Any fly fishermen here?

[sapphire]

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 

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 

[waywardangler]

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.

[sapphire]

I think the De-Liars helped fisherman increase the weight of their fish because the springs in them were not that accurate.

 
 
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!

[fancypants]

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.

[sapphire]

Priceless,  fancy!!    Don't even want to think about how he attached baby!! 

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!! 

[cogar]

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.

[marcylove]

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...

[talesofthesevenseas]

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!

[sapphire]

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!

[regularjoe2]

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 .

[cogar]

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

[waywardangler]

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.