After scouring the country for a few months, pestering every reel shop I could find and shamelessly begging, I was able to achieve most of my goal for this reel. I still need to find a decent and correct box. This is a model of the '52-'53 production year for the 130. It has the 3-piece spool, coin edge lever, "D-shaped" openings in the harness lugs, and the handle side plate is molded without external drag access. There are assumptions that the 1st year production did not include external drag but there is no definitive proof of this yet. It's fitted with the large 24-49 handle which is also used on the 49 and 149 Deep Sea and Mariner. Smaller sized handles were available if you wanted to request them and I have seen a few with the shorter handles. I prefer the 49 handle since it compliments the scale of the reel much better in my opinion.
I have had conversations with several fishermen who enjoyed the performance of this model and every one of those guys who gave up their Sailfishers regretted doing so. The scarcity of the proprietary parts forced most to shelve the reel or move them along. I can certainly attest to the difficulty of locating good clean parts.
Very happy to have this model tucked in with the rest of the gals on the shelf.
Thanks again to Mike and many others across the country who advised me quite well.
Yep, that's a sizable stingray barb under the reel. Would ruin your day for sure. Remember to shuffle your feet, Boys and Girls.
