This afternoon I was replacing a guide on a friend's surf rod and ran out of black thread. I used the opportunity to visit and introduce myself to Tom Greene at Custom Rod and Reel in Lighthouse Point, FL. Tom is a Lifetime ORCA member and since I just became ORCA librarian I thought we should meet. He's a pretty unique guy. I took a few photos of the sales floor of his shop and will post below. We sat in his office and talked for maybe 30 minutes, and he showed me some of his incredible collection. His website is www.antiquereels.com if you haven't seen it.
He also showed me this Penn 704 with a factory manual pickup. I hadn't ever seen (or heard of) one before.
Wow....I could get lost in all that gear.....Bill
That was about 5% of what was in there.... not to mention his personal collection. He told me he's been in the business since the age of 11 in 1959 and hasn't ever had another job.
I would have thought I died and went to heaven if I walked in there. Where is it?
Lighthouse Point, FL. Just east of Federal Hwy. 1
I remember when it was called Custom Rod and Gun. Tom has gotten out of the firearms sales and it is just fishing stuff now. For those not familiar, Lighthouse Point is just north of Pompano Beach. It is a great shop. I have seen Mark Sosin hanging out there on more than one occasion.
Scott
Edit: I was just looking at some of the reels and this one is the Cat's Azz. It's a high speed, narrow, lever drag, Sailfish reel
Number 178
Gar Wood Jr. Enterprises
Miami
wow. nice stuff