In today’s Throwback Thursday historical photo we again feature the great Lew Childre in a picture dating back to 1975. Beyond the awesome possum belly multi-tray tackle box, look closely in Lew’s hand and you’ll see one of Lew’s newest creations – the telescopic Speed Stick.
In his left hand it’s obvious he’s holding a Speed Spool but it’s not so obvious what else is in his hand. If you look closely, you’ll see the reel is mounted on a Fuji Speed pistol grip and below that is the telescopic rod that fits into the handle. He even has a Hildebrandt Snagless Sally tied on.
But that’s not the last of the image. It appears Childre is pointing to another setup in the box itself.
The telescopic Speed Stick consisted of four precision fit blanks – the tip was solid glass to resist bumps and fractures – the remaining three have thin walls for lightness. They rest safely inside of each other when closed — form a snug, double wall union along the step-down ferrule area for strength when extended and have the cross-section protection of a plastic slip-on guide for rigidity on the end of each blank, creating a strong multi-piece shaft without any sacrifice of weight.
An advertisement from 1975 mentioned the “live action” Lew-Fuji casting and spinning handles, it said:
“We’ve taken the worry out of the dirt, rust and corrosion problems that plague ordinary fishing rod handles. Reel seats, screws, nuts, etc. are stainless steel. Grips are soft, comfortable Gator vinyl. Handle frames are live action ‘fiber plastic’ that complements the bend of the rod shaft and offers all day casting comfort. Our adapter system inserts the blank into the handle forming a far more powerful and sensitive relationship between the blank and handle than is found in metal ferrule systems. This is especially true of casting rods.
“The vibrations from the slightest tap on the tip of a telescopic Speed Stick can be felt at the butt end. It’s easy to know when the bait is working, easy to feel weeds, stumps, rocks and grass or a tail slap from a big old bass…and wormin’ is just more fun when you know what’s down there.”
I never owned one of the telescopic rods but did have a couple of the Speed Sticks and handles. These were the spinning version that had the small metal clip that slid into place and then snapped down on a ridged metal plate to secure the reel.
