Any fly fishermen here?

[sapphire]

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?

[hosman321]

I'm sure wayward will know more!

[fancypants]

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)

 

[sapphire]

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 

[sapphire]

OK, think I got it narrowed down to '59-'66 ....... so definitely to get him out of the house  

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

[marcylove]

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.

[waywardangler]

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.

[sapphire]

You talkin' at me wayward?? 

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.

[sapphire]

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  )

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.

[sapphire]

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 ?

[waywardangler]

Yah, senior moment, sapphire.    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?

[sapphire]

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?? 

[waywardangler]

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.

[sapphire]

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.

[talesofthesevenseas]

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!    Thanks for reminding me of some cherished memories with your post.