Did GEP make reels? For displaying rods? If not what's this?

[BIllCousins]

Hi guys,

I am new here and came across this great site while trying to figure out what I have. Excuse my lack of fishing gear termonology. What I have is made out of lead and is heavy for it's size. It measures just shy of 3" in length and 1 3/16" wide. The bottom is concave. The tube coming out of the fish's mouth is hollow with a hole on the side of the tube. It reads on the side GEP-RODS. The fish has whimsical features. There is a tang at each end to fit onto a rod mount like a reel. It appears to have been blued at one time and still has traces of blueing mostly on the underside. No moving parts. 1940's?

Here is what I have gathered so far:

I showed this to several guys at the past fishing and hunting show in Milroy Pa. and nobody including the oldtimers and the show host have seen anything like it or could tell me anything.
I showed this to an old guy I know and he thought it was some sort of short cast reel. He said a certain length of line went through the hole in the side and out the front with you bait and the other end had a split shot so that when you cast the line, it always went the same distance with the split shot stopping the line by hitting the hole.
I have put it on a rod just like a reel and the threaded collars tightened it fast just like a reel.
Could this have been just a tradeshow item to display GEP RODS. I don't know. whew...sorry for the lengthlyness. Hope I get some feedback.

One more thing, it is not a whistle. If I had a nickel for every person I showed this too that blew into the end of it thinking that fish are going to start jumping out of the water at them...

Bill Cousins
Dalmatia, Pa.

[Reel Geezer]

Bill: Sorry to tell you, but the guys who said it was a whistle are correct.

I wrote an article about acquiring one of these for my collection for the May 2002 issue of The Reel News. A Gep Whistle came up on eBay in late 2001. I bid what I assumed was an astronomical amount - $86.00. I was outbid by "Whistlewillie" a whistle collector that I contacted to learn more. He stated that it was a rare whistle, and he had almost 3000 feedbacks buying whistles, so I believe him. I was astounded when another came up in February 2002. This time I was the winner and got my Gep whistle for $27.50. And yes, it does whistle. Yours is missing the plug that goes in the mouthpiece and directs the blown air at the hole.

Until you pictured yours, I had not seen another one. Mine is still in my Go-With display case.

[BIllCousins]

Well, majority rules. All those people who thought it was a whistle are right, I guess. You know that old guy that told me it was some sort of short casting reel was the only one who did'nt try to blow into it. Go figure.
I still have some questions. Why lead? Why does it fit onto a rod and why would a rod company make a whistle for a novelty piece? Wow, I did not think I would get such a fast responce. If this is such a rare whistle with a fishing advertisment on it I would think it would be worth more.

Can I get a pic of yours with the mouth piece?

[Dale Noll]

A photo would sure be great. I've read this post a dozen times and still cant figure out what it looks like!

Help Phil.

Thanks, Dale.

[Bill Bush]

I was curious myself, so I took the liberty of tweaking the pictures a bit. If this is not acceptable, I'll disable mine.

[BIllCousins]

Thanks Bill for tweaking my photos. I can't see the poor quality on my computer, the show up ok. Bill

[Reel Geezer]

I still have some questions. Why lead? Why does it fit onto a rod and why would a rod company make a whistle for a novelty piece? Wow, I did not think I would get such a fast responce. If this is such a rare whistle with a fishing advertisment on it I would think it would be worth more.

Bill: I don't know the answers to all your questions, but I have some guesses:
1. I never thought about mine fitting on a rod. I never tried that out. Maybe if you bought a rod you got a whistle free.
2. Why a whistle - there was a time when whistles were very popular in this country, and maybe that was the case.
3. As for the price: Many items are unusual enough that few people know about them. Thus, there is no demand. The buyer is rarer than the item itself. I believe that to be the problem. However, I'm sure "Whistle Willie" thought he paid quite a bit when he bought that one for $88.50, or whatever it was.

I believe if I had one of these for sale today that I could get well over $100 for it. I remember trying to sell many great fishing go-withs before they became popular and struggling to get what I considered a fair price - ie: tobacco tins, match safes, oilers, oil bottles, etc, etc. I can remember thinking that Dean Smith and I were the only people in the world that collected all those cool items.