photo by Bulldog1935 |
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flyboy912 |
Question on Martin 60 |
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I have several of these things sitting here, two 60, two 62, one 61, maybe more. I have not used them yet, but in trying to put a line on a mint 60, the line
keeps jumping behind the spool and binding the darn thing up. If it isn't the line, it's the leader. Can these things be used without getting into a
fight with the reel eating the line in the middle of doing something important? I wanted to use it on a banty, but now I don't trust it. The 67SS-A seems
to be a better made reel. Glenn
Last Edited By: flyboy912 06/09/09 22:13:45.
Edited 1 time.
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pszy22 |
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Glenn,
I used to use Martin 60s pretty extensively about 30 years ago. I had bought probably about a half dozen at a store close out for $.99 each. I had to be careful not to overfill the spool and then to be careful when taking line onto the reel, and then be careful not to let any introduced slack near the reel. Needless to say I spent a fair amount of time fishing out leader from the clicker gear, and then trying to get the spool back into the can without pinching something. I don't think it ever happened to me while I had a fish on, I think primarily because there would be tension on the line to prevent a stray loop from working it's way behind the spool.
"People tend to get the politicians and the fishing tackle they deserve" - John Gierach, Fishing Bamboo
Fountainhead Fly Fishing Furled Leaders Just in Case Fly Rod Bags |
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whrlpool |
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Yes, the 67 SSA is a much more refined reel, the on-off click "tuna-can" models being very basic. The incovenience of the basic design is in spool
changing. The convenience is that they spool line very well in winding if, as pointed out above, you don't overfill them. Thread your line through the
frame/line guard before fitting the spool. Also, I forget if the inside spool plate has a little notch (most of the Martins do) to provide clearance for line
when the spool is slid into the frame. If it doesn't--these aren't valuable reels--I would file a clearance notch on the inner spool plate. Once you
have the line threaded and spool fitted, don't wind it back for storage--always leave a few inches extended so it can't sneak back in there. Once you
get used to this, you'll rarely have a tangle changing spools, and never in use. I like full frame/caged reels. For ease of spool changing, any of them
should have a clearance notch, which is unnecassry with open frame reels. We've gotten used to that style, which makes spool-changing very easy, but at the
expense of a more important trait, as they just don't spool or gather line in use as evenly as caged-frame reels, and they are more likely to shed an extra
coil or two in stripping. I'll take a reel that might tangle in spool changing over one that might tangle in fishing.
Anyhow, you can see the idea and use of a clearance notch on reels from Hardy, Young and so on. Here it's visible at about the 10 o'clock position on a martin MG3 spool, that reel using the same frame style as the your 60/1/2. In an ideal world, I like the clearance notch directly opposite the handle, since that way I know where it is without having to rotate the spool looking for it. Spool plates are rarely assembled consistently that way, though, but if I file a notch in, I'm gonna put it exactly where I want it.
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flyboy912 |
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P22, thanks for your confirmation of the reels tendency to get itself tangled up. I kink of thought that in actual use it would be more "user
friendly" but, I have enough to contend with while fishing without fighting equipment. I am driving 400 miles in a couple weeks to the Conejo in Colorado
and I need things to work as best they can so the tuna cans will stay on the shelf.
WP, I never noticed the notches before. Just looked through my reels and cannot find one. Medalist, South Bend, Martin Classic MC56, Olympic. Seems like a good idea-have to give it some thought. Of course, the tolerances on these reels isn't the greatest so I just push the leader/tippit through, but, if the tolerances were not so forgiving the line might get nicked??? Sounds like they need to get notched. Glenn |
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keebranch |
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Glenn,
Here's a "frugal fly fisherman" suggestion: find and outdated pizza special magnet or business card version and cut a 1/4" x 1/4" square or 1/4" diameter circle from it. Use these to hold the tippet in place outside and along the back plate of the reel. I've seen other variants of this practice and as long as the reel is steel and will hold a magnet, you're in business. les |
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whrlpool |
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Yes, those notches are often unobserved or a mystery. I remember seeing a high end reel on Ebay, a Hardy as I recall, very well photographed and obviously
described as accurately as the seller could. It included mention of a minor flaw: a notch filed on the spool as could be seen in one of the photographs. It
wasn't; it was the factory standard notch on that particular model, as I verified for myself by looking at several others. You are right that many very
good reels don't have the notch, but typically they have a little more clearance between the frame and the spool edge; with a Pflueger, for instance, you
can slide a leader butt, or even a line between as you slightly tip the spool before fitting it down the spindle. the notches are usually sized so any fly line
can be placed through it. I always thread and extend my leader through the line guard before putting the spool in place, so it's the line or leader butt
that typically goes in the notch. Here's another one on a JW Young at about 10:00 as positioned in the photo. On a serious fly-fishing trip, I'd darn
well leave the simple Martins behind also, or maybe one for a backup or with an extra line. I only use my on-off click models for pan-fishing.
Last Edited By: whrlpool
06/10/09 16:29:48.
Edited 1 times.
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flyboy912 |
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Les, I don't have any reel that sticks to the refrigerator, but, I have a set of needle files (I don't think anyone can get along without these
things). One is round and looks perfectly suited to the task. Consider my reels NOTCHED AND LOADED. Glenn
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keebranch |
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LOL
I'm trying to picture this... Les |
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wacokid54 |
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I hope you have a great trip to the Conejos. I sometimes think it gets fished more by out of state guys than by Colorado fishermen. I hope runoff is backed
off, and hatches are in progress. I think it is an absolutely beautiful place to fish.
Good Luck wacokid54 |
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flyboy912 |
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Thanks wacokid54, I am looking forward to it, and cooler weather. It should hit 100 here today. Glenn
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