I was at a garage sale recently and was fortunate enough to come across this old rod and reel. The owner said it belonged to his father in law and he thought it was from the 30s or 40s but wasn't completely sure. I am unable to find any sort of part numbers anywhere.
The setup is very cool and in good overall shape aside from some pitting. Any help getting it narrowed to the correct era would be appreciated!
FYI - I am new here, so if this has been addressed somewhere I wasn't able to find please point me in the right direction!
Nice reel, lefty, and although not super tough and a later model as the guys point out (ie., handle is at the 7 o"clock rather than 5 o'clock position), its got good value. Good news is that it doesn't look to be salt burned, which usually plagues these plated reels. First order of business is to get that line off...nothing but bad can come of having that on there! Hopefully, you won't find any nasty surprises under there!
ORCA member since 1999 Honorary Life Member
Specializing in saltwater reels...and fly reels...and oh, yeah, kentucky style reels.....and those tiny little RP reels.....oh, heck...i collect fishing reels!...and fly rods....and lures
Very nice combo. Not much more for me to say except I agree with everyone's comments. The reel looks like it will clean up nicely.
The fact that you were not able to find a part number anywhere sort of guarantees that this rig is made between 1946 and 1952. One of the highly desirable traits any Penn collector looks for is, does it have Part Numbers or not? If this were a 1950's reel or later you would find part numbers some where on the metal parts. Normally almost all parts would be stamped or have a molded in Part Number on Post-1950 reels.
The next really neat tell of your combo is the rod. I looks like a split cane rod. That also dates the reel to the era that the seller claimed it to be. Look to see if there is any sign of the maker of the rod. Some old cane rods were marked by the makers.
I would take a reel like that, remove the line, as John said, clean the reel and the rod to what ever level of "restored" you want to bring it to and have a really nice display piece.
Since you know the people you bought it from and they have given you some provenance, you are on your way to having a special combo from the early days of a great maker. It is not often you can put a reel and rod together as a single collectable from the past.
mike cass,,, if you can't collect it, it must be food
Let me know if you want to sell the line. If it were my rig, I'd remove the line, wash it, neutralize the pH, dry it, wax the spool, and put it back on the reel. The rod and line are already more rare and harder to find than the reel. Some day folks will start to appreciate it and old reel collectors will realize they have been throwing away the best part.
-steve
Thanks again all. I am trying to find someone around here who specializes in this sort of thing, which seems like it may be tough in Central Illinois. I don't trust myself to take it all apart and do it myself!
OC1 - I'm with you - I think the line is one of the coolest parts of the setup. It seems my wife is less thrilled than I am about my find since we are prepping for a new little one in the family, so I may end up having to sell the entire rig. I will probably try to keep it all together if I do (hopefully I can find a spot out of the way to display it and she won't mind!).
