My Grandfather's Pflueger Progress

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Paul Roberts
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My Grandfather's Pflueger Progress

Post by Paul Roberts »

This was my grandfather's Pflueger Progress fly reel, that he gave me; I think when he realized that he wouldn’t be using it anymore.

Grandpa Allen Putney (of Putney, Ireland, and Putney, VT), born in 1900, came from a line of Adirondack foresters, lumberman, and part-time fishing guides, and became a railroad engineer on the old Adirondack Line. His wife and 4 children (my mother was the youngest), for a time, lived in a cabin on a small lake only accessible by the train. He's in the back on the right. My mom and dad are the bride and groom. The year would have been 1959. Hey, look at Uncle Bob's wing-tips!

I also inherited his “fishing car”, along with his copy of Robert Traver’s Anatomy of a Fisherman (pub. 1964) that was given to him as a retirement gift by his co-workers. The car was a 1966 “Chevy II” Nova wagon in metallic blue that Grandpa bought upon retirement, and one that I suspect he felt was reminiscent of the Willy’s in Traver’s book.


The sticker was still in the glove box when I took ownership of the car (and the book and reel) around 1985 or 86. The car cost $2700 in 1966, and Grandpa had paid extra for a posi-traction rear end for those Adirondack back roads. I’m not sure he got to get all that much fishing in after he retired though, as his health deteriorated. He took to following Yankee baseball statistics. So I made sure the car got its share of fishing in, as I'm sure Grandpa knew I would. I have a soft spot for abandoned hunting dogs and fishing cars. And I made good use of the posi-traction too. A fishing and hunting buddy, Colin, would holler “Chevy II, comin’ thru!!” as we barreled our way to some, usually trout fishing or grouse hunting, destination; The back windows, half rolled down, streaked with Labrador retriever slobber. If you didn't roll the window down, your head would be wet by the time you got there.

I’ve used —and still use on occasion— the old Pflueger as a tribute to Grandpa Allen. (But only for small fish as it just doesn’t give line all that well! I wonder if I could fix that? :idea: ) Traver’s book still sits in my book case of fishing titles.

The rod here I built from an undated Exxon graphite blank. I bought two of them, in 1984, from the tackle shop I worked in. No one knew where they'd come from and it was thought they may have been prototypes. Both were 6ft long and very light weight, thin-walled blanks that I found had to be handled... delicately. One folded in two one morning, like a drinking straw, as I stripped line off the reel, readying to cast to a rising brookie in a tiny meadow stream I could easily step over. "Well.. there goes a lot of fun", I remember saying with a sigh. I wondered if maybe they hadn't worked out the hoop strength on these blanks then. However, on the second blank I took a 9lb rainbow on a 1kg line and spinning reel. Every time it leapt I had to bow to it, so it wouldn't land on the line and break it, and possibly fold the rod. Took 10min on a watch to best it, and it was darn tired. I decided that that was a bit too much of a stunt, and not to do that again. But I sure learned a LOT about fighting what I came to call "neutrally-buoyant hydrofoils"!

Here's my son, a few years back now, using his great-grandpa's Progress, dapping for bluegills.
Last edited by Paul Roberts on Mon Mar 01, 2021 1:20 pm, edited 10 times in total.
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Midway Tommy D
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Re: My Grandfather's Pflueger Progress

Post by Midway Tommy D »

Great nostalgia & photos, Paul!
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)

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john elder
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Re: My Grandfather's Pflueger Progress

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Wonderful post,Paul! Love that old Chevy II! Do you still own it?
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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
Paul Roberts
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Re: My Grandfather's Pflueger Progress

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Hi, John. I don't. I had it for several yrs, it accompanying me to university, where I could pick that nearly perfectly rectangular roof line out in parking lots from a long ways off. After I graduated and started earning I replaced it with a 4x4 Subaru (fishing car upgrade) that I loved. That old Chevy II was still around years later though, as I would occasionally catch a glimpse of it crossing some country road, usually in my rear view mirror. :) That old "stovebolt" 6 apparently kept on chugging for some time. Hey, maybe it's still prowling the back roads of upstate NY? "Chevy II, comin' thru!!"
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Mike N
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Re: My Grandfather's Pflueger Progress

Post by Mike N »

That was a pleasure to read. Thanks for posting, Paul.

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Re: My Grandfather's Pflueger Progress

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Thanks, Mike! It was fun to write.
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Paul Roberts
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Re: My Grandfather's Pflueger Progress

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Paul Roberts wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:49 pm I’ve used —and still use on occasion— the old Pflueger as a tribute to Grandpa Allen. But only for small fish as it just doesn’t give line all that well! I wonder if I could fix that? :idea:
:idea: I decided to see if I could correct this issue, esp now that I have a few (~3?) yrs refurbishing old reels under my belt! 8)
The reel is in excellent condition, nothing bent or chipped, clicker good. And the patina is simply lovely. However the spool chattered a bit on the spindle.

Before breaking into the project I'd kicked around the idea of creative shimming, with various materials. But, on the bench, the tolerances seemed pretty tight; Not a whole lot of play. So... with those ~3yrs of experience under my belt, I applied an old trick: I popped the spool off and placed a spot of oil on the spindle (high viscosity synthetic SuperLube). And... she spins like glass. Doh! :doh: She'll give line now without complaint. Heck, I think I could actually cast a lure with it (but won't). It'll get a dyed 3wt line, and may even become my GoTo tiny-stream trout reel. Hmmmm...I might have to build, or find, a rod just for it.


My other GoTo tiny-stream reel is a little Cortland Embassy #40 in "Champagne" green. A Cortland rep showed me one just prior to release. And I blurted, "Get me one!" And he did! I was esp taken by the little 40-size -being somehow drawn to waters that require more bow-n-arrow casting than... the upright kind.


The monster drag on the Embassy 40, carried over from the larger sizes, is WAY overkill on such a tiny reel. But a smooth running reel can be important at times, even on tiny streams! My Grandfather's Pflueger Progress looks to be ready for... whatever lurks. :fished
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