The Pflueger Trump, model 576 fly reel is an unrecognized eBay gem. It's a small reel with a brown painted frame, a silver painted spool, and a plain clicker. Never a glamorous item, it doesn't have a disc drag, a palming rim, a deep dark anodized finish, or even a quick change spool. So why do I call it a gem? Because it's a simple, little reel that sells for chump change.
Around half the Pflueger Trumps have a light aluminum frame and weigh about 3 1/4 ounces. The rest have a brass frame and weigh a bit over 4 ounces. While the spool is only 2 1/4" in diameter, it is a full inch across. The downside of this spool is the narrow, 1/2" diameter arbor. It takes a lot of backing to fill this spool, no matter what line you put on it. And that much backing adds weight to the package.
Enter the old trick - the cork arbor. Take an aluminum frame Trump, two cork rings, a little contact cement and you have an instant medium arbor reel, lighter and cheaper than anything on the market. For that matter, you can make cork arbors for other spools with too much capacity (Martins come to mind).
First, cut 1/2" holes in the cork rings and apply contact cement.
Clamp the rings together. Cut the cork sandwich in half lengthwise. Sand out any bumps (or shape to fit your particular spool spindle).
Tape the arbor on the spool (winding line on the reel will tighten it down). The spool now has a medium arbor.
With a 1 1/2" diameter arbor, I can spool up to a weight forward six line with a little backing. With a 1 1/4" arbor, I can spool a WF7 with quite a bit of backing. Yet even with a line spooled, the whole package weighs about 4 ounces.
Hints: If you buy a Trump off eBay, look for chipped paint. The banged up ones are cheaper and give you a look at the underlying metal frame. Most Trumps have a loose interior spool side plate. A drop of thin super glue at the junction of the side plate and arbor cures it.
Tom
Around half the Pflueger Trumps have a light aluminum frame and weigh about 3 1/4 ounces. The rest have a brass frame and weigh a bit over 4 ounces. While the spool is only 2 1/4" in diameter, it is a full inch across. The downside of this spool is the narrow, 1/2" diameter arbor. It takes a lot of backing to fill this spool, no matter what line you put on it. And that much backing adds weight to the package.
Enter the old trick - the cork arbor. Take an aluminum frame Trump, two cork rings, a little contact cement and you have an instant medium arbor reel, lighter and cheaper than anything on the market. For that matter, you can make cork arbors for other spools with too much capacity (Martins come to mind).
First, cut 1/2" holes in the cork rings and apply contact cement.
Clamp the rings together. Cut the cork sandwich in half lengthwise. Sand out any bumps (or shape to fit your particular spool spindle).
Tape the arbor on the spool (winding line on the reel will tighten it down). The spool now has a medium arbor.
With a 1 1/2" diameter arbor, I can spool up to a weight forward six line with a little backing. With a 1 1/4" arbor, I can spool a WF7 with quite a bit of backing. Yet even with a line spooled, the whole package weighs about 4 ounces.
Hints: If you buy a Trump off eBay, look for chipped paint. The banged up ones are cheaper and give you a look at the underlying metal frame. Most Trumps have a loose interior spool side plate. A drop of thin super glue at the junction of the side plate and arbor cures it.
Tom
