I 'customized' a couple of imported medalists in that way myself.
I've taken some nice saltwater fish with them
I've taken some nice saltwater fish with them
photo by Bulldog1935 |
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Pflueger Medalist question
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 dudley |
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Sport
Posts: 72 (09/12/08 06:38:15) |
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rvreclus |
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Master Guide
Posts: 142 (09/12/08 08:11:03) |
Dudley,
In the late 60's and early 70's, quite a few Steelhead/Salmon fisherman in Northern Calif. would customize their Pfluegers(1495's and larger) as you have pictured, to get more range and better control of their drags. The cut outs made this possible without having to deal with the drag control knob, and switching hands. I have one model 1495 that is modified much like the one you have shown. Respectfully RV Reclus |
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Laramie Spinner |
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Guide
Posts: 160 (09/12/08 09:20:43) |
The leather would prevent thumb burns. A number of saltwater multiplying reels were factory-equipped with a leather thumb pad attached to their rearmost cross
pillar. They could also be purchased as aftermarket accessories.
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bulldog1935 |
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Posts: 3597 (09/12/08 14:15:45) Administrator |
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Silver Doctor.clarksclassicfl... |
Pflueger | ||
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Sport
Posts: 4 (09/12/08 21:48:24) |
The interesting thing was there was no interest in this reel for 5 days till I posted my question and another member posted a link to ebay. It suddenly jumped
to 10 bidders and the reel went from $2.50 to over 40 dollars with cut out back and missing front guide ring plus a couple of other visible things.
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bulldog1935 |
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Posts: 3599 (09/12/08 22:33:26) Administrator |
the ebay seller seasoc seems to turn a lot of early Medalists. Keep an eye on him for a click-pawl 1494 in good shape.
The correct price is about $125 for a VG+ reel. |
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OLD YANKEE |
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Master Guide
Posts: 114 (09/13/08 06:16:17) |
Hello
Don't be surprised at all ! I learned along time ago if you are bidding on an eBay item the last thing you want to do is mention it on a forum. The reel is worth all of the 40 bucks and probably more for parts. Funny how no one told you that though. I thought you were interested in backing out and to give them a break they most likely thought so as well. With the current price of the after market retro parts for the reel going for some big bucks. Check out the same sellers other reel for sale it has similar modifications less the big cut outs on the back. I am sure many of our friends here have it already set up in their sniper bid programs ! If the winner is a member here it will be interesting to see if they fess up considering the reel is such a hack job and something to be ashamed of ! Tight Line and Surprised Not Loops Andy M
'FISH AND VISITORS STINK AFTER 3 DAYS' " DON'T FORGET THE BACKBONE" " REMEMBER TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FISHERY"
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evanslmtd |
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Master Guide
Posts: 444 (09/13/08 07:31:34) |
Hey Guys
I agree with Andy on this one. The seller may not have known any better, and it was a very common modification on the East coast for saltwater fishing. In South Florida and the Keys, that was a pretty standard conversion to those old reels. I realize that hind-site tells us it probably wasn't the "kewl" thing to do. However, that mod worked very well, and was responsible for being able to land hard running fish (because of one's ability to apply that extra drag) that probably wouldn't have been landed with out the mod. I think I still have a few of those old reels here at the house.
Time is precious. Waste it wisely!
Barry |
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bulldog1935 |
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Posts: 3600 (09/13/08 10:30:40) Administrator |
 
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jgestar |
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Posts: 2714 (09/13/08 20:48:18) ezOP |
I've always said "There are no secrets on eBay". However, as Andy points out, if you wish to make sure
something isn't a secret, post a question on a discussion forum!
The seller had three modified Pfluegers on eBay. I think the unknown machinist modified these reels to lighten them, not to allow finger pressure on the spool. The backplate cutouts were pretty small. With those bored out spool holes, using finger pressure on a big fish would be a nasty experience. Plus all three reels had lost their line guards. Ron, that's not a bad studio shot of the reel. But it looks better on a rod with a fish in front of it! Tom |
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 WatercolorMan |
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Sport
Posts: 22 (09/14/08 02:18:30) |
Dudley why ? Am I missing something here. They sell plenty of reels you can palm and have heavy drag systems.
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dudley |
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Sport
Posts: 74 (09/14/08 08:59:35) |
WatercolorMan wrote:Well, I've actually gotten out of the habit of using Medalists regularly in the salt But only because they're not anodized and they require daily maintenance that other modern reels do not. The 'modified drag' system though works as well or better than any disk drag reel that I own It's infinitely and instantly adjustable and you have much more surface contact using your fingers on the spool then you would palming an exposed rim. When I first started fly fishing the salt, I used the gear that I had, which was a Conolon rod and a H-I, Medalist knockoff, reel. Mostly that was because I didn't know any better, but I learned as I went along. Coming up that way, fancy gear has never impressed me, 'cuz I learned to do it the hard way first. And besides.... they're Medalists |
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WatercolorMan |
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Sport
Posts: 25 (09/14/08 10:30:44) |
Dudley
I have 5 or 6 myself. I just had to ask . . . . I fish on the California coast just use different hardware to do it with. 
Alan
Last Edited By: WatercolorMan
09/14/08 13:49:01.
Edited 1 times.
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OLD YANKEE |
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Master Guide
Posts: 123 (09/15/08 05:11:16) |
Hello
The reel on the left looks to of had some up grades ? The reel on the right looks to be a genuine classic collectible ! Can you tell us what the up grades are on the reel on the left and how they improved the function of the reel ? Nice looking pair of reels ! Tight Lines and Retro Fitted loops Andy M
'FISH AND VISITORS STINK AFTER 3 DAYS' " DON'T FORGET THE BACKBONE" " REMEMBER TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FISHERY"
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WatercolorMan |
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Sport
Posts: 26 (09/15/08 10:28:00) |
Hi Andy
I was wondering who was going to ask about the reel. The reel on the right is a very nice example of the 1394 built between in the 1931-36 era. The reel on the left is a retro by Bill @ One-Pfoot . The first thing we started with an older Model from the early 50's. I wanted it to be a LHW and we all know hard a 1594 is to find. I picked a reel without a line guard so it wouldn't have the holes in the frame. I had a One-Pfoot added and a new Drag Plate for the LHW set up. Also replaced the click pawl and spring under it. Replacement screws were added when the new sculpted pillers were added. The round line guard was installed for LHW . Also a stainless Break adjusting screw was added as the perfect replacement for the old broken knob. Next the old Spool latch cover was replaced. To top it off a replacement handle was added. So what you have is the pimped out version of the Pflueger Medalist, the great American reel that dad and granddad used. But now it fits on all my rods and the drag system just purrs like never before. And the best part for me is its a LHW with the line guard. If you haven't added a new drag plate and click pawl & spring to your old Medalist you don't know what your missing, it changes everything. www.onepfoot.com Alan
Last Edited By: WatercolorMan
09/15/08 23:10:30.
Edited 3 times.
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bulldog1935 |
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Posts: 3612 (09/15/08 10:40:55) Administrator |
Alan, have you seen Bill's new anodized "Classic" OnePfoot?
It's a machined barstock version of the alloy foot on your 1394. http://onepfoot.com/classicpfoot2008.htm they're not quite as blue as Bill's photos indicate, but the modern anodizing does have a slight blue tint. Unlike their 30s predecessor, though, these are bulletproof
Last Edited By: bulldog1935
09/15/08 10:49:05.
Edited 1 times.
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bulldog1935 |
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Posts: 3613 (09/15/08 10:52:41) Administrator |
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OLD YANKEE |
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Master Guide
Posts: 124 (09/15/08 13:41:02) |
Hello
Thanks for sharing all the up grades. I am glad to hear that the reels function as never before with the addition of the drag plate and springs ! Tight Lines and Retro Fitted Loops Andy M
'FISH AND VISITORS STINK AFTER 3 DAYS' " DON'T FORGET THE BACKBONE" " REMEMBER TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FISHERY"
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bulldog1935 |
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Posts: 3614 (09/15/08 13:58:25) Administrator |
if you have one of the prewar Pat. Pending reels with the 2-click-wind ratchet plate (and you can live with RHW) - stick with it - IMO, these are the best of
all.
If you want to switch a post-50 to LHW (and pimp it out, etc.) then go with Bill's ratchet plate. (Alan, I believe your modified reel is post-1950) |
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Scooter2022 |
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Guide
Posts: 71 (09/15/08 14:06:15) |
Silver Doctor, Sorry if my posting the link to the auction drove the price out of your range.
It's hard to say, but there's a good chance that with all the people out there watching those reels it still would of fetched that price even if I hadn't. Like others said, it is a somewhat rare reel that still had some usable parts on it, like the metal latch cover. I doubt it would of slipped under the radar. Tom. |
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- Welcome, Messages, Claves, News, and FAQs
- Fishing with Fiberglass Fly Rods
- Glass Tech
- Collecting Fiberglass Fly Rods
- What's New on the Market
- Rod Pictures
- Classic Fly Reels
- Another Spin on Glass
- Rod Building & Tackle Tinkering
- The Tying Bench
- Fiberglass Fly Rods For Sale
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- Fiberglass Flyrodders Wiki
