Thursday Review: ORCA Reel News (Nov. 2009)

Thursday Review: ORCA Reel News (Nov. 2009)

The always welcome Reel News, the official publication of The Old Reel Collector's Association, arrived and as always it was a great issue.

The cornerstone article of this issue is a piece by Graham Turner, the British collector who has published a revised edition of his Fishing Tackle: the Ultimate Collector's Guide. Entitled "Will this Multiplier Rewrite Reel History?" it posits a pretty bold claim that a newly found Ustonson reel will change the way we look at reel history. My personal take is that this is massively overstated, but I'll let others sort it out and I'm sure in future issues there will be much written in response to this article.

Steve Vernon returns to the pages with a great article on Sawitzke's Taffy reel in an article entitled "A Taste of Freshwater Taffy." It outlines perhaps the least aesthetic reel ever made, but one of the most interesting as well.

Bob Miller gives us another great "Pflueger Pfacts" article on the Oceanic surf reel. These work horse models were Pflueger's attempt to combat Penn, Ocean City, and Bronson in the inexpensive saltwater reel market.

My own contribution is an update to the first 25 episodes of "Reels of the Trade" and a new piece on Chicago's Mages sporting goods empire entitled "The Gift of the Mages." I've really enjoyed the five years I've spent writing these articles.

Ben Wright gives us "Another VERY Interesting Spinning Reel" in the form of the Mepps "Super Mecca." What a cool reel, and it was distributed not far from my cabin in Wisconsin by Todd Sheldon.

Stu Lawson gives us "Left Coast Tackle Shows" which cover the plethora of opportunities for those on the West Coast to get together and buy tackle.

Jim Madden's South Bend contribution this month is "The Best-O-Luck Reel" which details this mysterious South Bend trade reel. Kudos to Jim for uncovering this history.

Ed Slane returns with a profile of Ed Zorzi, Col. Milton Lorenz breaks down the South Bend 90 and 95, and Jim Schottenham gives us the always anticipated "Auction Report." A reprint of Mike Nogay's seminal article "So you want to Buy a Kentucky Reel?" fills out the issue.

If you are not an ORCA member--and why aren't you?--you can join in the fun byClicking Here. The Reel News is ably edited by Richard K. Lodge.

-- Dr. Todd