Collecting Reels — What it Really Means, To Me…

[slosh]

I never thought of myself as a collector, but rather one who wants to do the most with/for the least. Older reels are just the ticket for this.

I can (and do) catch as many fish on a Daiwa 1000C as my buddy can with his new Stradic 1000. 6 years from now when that Stradic is dead due to a $5 discontinued part, that 1000C will still be clicking along as good as ever. I'll find another 1000C for $5-$15 here and there and add to the collection, just in case I follow that same approach for all of my reels.

I'm blessed that my kids are picking up on this too. My son bought a Mitchell 308 for $8 at a flea market when he was 10. Since then he's picked up several silver Daiwas for cheap, and he helps get them slicked up in the shop. He even saved up enough to get a GS-10X from ebay, and I 'sold him' (I didn't actually take his money) a Daiwa SS 1300 we found a good deal on. He is set for life on spinning reels.

I have a very small number of reels that I don't fish. One is a vintage Daiwa Mini-Spin combo in great shape, the silver-color rod and the 700C reel. I have fished it, but I'm scared to death I'll break the rod so it stays on a shelf. Not everyone's idea of a collectible, but I love having it to look at.

I have a Mini-Millionaire 1000 with a cracked sideplate that sits after it caught a few bass and bluegill. It didn't cast as well as I'd hoped, probably because it has bushings and no casting brake. I'm going to 3D print sideplates for it soon and try to get it back into action -- maybe the 3D-printed sideplate can include a housing for a tiny neodymium magnet for cast control?

A Centaure Pacific that I got with no bail arm sits on the shelf, but at least it's a great looking reel. The part is simple enough that I could make one, just need to find the time/motivation.

Finally I have so many Mitchell 300s that I have a few on display. I rotate them out with my users from time to time.

I've tried -- with mixed results -- to get friends and family to take this same approach to reels. One well-to-do buddy is serious about catfishing, and he's rough on gear. He killed a set of Shakespeare CLs, then he was having trouble with Ambassadeur C3s (he keeps his gear on the boat year-round and none of it gets babied). On my advice he switched to Jigmasters, and 20 years later most are still in service! He's slowly replacing those with Daiwa slosh reels, which also seem able to take the abuse. I service 1 or 2 of his reels each year. I'm trying to get him to spring for some old metal spinning reels, since -- believe it or not -- the newer plastic stuff never lasts a full year for him.

[work2fish]

I never thought of myself as a collector, but rather one who wants to do the most with/for the least. Older reels are just the ticket for this.

+1 on the idea that older reels are the ticket for doing the most for the least amount of $$. My approach to reels is not totally rational, though. I am attracted to reels that are simple and durable, that I can service myself, and that have parts available either from places like Mystic or from cheap donor reels available on the used market. In short, lifetime reels.

So, from time to time I find myself thinking "If my reels are lifetime reels and 5-6 of them can cover all my possible fishing use cases, why do I need 50 of them?". Some of it is wanting spares for future parts. Part of it is just the fun of finding a good deal on eBay, and part of it is enjoying the challenge and learning of servicing a secondhand reel and getting it in fishing condition.

I can (and do) catch as many fish on a Daiwa 1000C as my buddy can with his new Stradic 1000. 6 years from now when that Stradic is dead due to a $5 discontinued part, that 1000C will still be clicking along as good as ever.

I love the Daiwa 1000C. When I was a young teenager I got a 1000C combo for my birthday. It was my only fishing reel and I used it for everything... bluegill, bass, catfish, carp, pier fishing and even surf fishing on our trips to Florida. I opened the case from time to time and squirted grease in there, but I never really serviced it. It worked well until a few years ago, when my son dropped it and the reel broke off of the foot. Luckily, Fred had a very nice one that he sold me. I still use that 1000C combo to catch bait for my catfishing.

[slosh]

+1 on the idea that older reels are the ticket for doing the most for the least amount of $$. My approach to reels is not totally rational, though. I am attracted to reels that are simple and durable, that I can service myself, and that have parts available either from places like Mystic or from cheap donor reels available on the used market. In short, lifetime reels.

So, from time to time I find myself thinking "If my reels are lifetime reels and 5-6 of them can cover all my possible fishing use cases, why do I need 50 of them?". Some of it is wanting spares for future parts. Part of it is just the fun of finding a good deal on eBay, and part of it is enjoying the challenge and learning of servicing a secondhand reel and getting it in fishing condition.

I've had that same thought too. Haha there's something to be said for the dopamine hit of finding a steal of a deal on something that few others will appreciate. I could never buy another reel again and be more than set for life, but what's the fun in that?

[Gfish]

It started with old lures given to me by Gramps and some uncles. I noticed the quality and detail were so much better than the plastic stuff of my generation. There were a few, like the "Bass Oreno" still made out of cedar wood, that could still be bought new, but without those detailed hard plastic doll eyes and some of the other quality aspects like screw-in hook holders with metal cups.

Siting with my Dad in the office of a Vascular Surgeon(Dad had to get a shunt put in for dialysis) I saw a book on old fishing reels. On the next visit, I brought in a pre-1920 BF Meek & Sons baitcaster for him to see. He took some time to explain several aspects of old reel collecting and let me take the book home to check-out. Any adult guy, including Dad, that paid that kind of attention to me(even in my mid-40's!)about something that really interested them, had me hooked.