More Vintage Gear

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bigfost
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More Vintage Gear

Post by bigfost »

Two Abu 5000D (direct drive) reels, vintage 1974 and 75.

Shakespeare Service reel, vintage 1960s
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Ron Mc
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Re: More Vintage Gear

Post by Ron Mc »

Image
In the back on the left, a Pflueger-made 4Bros Beacon, a Pflueger Norka LW back right.
Center is a JVH tarpon size multiplier.
Front left is Pflueger Capitol, an Oceanic with Williams drag, another older Capitol, and a Pflueger Bond on the right.
The smallest reel is a Daiwa Coronet.
Far left is enough connected cuttyhunk to fill the Oceanic, and I have an H-I split cane boat rod with top and bottom guides so you can flip the blade to reverse fishing set.

The Beacon, Norka and Oceanic all have leather thumb pads for paying drag

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bigfost
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Re: More Vintage Gear

Post by bigfost »

Nice collection.
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Ron Mc
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Re: More Vintage Gear

Post by Ron Mc »

thanks, that's one of 7 shelves - this is the last shelf of multipliers; one of spinning reels, and the rest fly reels.
I put most of this together by repairing OP's valuable antique reels as a hobby business.

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Across the top are 3 LW patents that competed with Marhoff before 1928, Meisselbach Okeh, 1st model Supreme 1918 Douglas patent, and Shakespeare B s/n 127 (1909).
Across the front a modest 4Bros, a Bluegrass 33, Meek No. 3, Talbot Niangua, Redifor 1915 centrifugal brake, and a 4Bros Rubber City (Akron)
Behind the Meek No. 3 is a Jack Welch Heddon 3-15.
The Heddon, Meek and Talbot, and throw in Shakespeare Perfect - NLW reels from the teens and '20s - were the farthest-casting reels made until ball-bearing Abu CT NLW arrived in the '80s.
The Douglas-patent Supreme had all the features we expect in modern baitcasters - freespool separate from LW, anti-reverse, good casting brake, but the complex mechanism was discontinued in 1928 when Pflueger could copy Marhoff's simple LW mechanism.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishi ... old-stuff/

My collection is actually fairly modest - here's where the serious collectors hang out - https://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/index.php

and here is probably the largest and certainly the most valuable collection in the world - https://reelsnlures.com/

In addition to ORCA, you can find guys who fish the old stuff on FFR - https://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/ ... m.php?f=33

The oldest I own (ok, maybe the next-oldest) is this low-grade Shakespeare Alamo, and kind of a cool marque to own around here.
Even the low-grade prewar Shakespeare NWL reels had very good bushings, and still cast well today.
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Last edited by Ron Mc on Mon May 17, 2021 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
bigfost
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Re: More Vintage Gear

Post by bigfost »

My old reels, mostly Penns and Abus, aren't part of a collection. They were my working reels that have been retired. They aren't pretty. They are skinned up, beat up and tired, but have caught tons of fish along the way. LOL

I'll dig some more out and post them up later.
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Ron Mc
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Re: More Vintage Gear

Post by Ron Mc »

Maybe I should hold your LOL.
My older daughter's choice go-to rig for creek fishing was a 1937 Luxor with 4-1/2' Airex solid glass rod.
Even the Stubcaster above has caught fish slip-bobber fishing in Cibolo Creek.

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Here's a friend's daughter with her red on my Penn 716 and Conolon glass.

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Here's the most scarred reel I own, my first Lew's BB-1NG that fished inshore and the surf plus reservoir bass for 25+ years.
It has a replaced handle (from Roy's, who bought the parts inventory when Zebco discontinued support) and maybe 3 A/R dogs.
My Lew's BB-25SW fished even longer and has no scars.
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My older Millionaire 6H wasn't scarred, but damn if Daiwa wouldn't support parts when I needed a worm gear in 1984 -
- why I bought the first Lew's, and didn't buy another Daiwa until just this year.
I PO'd a couple of guides with the Millionaire.
Free-shrimping, I would spiral cast the Millionaire. When they told me what was wrong with my cast, my spiral would double their cast.
It's OK, I always made them look good at the dock.

My best Guadalupe rainbow on marked 1918 FE Thomas Special and Young pattern 15a that was also sold as the Thomas Special reel.

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c. 1915 Leonard Fairy Catskill and Pflueger Golden West with a Rio Chama brown.

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Please post photos - we like them
Last edited by Ron Mc on Mon May 17, 2021 9:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: More Vintage Gear

Post by TexasJim »

As I've said before, "Ron lives in a museum." Granted, he still fishes well with some on his collection. TexasJim
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Ron Mc
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Re: More Vintage Gear

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TexasJim wrote:As I've said before, "Ron lives in a museum." Granted, he still fishes well with some on his collection. TexasJim
posting out of turn for Jim, here's a mint Penn I coached him through sale.
...at least he didn't say I belong in a museum.

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Re: More Vintage Gear

Post by TexasJim »

Yeah, Ron, I sold that to a collector in Gregory. But, I fish regularly with a fifty-year old ABU Sweden Ambassadeur 5000 reel, that still catches fish. I also have a D.A.M. Quick 700(?) baitcaster. But, unlike Ron, I'm older than any of MY fishing gear! TexasJim
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Ron Mc
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Re: More Vintage Gear

Post by Ron Mc »

ok, so I didn't buy them all new...

1930 Medalist, Cummings Water Witch glass, and sight-fished 9-lb Sabinal bass.

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Re: More Vintage Gear

Post by Dandydon »

I'm impressed with Bigfost's gear, then Ron comes along and makes us all look like fishing newbies, ha ha. Image
Yes, it's like being in a fish gear museum. That's a compliment.

My gear philosophy is to find the best stuff for the money, use it hard, then dispose of it. Since I started fishing way back in 1960, I now wish I had kept a few reels & rods for grins and nastalgia.

Just checked my closet. OK, still have two red Ambassadeur 5000s and the silver/copper 5000c, and some old lures, but that's about it.

But if you want to look at my photo scrapbook of exotic girlfriends from my 60+ trips around the world, come join the Hobie Navy sometime. And yes, the ones from Bali, Rio and Paris are X-rated... Image

If I like you, I might give you access to true stories and photos. Ask Shoffer.
Ha ha. Image

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Ron Mc
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Re: More Vintage Gear

Post by Ron Mc »

even in Rio you wouldn't be my type...

Back in the '80s, if you wanted to free-shrimp a baitcaster, it took some special casting skills.
Now all it takes is money and a little tinkering.
My new Steez with 6-g Roro-X spool consistently casts 1/16-oz past 100'.

DD, if you want to tinker one of those Abu's, they make some really slick parts for them. Shallow braid spools with mag-brake add on; ball-bearing idler gear and worm gear; lightened worm gear and titanium rider.
I took a pair of Abu 6500CT NLW and raced them out beginning with barstock frames, braid spools, mag brakes - they will cast 1/4-oz an honest 100 yds.
Last edited by Ron Mc on Tue May 18, 2021 3:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: More Vintage Gear

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Sounds good to me, Ron. I'm unofficially "retired" which just means I do exactly what I want until undertaking some free legal work for friends. Then I work a bit for psychic rewards and another feather in my angel wings.

Not a bad life which I somehow stumbled into.

Let's meet up sometime before we both blow away in a coastal waterspout. I know your daughter is a Kung Fu champion. Do you ever visit Galveston, E. Matagorda or Trinity Bays? That Arroyo trip is long for a non-driving old cuss like me...

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