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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: sapphire on November 13, 2010, 06:03:33 pm
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Came across a couple of my dad's old reels and am curious about one of them.....wondering if this was one of his early ones or one my mother may have given him after I was born to get him out of the house. I remember it as a young child when he started me on fly fishing.
It's a Pflueger Medalist 1495 1/2.
One site states the first came out in 1935, with subsequent ones through 1956, 57 & 59 as well as 62-94. I found another site with the history of the Medalist stating when the models were brought out, but is there any way to tell when in these time frames a specific one was manufactured?
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I'm sure wayward will know more!
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Hey sapphire .... here's a link I've used before for Pflueger Medalist reels :
http://flyanglersonline.com/features/oldflies/part287.php
You'll have to check the patent # on yours , but their database on these reels is accurate !
(yes , I do flyfish)
;)
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Hey sapphire .... here's a link I've used before for Pflueger Medalist reels :
http://flyanglersonline.com/features/oldflies/part287.php
You'll have to check the patent # on yours , but their database on these reels is accurate !
(yes , I do flyfish)
;)
That was one of the sites I looked at ...... now to find the magnifying glass ;)
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OK, think I got it narrowed down to '59-'66 ....... so definitely to get him out of the house :D
No sign of a patent no. though.......unless it's buried under the line that's been wound on it and never unreeled since the mid 70's :P
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Holy heck, you wouldn't BELIEVE all the fishing stuff at my FIL's house. Fly fishing too, but hubby doesn't know anything about your reel though. Before he died, my FIL started to make fly's and we took all the stuff home to do it...really cool stuff.
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Marcy, is there a pic of the Medalist? Earlier ones had a round line guard and a metal latch cover on the spool. Older models also had straight screw slots and later ones had phillips heads. Also the posts between the frames were sculpted and not a straight post. Condition is everything. 1495 1/2 is a larger size. Medalist's are still made today (in China) and are still used for fishing. I have two 1494s and a 1495. The patent number would be on the outside on the frame and not under any wound line. The one problem with Medalists was the foot as it does not fit many newer graphite or e-glass rods today. A separate machined foot was available as an aftermarket accessory. I have fly fished since the 60s and collected tackle since the 80s. I also tie flys and many of the older tools are also collectible.
Medalists were first sold in about 1929 and these did not have a drag but only a click and pawl. Below is a pic of an early Medalist.
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You talkin' at me wayward?? :D
When it comes to condition you're liable to cringe. Last time this saw 'daylight' would have been at best mid 70's. Hubby had no use for fly gear so it was relegated to a dark spot in the basement.
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A couple more shots.
Talking about tying flies.......a dear friend and constant fishing companion tied flies for as long as I can remember. Dad would take me to the provincial wildlife part several times as year, as my little hands could fit through the chain link fences to snag those precious feathers from all the different birds (not to mention the odd clumps of fur as well :P)
When dad retired in '73, his goodbye gift from coworkers was a Hardy rod and reel with wishes for hooking that all elusive salmon. I don't think he even got to use it more than once before his health no longer allowed him to fish anymore. The reel went to his fly tying bud after he passed.......hubby has the rod, which of course has never been used.
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Going by what I'm reading the Made in Akron O was added in '59, but the trademark stamp disappeared in '64, as well as the addition of the rectangular line guard, ivory colored handle, etc and straight cross pillars appearing in '61-'62. So I'm guessing it's an early 60's model ?
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Yah, senior moment, sapphire. ;D When I looked at it late last night (early this morning) I saw marcy's post and thought she originated it because I didn't go all the way back to the first post.
You are probably correct on the date but now for the bad news...it is only a fishing reel in that condition as collector's could locate one from that era MIB for their collection. The good news is, cleaned up & relubed it is still a great fly reel. That size would be good for a longer rod and heavier line such as throwing bass bugs or streamers.
Your Dad's Hardy rod & reel was a great gift and now that your husband has the rod, I hope he cherishes it because Hardy is QUALITY tackle. If there was only one fishing thing that came out of England that was great, it is anything from the House of Hardy.
What was the other reel that you mentioned from your Dad?
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Any recommendations for cleaning it up? It still seems to work fine surprisingly!
Youngest daughter has a hankering to try fly fishing as she's only ever used a spinning reel. I so want to be hiding in the bushes to watch this, maybe I should suggest climbing gear in her tackle box?? :D
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Pop the spool off and clean all the old grease off the spindle and pawls. I would use a toothbrush and some grease cutting soap such as dawn. Dry everything off and relube the spindle and pawls with a light film of silicone grease making sure not to get any on the drag parts. The out side looks pretty crusty but I can't tell if that is corrosion or just junk. Junk will come off with the toothbrush and water but corrosion will not. Polish the line guard with Simichrome or Flitz or something as the fly line will rub on these parts and you do not want anything rough here. Tighten up all the screws on the frame. Some guys take the screws out and put Loctite on the threads because Medalists did have a problem with the screws loosening up and then the frame wobbles and spool binds.
Your youngest daughter will love fly fishing once she gets the hang of it. Females are easier to teach than males because they do not try and muscle the tackle but you probably already know that. Give her some instruction first so she work the kinks out on her own and develop her own casting style. I am not sure what you fish for but I love fishing bluegills with poppers and of course, trout on dry flies.
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Thanks for all the help wayward. She'll have plenty of time to practice before fishing season and I know we'll have some great laughs.........I've had my far share of retrieving lines out of trees, I'll leave that all up to the next generation.
Always went for trout, a few times headed for the salmon rivers. But now unless you find a stocked river even the trout fishing isn't that great. What few salmon rivers have even been viable these last years I believe are now basically shut down trying to build up the population again. We may have progressed in many ways, but unfortunately too many of those ways have decimated our natural environment.
Maybe my daughter will be the one to hook that marvelous salmon (hopefully on her granddad's rod)......and she'll make sure I get a good feed. ;)
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Reading this topic brought back a lot of good memories for me. My grandfather was a fly fisherman and my grandparents had a cabin on the Metolius River in Oregon, which only permits fly fishing. My grandfather tied his own flies and I remember watching him do this in the evenings at the end of the day. He would describe each type of bug that the files he made were imitating.
I will never forget the time he was casting and hooked my poor grandma through the ear lobe, or the evening when he was casting (you whip the fly back and forth in the air a few times before dropping it on the surface of the water) and a small bat swallowed his fly and his line took off flying up in the air with it!
Grandpa always said that my Uncle Frank was the best fisherman he'd ever known though. He used to like to say that Frank could catch fish out of a pine tree! :D Thanks for reminding me of some cherished memories with your post.
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Oh my dear! Tales you had me spitting my pepsi with your grandma's earlobe story! Not that is was funny for her at the time, but I can definitely relate to that.............my neck, dad's hook ;) Then again, I took a few out of him too :D
Not having a son, I was my dad's companion and there are many sweet memories of hours on the river, in the horse barn or on the track that I hope I have in some way been able to pass on to my kids.
wayward, sorry didn't see your edit to your post! The other reel is an Olympic 460 ...... in a little better shape, with the hook still attached from the last time I used it (July 1977)
Here's the Olympic and another little gadget you may recognize ;)
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The Olympic is a Japanese version of the Medalist. A decent fly reel but not anything for a collector and the Zebco De-liar scale is well know. Langley had the first De-Liar and that came out in the 60s I think. First model was a green metal body. Zebco's was a plastic black body. I have 2 old Langleys but no longer have a Zebco. They worked OK if the fish was heavy enough like 2 lbs but did not work well on lighter fish. Chatillion made better scales that weighed in ounces and pounds for fish like trout. I think the De-Liars helped fisherman increase the weight of their fish because the springs in them were not that accurate.
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I think the De-Liars helped fisherman increase the weight of their fish because the springs in them were not that accurate.
:D
I don't think dear old dad ever had anything hooked to it that would register!!
Coming across this stuff is not helping me get my sorting and chucking done.......but the memories are great ;)
These will get cleaned up and go on to the daughter.......the brat has caught more than my dad and I ever did between us!
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Since we're on a fishing theme .....
There's the story about the fishermans' wife :
Old McDougals' wife was gravid with child & went into labor at home ; events began to cascade & the dear wife gave birth in the domicile .
The mother wanted to know the weight of her newborn , and lacking any alternatives , the old man did the task with his salmon scale ....
Turns out the baby was 29 lbs , 10 oz.
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Priceless, fancy!! :D Don't even want to think about how he attached baby!! ;D
Five minutes from me is the Shubenacadie River where my boys have done their share of fishing for stripped bass......on my orders they never brought one home but would pass them on to someone who would eat them.
Here's a shot of what the typical catch looks like.......not gonna see THAT on my table!! :P
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In my opinion there are not very many things that are better tasting than a plate full of freshly caught native Brook Trout that were fried over an open fire right on the bank of the stream.
Boy, do I miss those days.
Ps: I have my Dad's circa 1930 3-section bamboo fly rod and hand-made gaff hook. And a circa 1950 Martin automatic fly reel which originally belonged to an older brother. And one of the 2 boxes of dry flies that I use to use.
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We'd go fishing all the time with my FIL who would never hesitate to tell me how he wanted it cooked. I insisted he cleaned it first though! I miss him...
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My grandma was a tiny, elegant little lady from Boston, who married a fly fishing forest ranger. I always got a kick out of the way my grandma would gut a fish without hesitation, and had to wonder how she got through it the first couple of times since she was raised as a city girl in the early 1900's. My grandpa must have shown her how it was done. ;)
Enjoying all these fish tales! Keep 'em coming!
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Tales your grandma must have been related to my aunt!
At 84 her doctor finally told her NO MORE FISHING!! Thigh deep in the river (hip waders of course) she took another nasty spill and was a long time getting it to heal. Continuous abscesses.......mus t have been someone else's way of telling her it was time to hang up the rod too. Raised a 'lady'....but always with a wild streak, she took to fishing like nobody's business. But the cleaning was always left up to my uncle....she'd catch'em but if he wanted to eat'em, the rest was up to him. ;) She wasn't squeamish about it.......just stubborn! :D
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Adding to the catch here , with "The Fishermans' Prayer" :
I pray that I may live to fish until my dying day ,
and when it comes to my last cast
then I'll most humbly pray ,
within Gods' great landing net
and peaceful there asleep ,
that in Gods' mercy I may be judged
big enough to keep .
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Here is “My Dreams Were Dashed”, story.
When one of my older brothers joined the AF he packed a few belongings in a box, stashed them in a closet and took off for the “wild blue yonder”. I was about 12 years old at the time and within a week or so I took possession of that box and its contents. Two of the items I still have to this day. A “Western” hunting knife with a white handle and the Martin reel that I mentioned before. It was a bright beautiful red and a most amazing piece of workmanship, the likes of which I had never, ever held in my hand before, let alone have possession of.
For many year after, whenever using that reel, I would try to picture in my mind as to where and how that reel was manufactured. And like always, I had visions of a big fancy factory with lots of people working tediously to produce those beautiful thingys.
Now fast forward to 1967: I was living and working in Herkimer, NY, and one day after work I needed to go to Cooperstown. So, I crossed the river into the Village of Mohawk and then seen the after-work traffic was backed-up at the “Red Light”. Not wanting to wait, I took a side street to bypass the “light” and …………… SCREECH, ….. I slammed on the brakes.
There on that street was an old dilapidated reddish looking building, not much wider than a 10 stall garage, with a big sign on the front stating …… Martin Fishing Reel Co. (or something close to that)
Cheers
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Some of the finest reels ever made were/are not made in a spiffy building...Bogdans. Never judge a book by its' cover but by what is inside. ;)
I have an old Martin Reel catalog and pictured on the cover is an 1890s era automatic fly reel with exposed gears and looking rather ancient. Speaking of automatic fly reels. I had a Wards model that wasn't working right and being a somewhat inquisitive and mechanical boy, I took it apart when I was about 12 and ended up with the spring sprung all over the place. It took me awhile to get it back in the cover properly but I used it for years after that. I never took another one apart until I was in my 30s and was very careful not to pull that spring out.