Hi John T. here I signed up for Alan's forum a while back mostly as an observer. I am also a member of ORCA and have posted some there but I never new you guys here were into some older reel as well as the new gear !!! I also see a lot of familiar ORCA names talking on this board as well. I enjoy all Big Game reels and rods from the 1930s to the present but the Cradle Reels and rods seem hold my attention better than anything else ! I figured I would show you people some of what I like and maybe I would get some pictures of your cradles in return. Here are some of my Ocean City Cradles some with original Montague rods some with non factory add on rods but I like them all !! The first picture from left to right.
# 1 an OC 816 - 16/0 cradle with factory original Montague 725 rod
# 2 an OC 814 - 14/0 cradle with a neat Tycoon Bimini King rod
# 3 an OC 812 - 12/0 cradle with original Montague "Hollow Glass" rod
# 4 an OC 810 - 10/0 cradle with a later Fin-Nor Tycoon fiberglass rod with Mildrum guides I had made.
# 5 an OC 809 - 9/0 cradle with an original Montague rod that was retied.
# 6 an OC 806 - 6/0 cradle with Factory original Montague rod'
# 7 last is an OC 804 4/0 cradle with original box and all paper work this one I need a rod for !
Like I said show me some of your cradles !! John
Outstanding collection of cradles!!!
....Lou
What an amazing collection! I don't have anything to compare to yours John, but here's my favorite.
Randy
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on January 15, 2017, 10:26:51 PM
What an amazing collection! I don't have anything to compare to yours John, but here's my favorite.
Randy
I have been looking for one of those !! Nice ! How about an 80 International ?? John
I thought once you posted pictures you could click on them to make them bigger ? Guess not ?? I would have taken close ups.
John
Quote from: 54bullseye on January 15, 2017, 10:42:48 PM
I thought once you posted pictures you could click on them to make them bigger ? Guess not ?? I would have taken close ups.
John
It works for me when I clicked and got enlarged photo of your amazing collection of Ocean City cradle combos.
What I saw when I enlarged was not only a stunning set of cradle rods, :o but also an absolutely jaw dropping collection of what appear to be museum quality reels. A few close ups of those stunning reels would be nice. We rarely get to see the big game Ocean City reels in that condition.
-Ted
Quote from: 54bullseye on January 15, 2017, 10:38:31 PM
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on January 15, 2017, 10:26:51 PM
What an amazing collection! I don't have anything to compare to yours John, but here's my favorite.
Randy
I have been looking for one of those !! Nice ! How about an 80 International ?? John
John, I'm sorry to say that I don't have the 80, but if you like the 50, consider it yours.
Randy
That's a heck of a lot better than money in the bank..!!
Those are amazing rods and reels.
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on January 15, 2017, 11:14:52 PM
Quote from: 54bullseye on January 15, 2017, 10:38:31 PM
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on January 15, 2017, 10:26:51 PM
What an amazing collection! I don't have anything to compare to yours John, but here's my favorite.
Randy
I have been looking for one of those !! Nice ! How about an 80 International ?? John
John, I'm sorry to say that I don't have the 80, but if you like the 50, consider it yours.
Randy
Okay it's mine ! Thanks
Quote from: handi2 on January 15, 2017, 11:19:50 PM
That's a heck of a lot better than money in the bank..!!
Those are amazing rods and reels.
I don't know much about money in the bank ??
Awesome collection John, thanks for sharing!
Sal
:o. Stunning, thanks for sharing...that is just awesome.
No fair John, now that I have seen yours, I am going to burn mine! :o :o :o :o
Quote from: Penn Chronology on January 16, 2017, 02:54:36 AM
No fair John, now that I have seen yours, I am going to burn mine! :o :o :o :o
I have seen yours Mike don't burn them send them to me !! Nothing wrong with you cradles !! I would love to buy the gold Nep-Tuna you have or had that would a fit an 80 International !! You still got it ? John
Beautiful collection,thanks for posting it. Randy,is that the neptuna with the truline octagon? I couldn't tell from the picture. Sheridan
Yes Sheridan, that's the one.
Welcome John, what an outstanding collection of cradles.....I am fortunate to own 1 Neptuna with a Penn 349 mounted on it, but is drilled for the Penn 49 also. This one came with a Johnny Walker rod, a fiber glass rod in what I call Key Lime Pie. With generous donations from the members here I did a full rebuild, top to bottom.
Here is a link to the rebuild and a picture......Bill
http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=19532.0
(http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj632/Fubarciw/fishing%20equip/20161209_163032.jpg)
QuoteI have seen yours Mike don't burn them send them to me !! Nothing wrong with you cradles !! I would love to buy the gold Nep-Tuna you have or had that would a fit an 80 International !! You still got it ? John
You mean this one........
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo244/m3040c/Cradle%20Reels/DSC00110_zps7191aaf6.jpg)
Yup, I still have it. That is is hard for me to part with.
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo244/m3040c/Cradle%20Reels/DSC00095%20480%20x%20360_zpstkvwdafc.jpg)
A long time ago, when NOS Neptuna cradles were all over EBay, I bought a bunch of them. Probably about a dozen NOS cradles from someone that got them direct from the manufacturer when they went out of business. I got them really fair and sold most of them. The International 80 was in the mix. I kept it because it was so big. It was NOS and I had no idea what reel it was fitted for. I tried different reels until I got an Int. 80 and it fit perfect, so I installed the reel in the cradle. Then a friend of mine sold me a 80 pound class rod for it with a locking reel seat. I cut up the rod and fit it to the cradle. Reaming the end for the locking reel seat was the trick. The rod end of the cradle had to brought up 1 1/4 inch to fit the locking reel seat ferrule that I cut out of the old rod. Bunch of time invested and it came out very nice. Had to borrow an 1 1/4 reamer from a friend to do the job.
I believe I have seen one other. They are very difficult to come by. That is why I kept it. I have seen some International 20's (sent one to Ray in OZ) and I believe I have seen a Int. 30 also. Maybe you have one. I forget.
John here's the cradle I got from you a couple years ago. I made the metal ferrule and fitted the split bamboo tip to it. I've had it out s few times fishing for sharks but haven't caught one yet. Your collection is probably a one of a kind as you know and is my favorite collection of any type fishing gear I've seen.
What an amazing collection. Those are interesting guides on the 14/0.
-steve
Quote from: TARFU on January 16, 2017, 05:53:02 AM
Welcome John, what an outstanding collection of cradles.....I am fortunate to own 1 Neptuna with a Penn 349 mounted on it, but is drilled for the Penn 49 also. This one came with a Johnny Walker rod, a fiber glass rod in what I call Key Lime Pie. With generous donations from the members here I did a full rebuild, top to bottom.
Here is a link to the rebuild and a picture......Bill
http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=19532.0
(http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj632/Fubarciw/fishing%20equip/20161209_163032.jpg)
TARFU I was watching your rebuild you did a great job !! Looks like a brand new rid. I also know you got the deal of the century when you found it !! Have you fished it ?? John
Quote from: Penn Chronology on January 16, 2017, 06:30:13 AM
QuoteI have seen yours Mike don't burn them send them to me !! Nothing wrong with you cradles !! I would love to buy the gold Nep-Tuna you have or had that would a fit an 80 International !! You still got it ? John
You mean this one........
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo244/m3040c/Cradle%20Reels/DSC00110_zps7191aaf6.jpg)
Yup, I still have it. That is is hard for me to part with.
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo244/m3040c/Cradle%20Reels/DSC00095%20480%20x%20360_zpstkvwdafc.jpg)
Mike did that wood butt come with the cradle or did you install it ? All the big Nep-Tuna cradles I have seen have a dark colored fancy wood of some kind I am not sure what it is ? The earlier cradles had butts more similar to OC cradles maybe Ash or Hickory. Sure is a nice rig!! I think I might have a place it would fit ! John
Quote from: The Great Maudu on January 16, 2017, 06:59:49 AM
John here's the cradle I got from you a couple years ago. I made the metal ferrule and fitted the split bamboo tip to it. I've had it out s few times fishing for sharks but haven't caught one yet. Your collection is probably a one of a kind as you know and is my favorite collection of any type fishing gear I've seen.
Mike you did a great job installing the rod I sure would like to see it bent ! You know I love the cradles but I find them uncomfortable to hold and fish with. The butts are usually short and there heavy and they seem to want to roll in your hands not balanced well I guess that might be why they never really caught on real well. The bigger cradles were most likely used in fighting chairs which probably made them easier to handle. Still I will bet a Giant Bluefin Tuna was a handful on even the biggest cradles !!! It don't make sense I am not crazy about how they fish but there my favorites to collect ? John
Quote from: oc1 on January 16, 2017, 08:23:54 AM
What an amazing collection. Those are interesting guides on the 14/0.
-steve
Steve those were standard guides on most Tycoon rods however they also had really neat roller guides which are really sought after ! John
I had the pleasure of having lunch with John Saturday. The pictures of these are just a teaser.
By far the best collection I've seen.
Dave
Very impressive John and others.
TARFU I was watching your rebuild you did a great job !! Looks like a brand new rid. I also know you got the deal of the century when you found it !! Have you fished it ?? John
John, I have not had a real chance to fish with it, holidays set in then high water here on the Sac delta, but my youngest son called "dibs" on any real fishing with it......
With all the cradles being shown, wonder what it would take to get a "Cradle Reel Thread" section started ::) Bill
I say HELL YEA to that!
wow. just wow. I saw a smaller Neptuna at a flea mkt a few years back for a few bucks but dismissed it as gimmicky. DOH......
Well if you guys start a cradle thread I have quite a few more pictures !!! John
Unbelievable :D
Quote from: 54bullseye on January 16, 2017, 06:37:51 PM
Well if you guys start a cradle thread I have quite a few more pictures !!! John
Please don't feel like you need to wait for a new thread,post away!
Here is a 9/0 Fin-Nor mounted in an 80 lb IGFA Nep-Tuna cradle. All Mildrum rollers and in really nice shape. John T.
4 more pics
Another classic from the collection of John......that's a great rig brother.....I noticed there is a golden brown finish on the cradle....is that a spar varnish and would the cradle originally been completely covered? Mine had remanants of the same finish, but I stripped the remaining as it just looked dirty. Bill
Bill I don't want to ruin the decals so I only cleaned it lightly. John
that's a beauty down to the original wrapping with the decal. Thanks for postng
I just love the combination of cradle and Mildrum guides. I wonder how many different reels Neptuna made their cradles for? It seems like all of them. John Taylor is the Cradle King!
Too cool...the design of the cradle is really quite futuristic...at an age where it was 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' you can see the design influence...a bit of Raymond Loewy and the like going on there.
Thanks for sharing your photos/collection with us...as you can tell, we all appreciate it.
Keep it coming. I can look the old classics all day...
Outstanding! What's the little red switch on the reel?
54Bullseye here are a couple of links to my Neptuna. I used it in Baja last November. http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=19663.0 http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=14857.0 Dominick
Quote from: Swami805 on January 24, 2017, 02:47:32 AM
Outstanding! What's the little red switch on the reel?
The little red lever is to set the max drag you want to run then by moving it in you can over ride and apply more drag. John
Quote from: Dominick on January 24, 2017, 03:06:21 AM
54Bullseye here are a couple of links to my Neptuna. I used it in Baja last November. http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=19663.0 http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=14857.0 Dominick
Dominick I saw those posts back when you did them. Did you catch anything with the cradle in Baja ??
Thanks, never really check out fin-nors
Quote from: Dominick on January 24, 2017, 03:06:21 AM
54Bullseye here are a couple of links to my Neptuna. I used it in Baja last November. http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=19663.0 http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=14857.0 Dominick
Dominick
I never noticed this post about the 9/0 Nep-Tuna until today. I see you made it back in January. Real nice rig and great to see it catching fish !! I bet a 100 pound Yellowfin would have given it a good work out !! The reason I noticed it is the other 349 cradle post was moved for some reason and that somehow led me to yours!!! Great post and cradle set up ! John Taylor
Quote from: 54bullseye on March 29, 2017, 10:10:22 PM
Quote from: Dominick on January 24, 2017, 03:06:21 AM
54Bullseye here are a couple of links to my Neptuna. I used it in Baja last November. http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=19663.0 http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=14857.0 Dominick
Dominick
I never noticed this post about the 9/0 Nep-Tuna until today. I see you made it back in January. Real nice rig and great to see it catching fish !! I bet a 100 pound Yellowfin would have given it a good work out !! The reason I noticed it is the other 349 cradle post was moved for some reason and that somehow led me to yours!!! Great post and cradle set up ! John Taylor
John, one of the members Bill (Tarfu) suggested we as moderators create a Cradle Rod thread. Lee (Keta) took all the cradle reel stuff and put it in the new cradle reel section. Now the members can find all the cradle reel information in one place. I love your collection. My cradle reel took up a lot of room in my suitcase and it was fun to use. I'd like to bring it to Baja again in June but it is a pain to lug everything I want to bring back and forth. I am not taking a lot of the lures with me anymore. Dominick
Yeah Dominick I agree as to the cradles not being the slimmest set ups around !! Heavy and hard to pack I am sure. Great idea for the cradle section I will be watching it faithfully. Let me know if I can ever help with info on cradles. Thanks John
I never tire of looking at these cradle set-ups. Cool stuff.