I am bidding on a couple of Bretton 804 reels on that big auction site. Anybody have any experience with them? To be perfectly frank I just thought the silverish hammered finish looked cool and that's what sparked my interest.
I know what you mean about the somewhat unique appearance these reels make. There have been posts on this AT site before about some of these reels; I, myself, have never held one.
Frank
Here's some Bretton 400 discussion Frank was talking about. (https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=30851.0)
Thanks! The red plastic AR lever turned me off the 400 series for sure. Let's see if I win one of these 804s...or both.
Don't let daBay kid you, David, you ain't winning, you're just plain buying if you are so inclined to pay the price. ;D
Midway Tommy, good point.
Maybe Fred can remember for me.
I sent him a very nice well made full travel multipack rod with the reel, tackle, lures, line etc
I think it was a Heddon
Here is the one that Keith gifted me some years ago.
804.
Martin merged or bought out Bretton —- so this pristine old maroon reel is a Martin-Bretton
This is a complete travel package.
Both Martin and also Bretton were good manufacturers of quality tackle.
Best, Fred
Good looking reel Fred! Thanks for the pics.
Wow, that travel kit is amazing.
I swear Keith has an in with the 'reel fairy'.
The reel arrived just now. Initial impression, smaller than I expected, serial number on the foot, really like the greenish silver hammered finish. I'll dig into it next week some time, have company coming tomorrow for most of next week and will be busy being host.
I especially liked the rod that came with Fred's Travel kit. Extra pieces to have the action you want. It was well built.
The old Brettons are very good reels especially the gearing.
(https://i.ibb.co/VMPBRYM/atlantis-005.png) (https://imgbb.com/)
1., Bretton 602, Bj. ca. 1952
2., Bretton 804 Mod. 1, Bj ca. 1956
3., Bretton 804 Mod. 2, Bj.ca. 1958
4., Bretton 804 de luxe, Bj. ca. 1958
5., Bretton 400, Bj. ca. 1958
Beautiful reels, Walter.
Frank
Those are amazing...gotta get a couple more for my little accumulation of reels.
So I fished this reel a little over the weekend. Wish the leg was a smidge longer, the bail wire wants to hit my knuckles as I retrieve if I don't watch my hand position. Otherwise I think it felt and worked wonderfully. MY other reel on that outing was a ComPac Bantam, which made the Bretton look HUGE.
I bought a Martin Bretton 400 that's in pretty good shape overall but the medallion is missing. I don't suppose there is a source for a replacement? I could glue a penny on the spot like I did with a Daiwa 2300 recently but it's just not the same.
Here's a couple of pics with a 1959 FDR dime taking the place of the proper medallion.
I think that looks great, Dave!
Best, Fred