The Ben Wright Memorial Spinning Reel Report for May 2016

As many of you know, our dear friend Ben Wright passed away two weeks ago. I have no doubt he was hard at work on the Spinning Reel Report up until the very end. I've hosted his Reports here on the blog -- with the exception of about ten months -- for almost a decade. It's like an old friend. When I wasn't posting anything else I would always post Ben's column.

Seems a shame not to have it, so I put one together myself. If anyone out there wants to take over/help with the Ben Wright Memorial Spinning Reel Report, please drop me a line. 

We miss you Ben, but we won't ever forget you.

ABU GARCIA

Cardinal 3 Black IB 135.50
Cardinal 44 First model IB 117.00 Seems like a good buyer’s price?
Zebco Cardinal 4 Ex 99.00
Cardinal 854 Level Drag Ex 79.50

SALTWATER

Fin-Nor #3 in Ex $279.00 Seems like these are gaining in price of late.

MITCHELL

Mitchell 440 Auto IB 229.50
Mitchell 300 Pro Series IB 173.00
Mitchell 308 IB 172.00
Mitchell 408 IB 163.00
Mitchell 308 UL  IB 160.00
Mitchell 308Z IB 151.80
Mitchell 909 Lefty Ex 140.50
MItchell 4896 HS IB 114.48
Mitchell 302 NM 109.50
Mitchell 306 Cut-Away Display 104.73 Hard to tell if this was original or done in home shop.
Mitchell 308 NM 90.89

GERMAN

Dam Quick 330 IB 119.00
Dam Quick 1202 IB 110.00 This was a pretty reel.
Dam Quick 1000 IB 88.00


ITALIAN

Cargem 44/M in Exc  $266.00 That’s a solid price for this!
Holiday 30 239.00
Alcedo Mark IV Ex 175
Orvis 50A 144.49
Orvis 350 UL VG+ 124.23
Orvis 75A Ex 150.00 A high price on this one.
Orvis 51A VG 89.06
Zangi V3 VG+ 130.00
Linea Tubertini NM 100.00
Cargem Mignon Ex 106.99
Alcedo Micron IB 102.50


SWITZERLAND

Marine Record IB 120.00
Record Spinning IB 98.87
RU Recordette IB 95.00

BRITISH

Ilingworth No. 3 Ca. 1914 175.00

FRENCH

Luxor 1st Mod. Ex 99.99
Centaure Pacific 5 VG- 100.75
Centaure 600 IB 99.99

AMERICAN

Airex Apache IB 86.00 A very good price for this
Penn 706 Spinfisher Green Ex 160.00
Penn 706 Spinfisher Green Ex- 160.00
Penn 7500SS High Speed 99.99
Penn 9500SS High Speed Ex 125.00
Penn Spinfisher 716 UL IB 114.48
Luxor A2 Half Bail Ex 125.00
Pflueger Pelican IB 95.00
Can City 350 IB 94.00

JAPAN

Shimano Baitrunner 6500B Ex 98.88
Shimano Sustain 6000FB Ex 124.88
Daiwa Gold GS-9 IB 120.00
Browning Mitchell 908 UL Ex 113.50

Fishing Lures I Have Known, Vol. I: The Palsa -- The Unoriginal Finnish Minnow

Today we are excited to launch a new regular series on Fishing for History. I am calling it Fishing Lures I Have Known, and it is available to read, download, and distribute for free! Rather than let vultures copy-and-paste the text from the blog, I've made this is a static .PDF file which everyone should be able to read, open, and save right from their browser.

This edition is entitled The Palsa -- The Unoriginal Finnish Minnow and it covers the history of one of my favorite obscure imported fishing lures. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to share via Twitter, Facebook, email, etc. But please don't add/delete anything from the file if you do. You can also send people directly to this page so they can download it directly from the server, too. Whatever works for you!

Read about (or save to your device by right clicking) the Palsa Minnow by CLICKING HERE.

-- Dr. Todd

Lang's ORCA Reel Auction Catalog is Now Live!

Cool news for you reel hounds out there! Lang's is running a special time auction of 57 lots of nothing but reels, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit ORCA! How cool is that? We get a shot at some killer reels and ORCA gets some sheckels thrown in for good measure. Damn fine idea, if you ask me!



You can check out the auction (and learned what a timed auction is) by CLICKING HERE.

-- Dr. Todd

A Short History of the Rubber Worm

While doing some research on a project dealing with Texas history, I ran across this really great article on Nick Creme, inventor of the modern plastic worm, which had the accompanying video below. It's an easy read and a reminder that even something we don't consider very collectible -- rubber worms -- have a great history behind them.



-- Dr. Todd

The Mystery of Toledo's Buddy Reel Company

Researching tackle companies is tricky under the best of circumstances. Mostly, it’s an exercise in futility. This is especially true when one considers a company like the Buddy Reel Company of Toledo, Ohio, whose existence (as far as I can tell) comes down to a single advertisement run in a single month.

The ad in question, pictured below, can be found in two slightly different styles. The top one is from the August 1922 issue of Popular Mechanics and the bottom one is from the August 1922 Elks Magazine.





These ads were run in a variety of different magazines, including (but not limited to) Hunter-Trader-Trapper and American Legion Weekly, among others.

What’s interesting, and strange, about this advertising campaign is that it was run mostly in large circulation national magazines not specifically aimed at anglers. It was a very ambitious plan that put the Buddy Reel Company in front of millions of potential buyers.

The reel itself is a mystery. It certainly looks like a simple nickle-over-brass Montague or Shakespeare trade reel, and the price of $2.65 was right in line with that style of trade reel.

The ad raises many, many questions. Were these reels marked “Buddy” or “Buddy Reel Company”? Who made them? Why did the firm disappear so quickly, as the only known ads were run in August 1922, when the fishing season was mostly over? Who was behind the Buddy Reel Company? It’s slightly depressing we may never have answers to these questions.

There are hundreds if not thousands of companies like the Buddy Reel Company. We may be able to find information on 10% of them, but that doesn’t keep us from trying to find information on them.

So who has information on the Buddy Reel Company?

— Dr. Todd