Is it possible for a rod builder to take one of these old rods with pistol grips and put a long handle on it?

Of course.

I�m not sure why you would want to do so, but there is no fundamental reason that a decent rod builder could not accommodate you and make this modification.

There may not be a �kit� out there to do this, but a skilled experienced rod builder without question could do so.

The biggest question is how much it is going to cost to have a handle designed to accommodate the coupler at the end of the blank.


TFP

They have not been around since the 70's or early 80's. IMO they are getting a little old to spend money on. I had a 5 1/2 in with a pistol grip I gave away about 10 years ago.

In their day they were the best but really you can get a better rod today for 50 or 60 bucks.

I still have one of those Skyline rods a straight handle can be put on but I just don't think I would do it. If I still have it I have a rod I made on a Skyline blank with a straight handle. The blanks were made from leftover material used for the helicopter blades the company made. I was out to their factory in FT.Worth several times. Those rods came out in the mid 70s I think they quit making them in the mid 80s.

Thanks for the response these have been keep in closet for years and are like new always love the action they just wear your wrist out

What you need to do is to find some graphite rods that have a slow action. That�s the part that you love about them.


TFP

I grew up using the old pistol grip models in the 80's, but they made a series of straight-handled models for Honey Hole in the early 90's.

I still have a 7' medium action one that my mom bought me as a graduation present in '92. It's been retired obviously....

This is very true. The low end stuff today blows away the Skylines. I still have a 5'3" mh custom I built in the early 80s and I think it weighs more than 6 ozs. The little blank alone weighs more than the 7'3" mh rods I build today. Sensitivity isn't anywhere near modern rods. In their day though, I liked nothing better than the Skylines.

I saw a friend of mine(Gerald Roebuck)set the hook on a stump, using a Skyline rod. The rod exploded and sounded like a bomb went off.

I still have a new unassembled skyline kit I bought in high school.

Fenwicks guy myself....

TFP