; the Bidgee and Bombala rods carried brown bindings edged with gold, the same as John’s UK Troutbeck and Chalk Stream rods.

We have no images of the Tasman or Spliced rods. However, we have images of a Game Bird (blonde 2-piece, staggered ferrules, 7ft for #4 line, described as a one-off) and of two staggered ferrule 7’6” rods, for #6-7 line and for #5-6 line, made by McGinn for Jason C. Garrett, the founder of London Lakes in Tasmania. There are very likely other one-off McGinn rods that we have not identified.

[1] Most sources estimate 60-100 hours to make a bamboo rod. Even at 50 hours a rod, over a 5-day week at 10 hours a day a maker would produce a rod a week, equating to 50 rods a year at most. Having an assistant would presumably enable greater production, though the actual number would depend on the team's productivity (person hours per rod)

[2] One tip unless otherwise indicated.

[3] We also found a 7’6” blonde Classical Creewah.