Please help ID this vintage side mount trolling reel

[Paul M]

Please help ID this vintage side mount trolling reel. A fellow contacted me via the ORCA Facebook page trying to get an ID and rough age. I have seen it before but can't recall who made it. We realize it is missing one of the knobs.

[kyreels]

Could be a Pflueger, could be missing a handle or else missing a counterbalance weight like this Pflueger.

[Paul M]

Thanks Matt! I thought that was a possibility but didn’t make the connection.

Paul

[Jim Schottenham]

I'm not so sure its Pflueger. But, since I've stayed focused on mostly the trout size side-mounts, I could be wrong on these larger big water reels.

Matt, is that reel of yours marked Pflueger? I've seen a few of these reels, though none were marked. I'd also look closely at that counter balance weight - on the backside. Has it been re-peened? If original, it should be smooth with no marks.

[Paul M]

I tried to find a Pflueger/Enterprise/4 Bros trolling reel like that but couldn’t. I found examples/images of the Captain, Monarch, Pakron, Sal-Trout and Taxi but none of those have the retro-looking spiral ventilation.

[john elder]

Think Pfl would also have a patent # on it, even if unmarked otherwise. Have never seen a Pfl in that spiral style.

[kyreels]

Seems that everyone is correct, it does not appear to be a Pflueger, although I was told that by lure collectors, and they are rarely wrong. That was one of the first 3 reels I purchased, and I have not looked at it in a long time. On close inspection, it has no marks. I can't tell if the counterbalance is repinged, that is just how I got it. I checked all the 10's and 20's catalog scans I have, it is definitely not Pflueger, but could not find this one. So, it is a mystery for now.

Guess I will be more careful in the future about passing along anecdotes. We have some real experts on this board, and I was just checking to see if they were paying attention. This was only a test.

[Paul M]

It's taken me a few years to get back to my own post to answer the question. Apparently the single action wire line reel with spiral cutouts was made by Horrocks-Ibbotson circa 1925. Thank you Wrong99.

[wrong99]

From the 1924/1925 Horrocks-Ibbotson catalog.