Pflueger AUTOPLA
Pflueger AUTOPLA
Is there a 12 Step Program to get off the Slippery Slope that is reel collecting? What can I say, I could not resist the splendid orange & black marbled knob on this old Pflueger. I'd never known how the AUTOPLA worked or realized it was pronounced Auto Play. Still not sure why Pflueger developed the concept & am intimidated by the recoil spring inside. Seems like a zany idea, guaranteed to cause problems. It did make a good Birthday present.
Would enjoy reading a copy of the instructions if anyone has them. It must have been like fishing with a big tape measure, fighting a fish against the coiled spring. Has anyone actually fished with an AUTOPLA? Can I presume this was a short lived phenomenon around 1930?
Would enjoy reading a copy of the instructions if anyone has them. It must have been like fishing with a big tape measure, fighting a fish against the coiled spring. Has anyone actually fished with an AUTOPLA? Can I presume this was a short lived phenomenon around 1930?
YO Araye 50-Did I miss your name somewhere? Anyhow, I wrote one of my "Pflueger Pfacts" articles several issues back on Pflueger automatic reels and discussed (with an illustration) how the Autopla was to be used. Check it out. If you don't have that back issue, it is available from the ORCA Store. Too much effort to rewrite it here (lazy in my old age). But it was a relatively easy process and shown in the Pflueger catalog. Beautiful reel! Bad Bob
PS- It was not an Enterprise patent but one they bought rights to. That patent is also shown and described in a book I wrote-Reel Related Patents of the Enterprise Mfg. Co. (out of print but maybe a friend has one you can look at). Ciao!
PS- It was not an Enterprise patent but one they bought rights to. That patent is also shown and described in a book I wrote-Reel Related Patents of the Enterprise Mfg. Co. (out of print but maybe a friend has one you can look at). Ciao!
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
Is there any way for me to get a peek at that article? I have an AutoPla and need help with it. Thanks.
- Midway Tommy D
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
The article is in the Jan 2003 Reel News, pg 14. You can purchase that, and other Reel News magazines, if you are a paid ORCA member. You can order volumns here or view the Bibliography here.
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)
Tom DeLong, NE
ORCA Member - 2027
Tom DeLong, NE
ORCA Member - 2027
Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
Do I have to become a member to order that $7.00 article?
- Midway Tommy D
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
That is my understanding, but and Officer or Director could better answer that question.grayrock wrote:Do I have to become a member to order that $7.00 article?
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)
Tom DeLong, NE
ORCA Member - 2027
Tom DeLong, NE
ORCA Member - 2027
Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
Let's see... $40 to join, plus the $7 for the article vs. I buy a working reel on ebay for $32.50. Hmm. No thanks. I'll muddle through the disassembly myself, then buy a replacement if needed. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Pflueg ... :rk:2:pf:0
- m3040c
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
Last edited by m3040c on Wed Oct 17, 2018 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
mike cass,,, if you can't collect it, it must be food
- john elder
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
You can also ask questions on this board and will almost always get answered. This board is supported by the club and is free to all. Part of each member’s membership fee goes to support not only this board but the Fishing Reel Research site maintained by the club, which is chock-full of info about all makers and growing constantly. The search program also has much information to harvest, all for free.
ORCA member since 1999
Honorary Life Member
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
Honorary Life Member
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
- escharfie
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
Hi Rob. Good to see you here. The answer is that there is no 12 step program. Just live with it.
- Paul M
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
Just to expand on John Elder’s post, the corporation within which the club operates is a registered non-profit 501(c)3 so to maintain this status we can only charge what we have to for survival of the club. Club membership fees are the only routine way to cover the costs of producing the club newsletter- The Reel News, providing and operating this website, operating the ORCA online library, organization of the club and its conventions etc. Membership fees plus a dedicated team of volunteers and a few very generous donors help keep the club going. The club charges its paying members for back issues of the Reel News to cover printing, storage and handling costs. Going forward our paying members will be able to self-serve downloads from our extensive digital library. Join the club online by setting up an ORCA Online store account in order to get self-serve library access. This will be posted officially in the upcoming November 2018 edition of the club newsletter. We charge members fees for library items that the librarian has to pickout/print/mail/email.Midway Tommy D wrote:That is my understanding, but and Officer or Director could better answer that question.grayrock wrote:Do I have to become a member to order that $7.00 article?
Anyone taking that reel to a for-profit reel repair business will pay multiples of the costs discussed above and will learn nothing about reels. Our non-profit mission includes education about the history of reels and their makers. If you want to learn about old reels, there is no better club. Sometimes the info you seek is contained in the public part of our website. Paid membership gains access to the rest. Hopefully this explains the rationale behind our related fee policies.
Paul Manuel
Member since 2006
Member since 2006
- Midway Tommy D
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
Thank You for a precise and extensive explanation of the ORCA membership policies and benefits, Paul!
Well thought out and written!
Well thought out and written!
Love those Open Face Spinning Reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco)
Tom DeLong, NE
ORCA Member - 2027
Tom DeLong, NE
ORCA Member - 2027
- Paul M
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
BTW if anyone really needs reel information from ORCA that requires the payment of membership fees etc they could join, pay the fees and then research and write an article or several about their reel(s) or anything related to old reels. If it is unique and good enough and gets accepted into the Reel News, ORCA pays contributors for what is published. Write a couple of good pages and you could get back more money than the cost of joining and the document that you would like to have.
Paul Manuel
Member since 2006
Member since 2006
Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
That was an excellent response, Paul. If it's not already, it should be made part of our introduction on the web and FB pages.
Aloha
Brian F.
_________
ORCA Member 1997
Got a spare reel stamped "Pflueger" or a Montague Imperial?
"Caution, objects in reel view mirror are older than they appear."
Brian F.
_________
ORCA Member 1997
Got a spare reel stamped "Pflueger" or a Montague Imperial?
"Caution, objects in reel view mirror are older than they appear."
- Paul M
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
Brian and Tommy thank you. I expect there will be a few statements and announcements related to this subject in the November Reel News. Let’s see what words David and Richard decide to publish officially. Corresponding policy statements and announcements should follow on Reel Talk.
Paul Manuel
Member since 2006
Member since 2006
- Jonathan P. Kring
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
I never knew that! I think I wrote an article and probably had to pay to have it published. It wasn't about reels since I know nothing and that was in the Dark Ages, perhaps it was about starting a fire with a flint? I think I am going to have a brief article published about ORCA and collecting in the Nov. Arizona Fly Casters News Letter (Or not) Stay Tuned.
Cast your cares upon the Lord. Psalm 55:22
Then He said to them, "follow Me and I will Make you fishers of men". Matthew 4:19
Then He said to them, "follow Me and I will Make you fishers of men". Matthew 4:19
- Paul M
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Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
You have to read the fine print in the Reel News! But we like it best when authors donate their payments back to the club ... seriously!
Paul Manuel
Member since 2006
Member since 2006
Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
So what is the normal procedure for using this reel? What sequence of events happens to cast it? I took mine apart for a basic "field strip" without touching the spring side. Removed the crank side and the spool. Cleaned, lubed and reassembled. It still won't freespool.
Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
The method is simple: When you lift up the rod while playing a big fish (as you normally would do) the spring is not "playing the fish", but when you then lower the rod the spring automatically winds in the few feet involved in the drop of the rod tip. Hence it automatically "plays" the fish. You don't have to crank in line. Hence the name. The method is well illustrated in the catalogs (1930s). I included a copy of the illustration in my article on automatic Pfluegers which can be purchased by members from the ORCA store. Membership and availability of research are super bargains for anyone seriously interested in reels. Much better investment than lottery tickets. Did any ORCAns buy one? Odds of winning the 1.6 B are one in one quintillion. Odds of finding the answer to a reel question are one in one-for members.
Bad Bob
Bad Bob
Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
How do I cast the bait with this reel? Mine will not let me.
Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
It's been a while since I had one in my hands but the lever on the head plate should function as a freespool release just like all of Pflueger's other models put out at the time. Not sure why your reel doesn't. The Pflueger bridge and freespool mechanism is very similar to a Penn. The Pflueger schematics that came with the reels are not that easy to read so not sure even if you found one that it would help.
Aloha
Brian F.
_________
ORCA Member 1997
Got a spare reel stamped "Pflueger" or a Montague Imperial?
"Caution, objects in reel view mirror are older than they appear."
Brian F.
_________
ORCA Member 1997
Got a spare reel stamped "Pflueger" or a Montague Imperial?
"Caution, objects in reel view mirror are older than they appear."
Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
The last time I remember playing with this reel when it functioned properly was over 40 years ago. If I remember, the knurled knob on the left side of the reel pulled out to allow it to spin freely. The lever on the right just seems to disengage the crank. However, now the knurled knob does NOT seem to pull out. Am I wrong in thinking that was how this reel worked?
Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
The coin edge knob on the tail plate pulls out to disengage the spring. You can not disengage the spring if it is loaded. The lever on the head plate disengages the main gear from the pinion with a Koph-style clutch.
Disengage both spring and clutch to get free spool for casting.
The only way to load the spring is by pulling out line or turning the handle backward with spring and clutch engaged. If you are retrieving line with the crank then the spring will not be loaded.
It was a really stupid design. Don't try to make sense out of it.
-steve
Disengage both spring and clutch to get free spool for casting.
The only way to load the spring is by pulling out line or turning the handle backward with spring and clutch engaged. If you are retrieving line with the crank then the spring will not be loaded.
It was a really stupid design. Don't try to make sense out of it.
-steve
Re: Pflueger AUTOPLA
The magazine is worth every penny of the membership fee.
you can tune a piano,but you can't tuna fish.