pflueger newbie questions

[bigfatrod]

Hey all,

Brand new to the board. Thinking about getting serious about old reels (well, as serious as my wife ALLOWS me to be). I have three of the Bougle IV repros, which I love, and I'm considering what type of reel to put on my very first 'boo rod which I'll be picking up tomorrow!

Anyhow, I've been looking at the vintage pfluegers. They seem to be within my price range, are tough as nails, sound great and are simple--everything I like.

I'm looking to use a 5wt. line with some room for, maybe, 30 or so yards of 20# backing. Seems the Medalist 1494 foots the bill, but I also like the other old styles Pflueger made.

So, my question is, what other sweet looking and functioning Pflueger model would suit my needs?

I'm pretty much flying blind here, I just know I like the Pfluegers, but I am open to similarly priced/appearing reels that are built well and have the great "click"!

Cheers!

BFR

[Richard Lodge]

Hi BFR: Welcome to the board. I fish bamboo and have been using either an older Medalist 1494 (I replaced the foot with one from the guy in N.H. who runs One Pfoot) and a 1394, which is a somewhat scare earlier model without a line guide or adjustable drag. Both balance pretty well on a 7 1/2' or 8' cane rod. I'll leave it up to others with deeper pockets to recommend a Hardy Perfect or similar higher-end reel. I, for one, think the Medalist 1494 is a wonderful workhorse of a reel with a click-click-click-click drag that takes me back many years.
Richard

[RAM]

Welcome to the world of Pflueger Apficianaos! I also fish bamboo for trout and pan fish. If you fish a 7 1/2" rod (4 or 5 wt.) nothing looks better than a Golden West or Hawkeye (or 4-Brothers Delite) in the 80 yd. size. Since it would be a miracle for me to ever cast 45' of fly line in a small trout stream what I have done is cut a double taper 4 wt. in half. That way there is plenty of room for some backing. With my 6' 9" rod I use a 60 yd. Delite with that half of a 4 wt. When I wear it out I still have the other half! Those little beauties are great reels, but can cost $200.00 and more. Just a matter of how good you want to look! The Medalist 1492 is light wt. and does fine with a 4 wt. weight forward line. Tight lines and good collecting to you! Bad Bob (the Pflueger Pfacts guy-at least mostly pfacts)[/b]

[el Lawrence]

Consider joining ORCA too! You will see more great info. on old reels in the newsletters (a small magazine put out by ORCA) that isn't included here on the web site. Might help you with keeping your collecting choices on the well thought out (and spouse acceptable) side.

Also suggest that you give some of the Pflueger bait casters a try too... fished the tournament up at Lake George with a Pflueger 1960 Nobby Deluxe with dacron line... similar could be mounted on inexpensive bamboo casting rod for a reel good time (at very low cost too)... I used a Sportcast on bamboo last year and had great fun with the older rigs.

I imagine you could find a good Golden West for not too much if cosmetic factors don't bother you and you just want one to fish... LOOK for ones with a bite out of the hard rubber or Bulldog has seen better days (faults that don't affect how it works)... should fish just fine. Then later you can work on condition for your budding collection if it becomes a favorite.

Most of us have reels we collect and ones we fish... and some that can do double duty. Fishing with the old stuff is very enjoyable... for me I think about every cast much more than with my new gear... just more intense somehow.