Holy Smokes! John Bechtold's Mancave!!

[john elder]

LInda and I are visiting ORCA member John Bechtold and wife, Kim and you just would not believe the display of saltwater tackle that he has put together! The pics do not do it justice, but thanks to a lot of travel time, $ and help from fellow ORCAns, John has really done things up nicely! Probably the best indicator of just how nice it is....Linda, who normally turns her nose up at anything fishing-related, loved it!




You will note a younger Mr. Bechtold with a few things he pulled from the sea in the pics!

[Tightlines666]

Looks like some great stuff there!

Any chance we can get a little more detail on what type of Big Game rods he has got there?

[Brian F.]

That's pretty nuts, haha! I don't see a familiar 14/0 Kovalovsky. He must have graduated to bigger and better things!

[john elder]

Er.....word is that it has now morph'd into a 16/0 EVH

[kingfisher]

Well done John on putting together a fantastic collection of Big Game reels and rods.

Hope you made J.E. walk through the scanner on his way out.

[m3040c]

I CANNOT CLOSE MY MOUTH. I AM IN AWE OF THIS LABOR OF LOVE. FANTASTIC DISPLAY

[Richard Lodge]

Pretty amazing room, with a lot of great rods and reels and artwork really displayed well. Thanks for sharing, John, and thanks for letting us into your home, John B.

[54bullseye]

Boy what a display !!! Wouldn't I like to spend the day there looking and handling all that stuff most of which I have only seen in books. I would have a million questions for him. To John Elder do you remember what the rod was with the wooden bent or curved butt ? Beautiful collection !!! I also like the way he has all the rods hanging from the ceiling that would be a great way to display a bunch of cradle reels and rods !! I wonder why my girlfriend doesn't agree )(*&^%$%^&*( Really nice room and collection !!! John Taylor

[john elder]

John, those are tycoons tackle rods...really beautiful!

[Deepfins791]

Thanks, guys! John and his wife, Linda left this morning to head back home. We had a great time. Their visit coincided with the famous Pismo Beach Car Show. Yesterday, I hosted a BBQ I named the 1st annual “Wheels and Reels” party. In the morning we went to the car show and drooled all over the classic cars, and in the afternoon we drooled all over fishing tackle. Joining us were Randy Pauly and Steve Morse, a couple of ORCA members and first class gentlemen, as well as a few of my spearfishing and fishing partners. Steve brought up a beautiful 1983 vintage 130# Hardy Zane Grey reel and a 16/0 rim control Kovalovsky for show and tell. While the wives visited on the back porch, we were in the tackle room spinning crank handles, beating on stubborn crank handle nuts, and solving all the world’s problems. It was great fun!

How I managed to finance and put my collection together in only two years is a story in itself. But I couldn’t have done it without John’s advice and direction. He helped me get my foot in the door with other collectors. And he has always been willing to help me fix and restore many of my reels. John has been a good mentor (Sensei!) and friend, and I can't thank him enough.

I also owe a debt of gratitude to my wife, Kim, who encourages my passion for old tackle, and who supported not one but three coast to coast round trips I made by myself in my pickup to meet with other collectors around the country. I can’t think of a better excuse to get out and see our beautiful country. I love to see other people’s tackle and pick their brains for information. Everyone has a story behind their collection, and I find those stories fascinating. Through my travels, I have met some “reel” characters, and made some lasting friendships.

As for my rods, most of them are Tycoon rods. I also have some Edward vom Hofe, H.L. Leonard, and Hardy Zane Grey big game rods. The only glaring omission among my rods is I would love to find a Kovalovsky to add to my collection. So if anyone has a Kov’ rod gathering dust for sale or trade…!

Looking forward to making this an annual event and hosting the 2nd annual “Wheels and Reels” party in 2017! Everyone is welcome!

Oh, and John promised me there would be another Cardiff Show!

Cheers,
John

[Brian F.]

Really nice job, John!

Oh, and John promised me there would be another Cardiff Show!

Wait a minute....uh oh

[reeltackle]

Very nice John ...... makes me wish I lived in California so I could hang with you guys and play with big reels. The coffee table was a stroke of genius, and to think I had them up against a wall for years.

You have really put together a fine collection that you can be proud of, there sure is some "reel" history in that room. I am pleased to hear that John is going to host the show again in Cardiff, I am going to make every effort to make it out there this time around and look forward to hanging out with you west coast big game guys.

Thank you guys for sharing John & John, it is so cool to see such great tackle!

[Midway Tommy D]

Absolutely amazing room! Hopefully it's located within an air sealed bubble. If not, who's the lucky soul, or sole , as the case may be, that gets the privilege of dusting all of those neatly displayed items?

[john elder]

(SSSHHHHH! Quiet, Tommy! If John starts dusting, he might notice that some of his doorstops are missing)

[Deepfins791]

Dagnabbit, John!!

Here are some better pic's of the coffee table Ed is referring to. I acquired this set of 13 (DUST-COVERED!) Tycoon rods in original mahogany case from Ed a couple months ago while out on the East Coast. I had no idea where I was going to put them, so I just set the case on top of the existing coffee table in my man-cave. Then I got to thinking about actually making the rods/case into a coffee table. I had a friend with a nice supply of scrap hardwoods from an outdoor deck project. His scrap pile included a 10' length of 4X4 solid mahogany, and some 1X3 ipe. So I used the mahogany for legs and the ipe for trim. I cut "ledges" into the 4X4's and screwed a piece of 3/4 inch plywood into them. I used the ipe to trim the plywood, framed the underneath for support, set the opened case on top of the plywood, and "floated" a piece of glass over the case. Now I don't want to hear any jokes about my finish carpentry!

These rods were custom made for John Olin, and each rod is inscribed with his name. Olin was born in 1893. He was a noted sportsman and conservationist, and president of Olin Industries, a consolidation of companies which included Winchester Repeating Arms. He owned the horse that won the Kentucky Derby in 1974, and was named to the Hunting Hall of Fame that same year. Mr. Olin was also the inventor or co-inventor of 24 US patents in the field of arms and ammunition manufacture and design.

It’s always fun to know the history behind a nice piece of tackle!

Tim O'Brien was kind enough to send me a copy of the ad brochure for these cases.

Cheers,
John

[Brian F.]

Niiiiiice!

[Tightlines666]

[Jay White]

Wow, Very impressive John.Love the way you have displayed everything. I have a few of those "Big Boys" laying around. If you ever decide to visit North Carolina, you are welcome to come by and crank some handles at my home.

[m3040c]

Beautiful and ingenious job of displaying the John Olin rod set and I love the fact that you used recycled / reclaimed materials to make it happen.

[Nick in NY]

Nice! All about quality not quantity. At 1 time the collection was over 600 and growing till l focused on big game tackle as well. With only 37 pieces in the collection I was 2 reels from an example of every maker. The price of those 2 were inflated because l would pay any price. Well never spent the extra $ and have since downsized but do enjoy seeing other collections. Most rewarding is the all to rare field finds of yore. So with every piece in the collection l can tell you the pursuing history aside from a couple l paid/traded dearly. Tight Lines Nick in NY or

[mannishevitz]

I think he should adopt me.........

[sea ghost]

Reminds me of coach lombardis quote.....

By striving for protection we will know Excellence!!


Sea ghost

[bamboocollector11]

Just incredible!

[sea ghost]

Reminds me of coach Lombardi
quote.....

By striving for perfection we will know Excellence!!


Sea ghost