Antique fishing rod and reel

Question
I had an antique fishing rod gave to me and i wanted to find out when this fishing rod and reel was manufactured. The rod is a Orchard Special ARO it is approximately 3-1/2 ft long on the rod it says it was manufactured in Detroit. The reel is a Bronson Lasless Reel model number 1700-A. Can you give me information this?

Answer
Hi Jim,

I'm not really the antique fishing rod guy, but I'll let you know what I do know.

I don't know anything about the rod, nor could I find anything.

The Bronson Lashless 1700-A was a fairly common mid-priced reel.  I think they were probably from the mid-1920's into the 1930's.  Unfortunately, they aren't worth much money.  One that's new in the box may get $50, but one that's been used without a box would probably get $10-$20 on E-bay.  

There are quite a few of them out there.  E-bay is a great resource to find out what something is really worth.  Watch the auctions.  The books out there that list the value of such items are anywhere from two to five times what the item actually sells for on e-bay.

The rod and reel would probably look really cool hanging on the wall of your den or over the fireplace.

Good fishing!!!