Do You Remember These Classic Fishing Reels?
A couple old short pieces rolled into one. I wrote these light articles 7 or 8 years ago. At the time I didn’t really know a whole lot, as you can tell from the superficial descriptions of each reel.
The history of modern fishing is really the history of the fishing reel. Let's take a look at some of the classic fishing reels of the last century. Do you remember any of these?
Penn Spinfisher 700
Introduced in 1961 the Penn Spinfisher 700 was known as the "Finest Surf Spinning Reel." It quickly became a favorite reel for surf fishermen and saltwater anglers. This heavyweight reel was an eye-catcher with its distinctive mint green color.
The Spinfisher was a monster, a tank-like reel that could withstand the abuse of hardcore saltwater fishing. It had a line capacity of 250 yards of 20-pound monofilament. I've even seen various iterations of the model 700 used on Lake Michigan by chinook salmon anglers. Penn is a time- and experience-honored name in saltwater fishing, with more than 1,400 IGFA world records set using Penn reels. Today, the company manufactures over 220 different reel models.
If you're lucky you might find the occasional Spinfisher 700 at a garage sale. Or you can purchase them online as there is something of a collector's market for them. If you do get into collecting Penn Spinfisher reels, be sure to keep an eye out for a vintage Penn 700 silver or gold tie clasp. These little items will likely cost more than the reel itself.
Source: Reel Repair by Alan Tani
Zebco 33
One of the best selling fishing reels of all time, the Zebco 33 spincasting reel has manufactured more than 40 million units since it was first introduced to the angling public in 1954.
It was invented by R.D. Hull when, according to legend, he witnessed a strand of twine fall to the floor from its spool. Designed to hold 10-pound test line, the model 33 is classified as a medium weight fishing reel. Its closed-face, anti-backlash qualities made it a great choice for beginning anglers, although experienced fishermen loved it too. My grandfather relied on it to catch many different species of fish.
The Zebco 33 has remained in production since it was first introduced. The new model has been redesigned and updated to include improved line pick-up and bearings, a modernized drag system and gear train, and greater line capacity. An Auto Bait Alert also audibly notifies the fisherman when a fish tugs the line. At a suggest retail price of between $18 and $35, the Zebco 33 is affordable enough for any angler looking to fish with a classic reel.
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 5000
Abu Garcia unveiled their new Ambassadeur 5000 fishing reel at the 1954 New York World's Fair. Made in Sweden, the reel was a trailblazer, starting a revolution in the fishing world. Its $45 retail price was hefty in the Eisenhower years, but the reel was so innovative and so beautifully crafted that the company sold hundreds of thousands of them. This was a reel that almost guaranteed an angler would catch more fish.
Its red color was distinctive, but it was the reel's innovations that set it apart from every other reel on the market. Featuring an anti-reverse mechanism, star drag, centrifugal brake, level wind and a push-button free spool design that disengaged the spool from the handle, the Ambassadeur laid the foundation for all subsequent baitcasting reels.
Source: realsreels.com
It could also easily handle monofilament fishing line. Mono had been around for a couple of decades, but braided Dacron line was still the most popular fishing line in use. It wasn't until 1959 and the introduction of Stren brand monofilament fishing line that mono really took off. The Abu Ambassadeur seemed made for monofilament. It was a space-age reel that could comfortably handle a space-age fishing line.
Abu Garcia has manufactured four million Ambassadeur 5000s since they were first introduced. The iconic red color finally gave way to the Ambassadeur 5000C with a black finish and ball bearings in 1968.
There is a healthy collectible market for Ambassadeur 5000 reels, and they still perform well today. They are reliable and they look cool, two characteristics that endear them to anglers with a love for vintage fishing gear. I own four or five Ambassadeurs, including one that my Dad owned and fished with. I treasure them.
Here's a wonderful vintage demo commercial showing the Ambassadeur 5000 in action:
Pflueger Medalist
Fly fishing enthusiasts have their own classic fishing reels to remember. The Pflueger Medalist is the fly reel that fits that bill. The Medalist has been around for nearly a century, having first appeared in the Pflueger catalog in 1931. The reel was made in Akron, Ohio until 1979 when production moved to China. The Medalist was the first reel for many fly fishermen. It was simple in construction, aesthetically appealing, and affordable. This reel featured a click-pawl drag system in the early years of its production, but in 1938 an adjustable drag system was added.
The Medalist underwent a few changes over the years, while still maintaining its basic reliability. For example, the growing popularity of the spinning reel changed America's preference from right-hand reeling to left-hand reeling. Pflueger adapted to that change in the late 1950s by producing the Medalist as a left-hand winding fly fishing reel.
Pflueger has been a powerhouse fishing tackle company since its founding in 1880. The Medalist was just one classic, stand-out product that has stood the test of time. Many anglers cut their teeth on trout streams casting a fly rod with a Medalist. It still performs admirably wherever anglers choose to wet a fly line.
Source: freestonevintagetackle.com
Mitchell 300
The Mitchell 300 spinning fishing reel is one of the most popular fishing reels ever. In 1970 12,000 Mitchell reels were being manufactured each day. By 1990 over 30 million Mitchell 300 reels had been sold worldwide. The Mitchell reel was invented in the mid- to late-1930s by Maurice Jacquenim, a young engineer from the Avre Valley in France. While the reel had been invented and was being produced in France for several years, it wasn't until 1947 that the patent was applied for and the reel began achieving worldwide distribution and popularity. This reel was named after Maurice Jacquimin's son Michel, but French law prohibited proper names from being used as product brand names. Michel thus became Mitchell. The Mitchell, as it was popularly known, could cast farther and more smoothly than any spinning reel that came before it.
It had an interchangeable left- or right-hand reeling handle, could retrieve line without tangling, and was so easy to use that even inexperienced anglers quickly mastered it. So many Mitchells were sold that it's relatively easy to find ones in excellent condition and in good working order. Many even come in their original boxes. I own at least a half-dozen, including the same one I used as a kid. It's in good condition and still functions beautifully.
The legacy of the Mitchell 300 is one of introducing many new anglers to the sport. The reel's simplicity, easy and reliable operation, and inexpensive price made sure that at one time practically every angler in America owned a Mitchell. Nearly two thirds of all fishing reels sold today are spinning reels. That too is in large part thanks to the success of the Mitchell 300. Since its initial release the reel has been updated many times. It's still being produced today, although it doesn't look the same as that old black workhorse used by kids and grownups across the country.
June 17, 1974 Garcia Mitchell 300DL. Source: MitchellReelMuseum
PART II
Pflueger Akron Model 1893
Ernest A. Pflueger began his fishing tackle company, the Enterprise Manufacturing Company, in Akron, Ohio in 1880 or 1881. The business was an instant success, soon becoming one of the biggest fishing companies in America. Inevitably the company changed its name to the E.A. Pflueger Company.
In addition to finding success with fishing lures and other tackle, Pflueger manufactured a number of excellent fishing reels. The Pflueger Akron baitcasting reel was the most widely sold quadruple multiplying reel. First introduced in 1905 as a non-level-wind reel, it came in four different reel models with differing line capacities. The initial Akron model was produced from 1905 to 1913. They can be identified by their ivory handles.
The Akron model 1893 was reintroduced more than once during the first half of the 20th century. These models can be differentiated by mostly cosmetic changes, such as the handle color and material. The popular model 1893 was reintroduced in 1932 and featured polished "diamolite" with green pyralin plastic handles. That is the model pictured here, which I own, complete with its original box and owner's manual.
Diamolite offers an interesting sidebar, peculiar to Pflueger. According to a study I found on fishing rods and reels metallurgy,
"Diamolite is the Pflueger owned, registered, proprietary name for a mysterious alloy (or alloy and treatment) which appears to be some type of stainless steel. Presumably a search of U.S. Patents would reveal it's composition. Amazingly, there is NO information on it available from a search of that word on the internet. The only returns come if linked to the name Pflueger.
Diamolite is highly polished, silvery, corrosion resistant, and very, very hard. To typical fishing reel use it seems to be completely scratch and abrasion resistant. It must also be inexpensive. Pflueger used it for at least 50 years for some of the least expensive, utilitarian, indestructible fly reels ever made."
The Akron 1893 was produced until around 1971. It is a common and popular collectible reel. In good condition they are inexpensive, running around $25-$30.
Zebco One
Sometime in the 1940's R.D. Hull walked into a butcher shop. He saw the butcher yank a length of line from a large spindle with which to tie off wrapped cuts of meat for customers. No matter how quickly the man pulled the line it came off smoothly and without a hitch.
This gave R.D., a watchmaker and inventor, an idea that revolutionized sport fishing. Hull wanted to solve two things that challenged anglers: 1) make casting a line smoother and easier and 2) make retrieving the cast line equally smooth and easy. Thus was born the spincasting reel, and the ability to cast literally with push button ease. Hull designed a great many fishing reels during his tenure at Zebco, and the Zebco One has his fingerprints all over it.
The reel pictured below is mine. It is the original Zebco One, produced in, I believe, 1973. Below is a picture of the reel from the company's 1975 catalog. The featured image at the top of this article shows a Zebco One from the 1976 catalog. The name plates are different on each of these reels, which is one way to date them. The Zebco One was one of the smoothest reels the company produced, and was very popular. Its production ran from 1973 to 1976, before it mutated into the Omega line of reels.
Abu Garcia 444 spinning reel
Abu Garcia began as a world class watch making company. They took that precision expertise and transferred it to the fishing world, making some of the finest, most durable fishing reels in the world. The ABU 444 was the company's first fixed spool spinning reel. It was first introduced in 1955. The Abu 444 was in production for 25 years if you consider its variant, the Abu 333 as part of the production.
The reel featured a push button spool release, an offset drag adjustment and an anti-reverse lever. These innovations were groundbreaking and were copied by other companies. The original Abu 444 was made in Sweden and are rare. The company eventually moved production America. Here it received wide popularity following on the heels of the highly successful Abu Ambassadeur 5000 baitcasting reel the year prior. Ten years after the introduction of the Abu 444, in 1965, the company introduced its iconic Cardinal series.
Source: www.realsreels.com/
Shakespeare Tru-Art Automatic fly fishing reel
The Shakespeare Company was founded by William Shakespeare Jr. in 1897, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1970 the company moved to Columbia, South Carolina. Shakespeare is known for a number of fishing tackle and equipment products, including their very popular Ugly Stik fishing rod, first introduced in 1976 and still in production today.
The Shakespeare Silent Automatic Tru-Art fly fishing reel is a relic from the 1960s. Automatic fly reel use peaked during that era. These days most anglers prefer single action, manual fly reels. But during the age of the 1960s space race and burgeoning technological advancements, the automatic reel was seen as very modern and cool.
It operates on a spring-driven mechanism. The spring is wound as line is pulled out of the reel, and is recovered by pressing a trigger, not unlike an automatic tape measure retrieve. These kinds of reels aren't heavily manufactured today, but a couple of companies still make them. They're good for anglers with hand and arm mobility issues, who may have trouble controlling the line manually. In fact, automatic fly reels have been used by Project Healing Waters, an organization that uses fly fishing as a healing and rehabilitation method for disabled veterans.
If you're a fly fisherman it might be fun to play around with one of these relics from time to time. You can still find them online or occasionally at garage sales for cheap prices.
Shakespeare Wondereel spincasting reel
Shakespeare gave the Wondereel name to several of its reels, including its baitcasting and spincasting models. The baitcaster (1939) came before the spincaster, and I can't say why the company used the name for different reel models. The baitcaster (below) boasted a "backlash brake" and was a popular seller.
As best I can tell, the first Wondereel spincaster was introduced in the 1940s. The Wondereel spincasting reel Model 1700 is the one shown below and was introduced sometime between 1969-1971. But even the spincasting format contained several different models under the Wondereel umbrella. Again, these reels, in whatever format and model they were marketed in, were very popular with anglers. Both of my grandfathers and my dad owned Wondereel spincasters. I even seem to recall my grandmother using one to fish bluegills (she loved fishing for bluegills).
The 1957 Popular Mechanics Shakespeare ad shown below presents an appealing sales pitch:
With Shakespeare's SPIN-WONDEREEL, the line is always at your fingertips; you simply pick up the line, back up the crank, and cast. So easy...so simple, you can operate it blindfolded. Even beginners can make long, effortless casts right from the start. No groping for a bail or knob; nothing exposed to foul the line. Smooth adjustable drag.
