Titchy baitcasting reel.

[irfonminnow]

Hi,

I want to do some spinning for chub and perch this winter, and I've bought a small vintage (40's/50's) baitcasting reel. It has jewelled spindle cap-ends, no plastic anywhere, and the spindles and cogs are machined and solid. They come up every so often on that e-*** site, and go for very little.

Why?
I like using vintage gear. If you see me during the trout season I'm the one fishing with a silk line, cane rod, and old Youngs (of Redditch) reel.

I can't afford another cane rod right now, so I'll be spinning with carbon.

My old spinning rod is a Scierra 7 1/2', 5 - 18gms, and I have no doubt it is up to the job, having landed good sea-trout on a smaller, less powerful rod when I fished the Wear a few years ago.

Now this reel is titchy. End-plates about two" across and the overall width of the reel itself is 2 1/2". I'm guessing it will hold about 100 yds of 12lb bs mono. No level-wind, but there is a ratchet button and a drag button (drag is non-adjustable), so the reel is interesting to cast.

I just took delivery this morning, and stripped, cleaned and lubed it by lunchtime, and had a little spell on the Irfon this afternoon using some old fly-line because I didn't have any bulk mono (i'll sort that out tomorow).

Predictably, my casting was rubbish, but I could reach the opposite bank before I finished, and could kind of place my lure roughly where I wanted.

Interesting sideline - I was using a rattling, floating 3" green and yellow plug minus any hooks to cast with. Four or five retrieves from the end of the session I had a big brown trout go for my lure - he actually hit it which made a good casting session better for me.

Phew - right, thanks for reading so far. My question is:
Has anyone any experience of fishing these old baitcasters?
Any problems or drawbacks?


Cheers,

Davidh

 

[MarkTheSpark]

I can't claim any experience of using old baitcasters (there are a fair few knackered old baitcasters subscribing to this website, though!) but the short answer is, if it works for you, go ahead.

I bet you'll be surprised how much line goes on - but if you'll take a little advice, use braid. Powerpro is lovely stuff. You won't regret it, and you'll get a bit more line on the reel.

---------- Post added at 17:04 ---------- Previous post was at 17:01 ----------

Ooooh. So nice. I'm saving up....

 

[Sean Meeghan]

My american brother in law uses an old Pflueger multiplier similar to what you describe. The problem is that many don't have a free spool and the handles rotate on the cast. I suspect that these reels were originally intended for trolling and that their use for casting came later. I've often thought of getting one, but one hasn't come up at the right price on fleabay.

 

[irfonminnow]

My american brother in law uses an old Pflueger multiplier similar to what you describe. The problem is that many don't have a free spool and the handles rotate on the cast. I suspect that these reels were originally intended for trolling and that their use for casting came later. I've often thought of getting one, but one hasn't come up at the right price on fleabay.

Hi Sean,

I got mine on ebay for under a tenner last week. The handle does rotate when casting, but I didn't find that a problem.

Take a look here - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130448302908&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

The reel was also known as a quadruple reel (four turns of the spool for every turn of the handle).
The thing is, these are so well-made and simple that the innards are likely to be fine when you open one up. As long as the outer casing and handle is OK (and the price is right) you can buy with confidence.


I've done a bit of internet searching on these reels. The early ones (many worth a lot!) were made before 1900. The user reels (like mine) are 1920 - 1960 or so.
Casting reels were made to be fished with a short rod, 6 ft and shorter, and an undressed silk line (bit like braid). I fish a vintage silk flyline which I prepared myself, so I know a little about that, and the only thing which puts me off using silk is the price (£30 and upwards for a vintage, £150 and upwards for a new one).

MTP has a possible solution for that - cheers Mark.

Davidh

 

[Sean Meeghan]

Looks reely nice David! It's almost identical to my bro in law's reel so I suspct that they were all copies of a basic design.

What reel is that Mark? Is that a mag brake? I've got a Curado which is as good a multipier as I've ever tried. Almost affordable too!

---------- Post added at 21:03 ---------- Previous post was at 21:00 ----------

By the way David can you still get silk fly lines? I picked up a Milwards Flycaster the other week which needs new rings. If I'm going to use it with modern fly lines I'll have to fit larger rings, but if I can pick up a silk (or terylene) line for no too much money I'll rering it as it was.

---------- Post added at 21:05 ---------- Previous post was at 21:03 ----------

Cost me about £25 including postage by the way!

 

[irfonminnow]

Looks reely nice David! It's almost identical to my bro in law's reel so I suspct that they were all copies of a basic design.

[/COLOR]By the way David can you still get silk fly lines? I picked up a Milwards Flycaster the other week which needs new rings. If I'm going to use it with modern fly lines I'll have to fit larger rings, but if I can pick up a silk (or terylene) line for no too much money I'll rering it as it was.

---------- Post added at 21:05 ---------- Previous post was at 21:03 ----------

Cost me about £25 including postage by the way!

Nice!

The basic design of the multiplier has been the same for 150 years - and it is basic.
Centrifugal and inertia thingies, disengaging drives, and thumb buttons all came about much later.
Strip one of these and you'll find:
A big cog (gearing) which is driven by the winding handle.
A small cog connected to the spindle (drive) which engages with the big cog.
A spindle built into the spool, with a cog at the other end which the ratchet and the drag connect to.
Er, thats it.

These reels have a ratchet (on or off), a rudimentary drag (also on or off), and you brake with your thumb. I was out for an hour today casting with a lure and no hooks, with the reel loaded with cheap 12lb bs mono.
The accuracy is still way off, but at least I can cast a reasonable distance now, without overruns.

Silk flylines.
Mr Zhu does one (do a search for him on ebay) for about £30. Some people like these lines. Personally I think the vintage lines are probably a better buy, but I do like my 7' Zhu built cane rod. Vintage lines come up on ebay for around £30, but you're better off checking them before buying because silk tends to rot if left damp for prolonged periods, and you can't tell if it is rotted from a dodgy ebay pic. A vintage silk line could be up to 80 years old (mine is), so its really best to check the line thoroughly before buying.
There are some new French and Italian silk lines which cost over £150 -Teranzio is one, can't remember the other one.

The synthetic silk (terylene) lines are truly horrible to cast. Cast one and you'll find out why plastic lines were so popular when they were first introduced!


Cheers,

Davidh

 

[Sean Meeghan]

Thanks for that!

 

[MarkTheSpark]

Looks reely nice David! It's almost identical to my bro in law's reel so I suspct that they were all copies of a basic design.

What reel is that Mark? Is that a mag brake? I've got a Curado which is as good a multipier as I've ever tried. Almost affordable too!

---------- Post added at 21:03 ---------- Previous post was at 21:00 ----------

It's a Quantum PT, Sean. Truly beautiful reels, even if they are knocked up in China.

 

[irfonminnow]

I can't claim any experience of using old baitcasters (there are a fair few knackered old baitcasters subscribing to this website, though!) but the short answer is, if it works for you, go ahead.

I bet you'll be surprised how much line goes on - but if you'll take a little advice, use braid. Powerpro is lovely stuff. You won't regret it, and you'll get a bit more line on the reel.

---------- Post added at 17:04 ---------- Previous post was at 17:01 ----------

Ooooh. So nice. I'm saving up....

MTP was right - 100 yds of 12lb bs has not filled the reel to anywhere near capacity. It will take another100 yds easily. I'll be taking MTPs advice and go for Powerpro when I come to load the spool for real. Thanks for that.

As far as casting goes I can now manage a fair degre of accuracy and can bang a lure out about 30 yds or so without an overrun. The lure I'm using at the moment is a little too light (but I have another about to make an appearance which is a bit heavier).

It seems to be a useable reel, which for a tenner is not too bad.

IM