Here's what happens when you don't pay attention

[RonG]

I was looking through some old photos on my website today and happened to notice something on a reel. I said to myself "What the heck is that?" Upon closer examination after blowing up the photo, I realized what it was. Seeing this reminded me of an earlier post by John Elder. He had observed that when you take closeup photos, you should look closely at the result. A piece of lint looks like a rope and a grain of sand looks like a bolder. I can add to that. An indistinguishable little speck can turn out to be a mosquito. By the way, I don't remember it biting me.

[Steve]

A piece of lint looks like a rope

Lint!? I don't have to show you any stinking lint.

[Kevin McJunkin]

Miss Buttercup is the source of many of my reel photography woes. You can usually distinguish between photo light glare and a rub, but a stray cat hair looks just like a scratch or crack. If I forget to wipe down a reel before photographing, one invariably shows up. Plus she steals q-tips from my desk drawer when my back is turned. Nevertheless, I am her human.

[Jason]

A few months ago I found two german silver screws on my garage workbench. I looked through all my reels trying to figure out where they came from. Eventually I gave up and put them in a tackle box for safe keeping. Today I was looking at some photos on my computer and look what I found.

[kyreels]

Too great for words. My issue is that I am afraid to dispose of any hardware, so I have a 40+ year accumulation. As soon as I throw anything away, I need it the next week.

[Kevin McJunkin]

Matt, your story reminds me of the time I purchased a couple of old Mitchell spinning reels and some parts at a local yard sale when I first started collecting. There was a handle with a carved wooden knob. Thinking it was a homemade piece, I pitched it. Not too long after that, I discovered that it was an impossible to find handle for a first model Mitchell. Many anglers replaced them with the later metal or plastic knobbed handles when they came out. Now I don't throw any parts away, either.
Kevin

[m3040c]

I deeply understand the woes of cat hair, especially long hair. But it is a small problem in terms of being owned by a cat. Miss Bellamy owns all the people under my roof and watches over my reel collection faithfully. Never know where she will pop out of in her daily adventures around the house.

[kyreels]

Close up zoom into metal pen
https://vimeo.com/355005914