The first commercial fibreglass rods were made by the Shakespeare Rod Company. They called their rods "Wonder Rods." Soon after, other companies began producing glass rods, and this led to more inexpensive and obtainable rods, allowing a greater number of people to afford taking up the sport of angling. The process used to make the first fibreglass blanks was named after our bamboo repair man, and called the 'Howald Process." It differed from more modern fibreglass blank construction in that fiberglass yarn, saturated with resin, was wound in a spiral direction around a steel mandrel. Over this, strands of more yarn, alligned with the axis of the mandrel were placed. The blank was then finished with wraps of cellophane tape to hold the fibers in place as the resin cured, then later removed.

As more was learned about fibreglass, the process in making rods changed in order to build lighter and stronger rods with less production costs. High quality glass blanks were eventually made using fibreglass cloth that had been treated with chrome, and the resin impregnated directly into the cloth.

Eventually, even the resin systems used in rods became more advanced, with longer shelf live's and easier production handling. More was learned about rod design, and the ability to produce rods of varying actions and power came about.

Although graphite has replaced fibreglass for most fly fishing applications today, there are some who still enjoy the feel and action of glass. Although glass is heavier, there are times when it may even be superior to graphite, especially when the situation requires a very heavy duty rod. However, most manufacturers have phased out production of glass rods, but there are still some available. .

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