Review of ORCA Reel News, Vol. 18, No. 5 (Sep. 2008)

Review of ORCA Reel News, Vol. 18, No. 5 (Sep. 2008)

The always anticipated Reel News arrived and it was a terrific read. As always, lots of information in it that you simply do not find anywhere else. Really great stuff.

We begin with my favorite article in some time--"A Kovalovsky saved from the Wild Blue Pacific," by John Elder and Brian Funai. Its the story of a rare, rare Kovalovsky reel found in Hawaii that John Elder restored. Pictures of the restoration from beginning to end. If you've ever wondered a) how to restore a reel; b) what the big deal about Kovalovsky reels is, let me tell you this article answers both questions for you. Really, really great job.

Jim Madden's contribution this month is "South Bend Bits: 34 Years With the South Bend #1000 Oreno." This is a great overview of one of the longest serving reels in the South Bend universe.

Ed Slane offers up a really nice article about taking a vintage Edward vom Hofe combo out for a spin, so if you've ever wanted to fish vintage tackle, this would be a perfect article for you. It's also an example of how ORCA has done a great job, as always, publishing articles that help preserve pieces of fishing history.

My own contribution this issue is Part 2 of the Abercrombie & Fitch/VL&A/VL&D family, "Von Lengerke & Detmold Reels." It covers the history of this firm from its origins to its heyday as one of New York's elite sporting goods stores to its eventual purchase by A&F. As all the "Reels of the Trade" articles, it covers ALL aspects of tackle sold, including rods, reels, and lures. Next Issue: Abercrombie & Fitch.

Roger Schulz reviews Phil White's new offering, Shimano Bantams: The First 15 Years. From the sounds of things, it is a really nice book. I'll order a copy and review it myself for the blog.

Along this vein, the always knowledgeable and entertaining Stu Lawson gives us "Today's Reels, Tomorrow's Treasures??" If I could go back in time and buy Shimano reels it would make me a very wealthy man today, so this article is a must if you desire to keep up with collecting trends.

Tim Bahr contributes Part Four of his four-part series on Indiana Reels with "The Marc Reel Company." This series was a delight and one can hope Tim will be a regular contributor.

Robert Miller's always popular "Pflueger Pfacts" colum explores "Unmarked Pflueger Reels (With Names)" which goes over, well, unmarked named Pflueger reels. I'm telling everyone out there right now this article means the difference between a $5 chunker on eBay and a $100 gem. You can't get this information anywhere else.

Col. Milton Lorens gives us the exploded view and info on repairing the Zebco Cardinal 4 in "The Reel Fix." Jim Schottenham's always popular "Auction Report" covers some startling sales of reels over the past two months. Ben Wright contributes "Who Was That Mysterious Man and his Spinning Reel?" which is a profile of Mr. Bache Brown.

Finally, Steven K. Vernon, resident Dean of Tackle Historians, offers us the first stage of the very ambitious Ball Handle Reel Project. "Baby's First Steps" is a great start as it breaks down some super rare reels by men like George Karr.

The Reel News is the official publication of ORCA, the Old Reel Collector's Association. You can join ORCA (and let's face, by now you're so excited you pretty much HAVE to join), by Clicking Here. The Reel News is splendidly edited by the erudite Richard K. Lodge.

-- Dr. Todd

PS JOIN ORCA NOW!!!!!!