Rod Model Profile- 761510 - updated for 2025

I have owned three 761510s. All have been similar in that they had smooth but authoritative actions and fall into the sweet spot of what I consider the best traits of Dickerson rods. The same traits that, in my opinion, make Dickersons great classic rods for fishing. The three 761510  examples I have had cover the wide range of what is possible with Dickerson rods of the same model number.  The 761510 I presently have stewardship of was made in the late 1930s-early 1940s, and is what I would consider his "standard" 761510, if such a rod exists. It has a five inch cigar grip and a fine piece of walnut for the reel seat spacer; not all Dickerson walnut spacers are as nice as what he used in the 1930s. It features an opaque pinkish red agate stripping guide, bent wire loop hook keeper, hexagon winding check, and Dickerson's standard brown wraps tipped black.  The cigar grip is not unusual for 1930s Dickerson rods.  However, the 5 inch length is not common. The grip seems more appropriate for this rod than would Dickerson's standard six inch reverse half wells.  The action seems best suited for a four weight line.  More time and experimentation are required to dial in the correct weight and line brand model for the rod.  

There is no customer name or date on this rod. The production period estimate is based on the familiar features recognized after examining many Dickerson rods.  If you can acquire a Dickerson rod made between 1935 and 1940'ish, with one of his modernesque actions, there is no better find for the Dickerson fan. Dickerson rods of this era exhibit the highest degree of workmanship, comparable with the best makers in the history of the craft.  At the onset of the Second World War, Dickerson was already 50 years old.  By the time the war ended, he was well into this middle-age years and producing rods at a rate which does not seem humanly possible.  Over 120 rods per year were made in 1946 (177), 1947 (141), and 1948 (123).  Necessity of speed and efficiency likely lead to small details being overlooked when compared to a younger Dickerson, making 50-70 rods per year in the mid to late 1930s.  Post-war Dickersons are still great rods, however, one might find a hardware pin not perfectly filed, a reel seat barrel not polished to a high level of detail, water marks or small flaws in the cane, and rod section lengths where butt and tip might differ by a few 16ths of an inch.  These personality traits should be accepted as part of what make each rod unique and different. Regardless, some of Dickerson's best tapers were developed in the late 1940's-early 1950s.  

The most powerful 761510 I have owned was a unique version of the model. It was a late rod, made in 1957, and the last 761510 recorded in Dickerson’s ledger which closed in early 1960. It was made and marked for Donald Valley, a close friend and customer of Dickerson’s dating back to the mid-1930s. Several features make this rod unique. One worth mentioning is the name Bergmann, written after 761510 on the rod above the grip. Of course, Bergman is correctly spelled with one n, which Dickerson should have known. Bergman was instrumental in Dick’s career which began in 1931 but didn’t really get going until after his association with Ray Bergman in 1935. Meeting Ray was probably the single most important occurrence in Dickerson’s career. Bergman was largely responsible for the mid-1930s increase seen in Dickerson’s orders. In the three years following the start of Bergman’s involvement (1935, 1936, 1937), approximately 120 of the 240, or 50% of the rods made were ordered by Ray Bergman.   The order increase does also coincide with the start of an upswing in the Great Depression, however, prior to 1935 Dickerson's business was hardly booming. His output total in 1934 was thirteen rods.

Early on, Dickerson occasionally wrote Bergman’s name somewhere on the rod in what likely began as a credit to his best customer/dealer. Some were signed Dickerson-Bergman in the spot usually reserved for just Dickerson’s signature. Some rods had Bergman or R.B. written on the rod after the model number, most frequently on 8013 and 761510 models.  It has been theorized, and I agree, that the Bergman or R.B. after the model number eventually became a way of identifying a rod whose action was influenced by Ray’s specifications/preferences.  Rod maker Wm Abrams has held this assertion for some time, even offering his own version of the 8013 modeled after a particularly nice rod marked Bergman.  It seems the Bergman preference was for a touch more crispness or power. This would certainly explain much about the Don Valley 761510.   

The most unique aspect of the Valley 761510 are the ferrules. While mic’ing the rod, Per Brandin discovered that it actually had size 16 and 11 rather than 15 and 10 ferrules, so technically, the rod is a 761611. While Dickerson was known for putting undersized ferrules on finished rods, apparently in this case he decided not to. The odd design of this rod could be what makes it so great and different, perhaps like a lab accident resulting in a new discovery. 

1957 Dickerson 761510 Bergmann rod bag- Gone is the flap that once adorned this Dickerson rod bag for a three piece rod. The fold over hood, narrow tube, and four section contents amount to a tight fit. It is understandable that someone would simply cut the entire top flap off with what appears to be a dull pair of scissors. 

-Marc Bourgea