Rescue from the deep

[Lunker Larry]

At a Muskies Canada meeting I had a buddy show me a reel he snagged from the bottom of the Ottawa River. At first I just laughed at it as it was heavily corroded and had obviously been in the river for a number of years. Anyway, halfway through the meeting I couldn't stop thinking about it and went over and grabbed the reel. They all laughed as they knew I couldn't pass on the challenge. Didn't think of taking any pictures until I had it opened and the mud cleaned out, but here are a few pics that may make you appreciate how it was. Cleaned it up and put it back together with all of its original parts, including the drag washers, and it works just like brand new: except for a few holes in it and half the star drag had corroded away. He actually used it over the summer and said it worked great. Here's a few pics I thought you might enjoy.

[floating doc]

Not pretty, but getting the job done.  I'm impressed. 

[Tightlines667]

You Musky fishermen sure are a dedicated lot.  My late uncle .. Jerry Peschon was an avid early member of Muskies Inc.  He lived near Spirit Lake, IA and did alot of custom reel, rod, lure work in concert w/ Berkly-Trilene (based there), and wrote a book of fishing secrets.  He, along with my dad were inspirations for my passion for fishing and working on the gear we use. 

Good work!

[whalebreath]

The Ottawa is a good sized river it scoured that Abu good!

Great work on your part-Thanks for sharing.

[Bryan Young]

Amazing!!!

[Ambassadeur Fanatic]

Bravo! Great rescue. I actually saw a 5500c3 at online auction recently that looked similar, but more holes. The spool looked like Swiss cheese. I think it went for a bit over $20. 

[DaBigOno]

Wow... Good job.

The reel looks bahsup...

[saltydog]

That's why I like ABU's they take a licking and keep on ticking away.

[Ken_D]

Beauty, eh?  Nice recovery. Here's one that's been out there for a bit.  Parts 2 and 3 are easily found after looking at pt.1