Shakespear Beaulite German Dam

[Tiddlerbasher]

G - you won't believe some of the changes to fly reels - along with the cost

Have a look at this little beauty from Orvis:

https://www.orvis.co.uk/p/mirage-lt/2mts

[Donnyboat]

Gee chris, your persistent, thanks for sticking with me, I checked out your orvis thing O, I think I will stick with the reel i have, weld with controlled heat, dont worry, I have oxy acetylene hear, I will control it, yes I did check the you tube on welding, very interesting, cheers Don.

[Tiddlerbasher]

As Fred would say "Patience, Preparation, Persistence"
Or my alternative - Proper Planning Prevents a P**s Poor Performance

[wfjord]

G - you won't believe some of the changes to fly reels - along with the cost

Have a look at this little beauty from Orvis:

https://www.orvis.co.uk/p/mirage-lt/2mts

That's a sharp looking reel. I've read very good things about them, but only seen them on the internet; no Orvis store in town here anymore.  I've read the first Mirages were originally made in Korea. According to Orvis the Mirage line of reels are now made in the USA, in Vermont. I don't know if it was manufactured in Vermont or just assembled there. Orvis is not a manufacturer and has always had their reels made by various other makers --their classic CFO reels, presently out of production I believe, were manufactured by Abel a few years ago.

I've devolved back to the vintage click & pawl roots for at least a good part of my fly fishing, but I greatly appreciate high quality modern fly reels of any kind.


The aesthetics of these Abel Vayas are over-the-top. Their prices are way over the top!

[Tiddlerbasher]

As far as I know, not a lot , the Mirage and Mirage LT (my personal favourites) are now designed and made in the US (perhaps by Abel??)
I have a pair of the Mirage LT and I luv em - you just know when something feels so right in your hand. Their worth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder

[Gfish]

Thanks for those references guys. Man, they've gone waaay out there, especially with the cosmetics. I remember back in the day, the flyfishing tutorial I read when I's trying to get into it described the fly reel as ; "a storage unit for the line". I own't know, but I'm thinkin a lightweight disc drag would be nice for bigger fish. Either that, or just a well designed rim on the spool for "palming-drag".

[Donnyboat]

I am getting a lot from u tube, welding, casting, flies & so on, rerapping the rod now, tried to remove old varnish, was burning the thread, should come up good, was crap before, cheers Don.

[oc1]

Don, sometimes it is easier to remove old varnish by scraping a scraper or dull knife.  It will chip the varnish away clean and leave a decent finish ready for the next step.  Heat and solvents will make it gummy and difficult to remove completely.  
-steve

[Donnyboat]

Yes I agree steve, some of the thread was faded, so a re wrap I think is the best, not that I am much good @ it, I would never send a pic of my wrapping ay, cheers Don.

[Gfish]

Wanna see some photos when you get'er done Don!

Orvis has some great & expensive stuff made for 'em. But they have some lower end stuff too. Years ago I arrived at the Bighorn River, Montana, tailwater fishery after about a 120 mile trip. As the "crow" flies, my place down in Wyoming was only about 30 miles from the dam, but the straight through trip was off limits: Crow Nation reservation land. When I got there, "Aw maaaan, I forgot my reels!" So I bought this'n at the local fly shop.

Notice it says "British made"(maybe Hardy co.?). Nice aluminium spools and body, but plastic composite click pawls, same with the drag system which barely works. It fits the description of "a line storage unit". Got the job done, but will never last...

[wfjord]

Wanna see some photos when you get'er done Don!

Orvis has some great & expensive stuff made for 'em. But they have some lower end stuff too. Years ago I arrived at the Bighorn River, Montana, tailwater fishery after about a 120 mile trip. As the "crow" flies, my place down in Wyoming was only about 30 miles from the dam, but the straight through trip was off limits: Crow Nation reservation land. When I got there, "Aw maaaan, I forgot my reels!" So I bought this'n at the local fly shop.

Notice it says "British made"(maybe Hardy co.?). Nice aluminium spools and body, but plastic composite click pawls, same with the drag system which barely works. It fits the description of "a line storage unit". Got the job done, but will never last...

Greg,
Just a guess, but I doubt your reel was made by Hardy.  I would first guess Young, then maybe BFR, as they are the only other British makers I know of.  Young usually puts "British Made" on their reels, whereas all Hardys and at least the BFR reels I've seen say "Made in England."  Orvis acquired BFR (British Fly Reels) in 1993, but that doesn't mean yours wasn't made by Young.  Could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure all the Hardy made reels and the BFR made Battenkill I own are alloy, not aluminum --or at least certainly not machining quality aluminum. I think Hardy is now machining at least a lot of their reels out of high grade aluminum, if not all.

[jurelometer]

As far as I know, not a lot , the Mirage and Mirage LT (my personal favourites) are now designed and made in the US (perhaps by Abel??)
I have a pair of the Mirage LT and I luv em - you just know when something feels so right in your hand. Their worth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder

Abel reels used to be made in California. Manufacturing  moved to Colorado after Ross and Abel were gobbled up by the the same conglomerate / VC group.   The Orvis page says that the Mirage LT is made in New Hampshire.  So unless Abel changed it's manufacturing location recently, the Mirage LT is  probably made by a different company.

I am generaly not a sealed reel fan.  But  to credit Orvis,  they provide a wrench to get at the one way bearing in the LT.  Some sealed fly reels require special factory tools to open, and/or will void the warranty if you open them up yourself.

If I was still doing lighter freshwater fishing, a click/pawl setup with a palming rim is what would light my fire,  but you are right,  all in the eye of the beholder.

-J

[Donnyboat]

Thanks again men, Greg the opened reel you presented, the clicker, on the left in the pic, looks to be facing the wrong way, or is there a reason for that.
    the reel I started this post on, some one said it could be a Young reel, it has made in England on the front of it, not British made, so maybe it was not made by Young, maybe Greg I may send you some pics of the rod before & after, cheers Don.

[wfjord]

Thanks again men, Greg the opened reel you presented, the clicker, on the left in the pic, looks to be facing the wrong way, or is there a reason for that.
    the reel I started this post on, some one said it could be a Young reel, it has made in England on the front of it, not British made, so maybe it was not made by Young, maybe Greg I may send you some pics of the rod before & after, cheers Don.

Don,
I'm still learning, too, but let's see if I can get clearer on this --at least for myself, anyway!

It was Greg's Orvis Madison reel that has "British Made" printed on it --I was merely speculating about his reel. Orvis changed manufacturers on their various reel models so often that it gives me a headache trying to understand it.  A search on ebay brings up examples of Orvis Madisons, some of which have either "British Made" or "Made in England" printed on them. Even Pflueger made 'em, too, for a while during the '70s, but those looked more similar to Pflueger Medalists.  If in doubt, look on ebay!

An ebay search will bring up quite a few Shakespeare Beaulites made by JW Young. The printing on them varies and includes "Made in England," "British Made," "Made in Redditch England," and "Shakespeare Redditch England."  Most all of them look like pretty good reels, but those Beaulites with the green spool face are particularly attractive.

The partial paragraph below was taken from a page about JW Young & Co. from The Fishing Museum Online:

"In 1966 Jim Young was instrumental in introducing a magnesium alloy multiplying fly reel which was later called the Fish Hawk, and other 'Young' lines were designed, including the Beaulite, the Condex, the Speedex, and three reels marketed by Orvis and known as the Battenkill Ultra-light' range."
Source --- http://www.fishingmuseum.org.uk/youngs_history.html

[Donnyboat]

Wfjord, your really doing your home work, thanks for that, very interesting, cheers Don.