New member from Pacific NW

[Matty M.]

Hello!
My name is Matt Mahre and I’m a new ORCA and message board member from the Seattle area. I am a former fly fishing guide, amateur aquatic entomologist, and humble collector of old fly reels - and more recently, casting and saltwater reels.
An old friend of mine with an antique dealership started my collecting in the 1980s. His shop is unique, in that it’s primary stock all leans towards old stuff for guys, e.g. fishing and hunting gear, carpentry tools, military surplus, antique signage, etc… Due to my passion for fishing (I’m sure you relate) I always gravitated to the fishing gear, and particularly the old fly reels. The problem is, most great and early US reels were produced far to the east of the Seattle area. In 20+ years of collecting I acquired a small collection of Meisselbach Experts, Amateurs and Featherlights, mostly from estates of old easterners that retired out west.
Suffice it to say, except for one prized Edward Vom Hofe reel (a No. 721 12/0 from a dear old man from Red Creek NY) the pickings have been slim for me.
That all changed this July when I ran across David Lehmann’s wonderful site, The Antique Angler. His in-depth descriptions and encyclopedic knowledge of reel history pulled me in. He encouraged me to join ORCA and that’s why I’m here today.
I want to again thank David and my old pal, Bob at the antique shop, for fostering my appreciation for old reels; particularly anything from the great NY makers. I look forward to continuing my reel education here, and on the extensive ORCA data base.

Thank you and Happy Holidays,
Matthew Mahre (Matty M.)

[john elder]

Welcome, Matt! Always glad to see a new recruit come aboard. I think you’ll find a lot of new friends here and lots of reels to learn about and add, if you so desire! When time permits, post some pics of your collection and indicate your wants. And yes, Dave and his site are great, with lots of stocking stuffers to harvest!

Best

John

[Midway Tommy D]

Welcome, Matt! Always nice to see a new collector board the ship.

[RonG]

Collecting old reels and studying their history has always been a passion for those you'll meet on this message board. You can also go to the Members Only area and download the old copies of the Reel News at https://www.orcaonline.org/members-only/ . There's a handy subject index there if you're looking for a particular reel maker.

[kyreels]

Welcome Matty! Great addition to our club.

[Matty M.]

Thank you John, Tom, Ron and Matt for the friendly welcome. It’s nice to be greeted by such esteemed reel historians and collectors. I’ve creeped around Reel Talk, the main ORCA site and some of your personal sites for a few years now and appreciate your insightful knowledge.

I’m attaching a pic of one of my display cases to give you an idea of my eclectic collection - fly reels on the top shelf, casting and saltwater reels below. I’ll post detailed pics of individual reels at some point in the future in the ‘General’ or ‘Show and Tell’ section.


Cheers!
Matty Mahre

[Steve]

Welcome aboard, Matty. Very nice display in a wonderful case. It even looks like a few of your pachyderms may be casting flies.

[Matty M.]

Welcome aboard, Matty. Very nice display in a wonderful case. It even looks like a few of your pachyderms may be casting flies.

Thanks for the kind words, Steve!
It’s a little known fact that a raised pachyderm trunk can cast tight loops and mend line beautifully, no rod required. I hear most elephants are dry fly purists, too.

Cheers,
Matty