cool older rods and reels

I used to love these reels. Unfortunately, this isn't one of my originals. Had a bunch of stuff stolen from a storage years ago and lost all my original Quantam reels. I found this one on eBay a few years ago and got it just to see how it held up to modern reels. I'll get around to putting some line on it one of these days.



This is one of the original Joe Graves Texas Sidewinder Rods (spiral wrap). I still have 2 of them.



I bet some of the guys on this forum have some really cool vintage equipment they've held on to.

If this one could talk it could tell you about some mighty cool adventures. This is a Quantum Pro1C I bought brand new back in the mid 80's. I paid somewhere between $130 to $150 for this reel new and back in those days most premium reels were selling way south of $100. It spent most of its life clamped to an American made All Star WR1 and was my primary go to rig for Texas rig worms. There was 100's of fish boated with this rig. The WR1 eventually died in the lid of my rod box on one of my bass boats and I strapped it to an American made Falcon and kept right on rolling. The reel was regularly serviced but eventually I wore it out to the point it wouldn't even cast anymore. I boxed it up and shipped it back to Quantum and it came back looking better than new and no cost except for shipping. Quantum used to have a lifetime warranty on all their reels, and this isn't the only reel they rebuilt or replaced for me.

I have a Lews BB1 brand new in a box that was made by Browning back in the day, never used. I have an old Shakespere rod and a Shimano pistol grip rod with a matching Shimano bantan 1000 reel. I also have a Lews pistol grip rod that was given to me by a friend of mine that got it from Lew Childer himself and it is very rare because it has a white reel seat.

cardinal 3 and cardinal 4 spinning reels from late 70's early 80's...

ambassador 5000 and 6000 from 80's

ambassador 5500 from the 70's...rod on far right is a skyline graphite....first maker of graphite rods that I know of....

Ambassador 5000 reel from mid to late 60's...reel on far right is a shimano flipping reel mid 80s on a fenwick flipping stick.....first flipping stick that I know of...

Here's another oldie but goodie and it something I bought just because it existed at the time again probably in the 80's I don't think I've ever used it, but my daughter has. I believe this is a 40th Anniversary Edition of the Johnson Century. Looking at the construction and craftsmanship of this reel there's no telling what it would cost to build one of these now. Back before the days of the bait caster this was the reel everyone wanted.

I have the complete set of the Cranking, Ripping, and Pitching reels that they made on this 1310 MG platform. I still use them till this day. I bought a left-handed 1310 MG and used it for a while but just couldn't get used to the left-handed version, I bought it thinking it would speed my fishing up as far as getting the lure back out in a more efficient manner, but it didn't work out that way, so I sold it.

Here's an old Shakespeare I found in a house my dad was remodeling when I was a kid. There was also one of the original green box Lowrance FISH-LO-K-TOR that I held on to for years, but it disappeared at some point. Never did fish with this reel. Just one of those things I've kept for some reason. It doesn't have a spool release for casting.

JP, I had an old reel that was all Stainless with no release and I believe it was a Pfluger and it had the old Dacron line on it when I got it. One of my uncles had it and he gave it to me, I eventually gave it to someone.

Vintage! That's the stuff I still use. I get alot of funny look's on tournament day when there on the deck....Lol

I still have my first bait cast reel purchased at Oshman's at Town East Mall. It is an original Ambassadeur 5000B.

You guys got some very cool vintage stuff!


Closest I had to those were two combos as a kid.

I remember my dad giving me an Ambassador 5000 combo in the mid 70’s. Then he bought me my first Shimano setup around 1979 or so. It was from Kmart. It was a Shimano spinning setup. It was a Shimano FastCast 200 sized reel and a matching Shimano medium light rod. That reel was so cool. I could grab the line and the FastCast trigger to open the bail with one finger. Cast, the either wind the bail closed….or like a BOSS, I could flip the bail closed with the same trigger.

I remember him having a bait caster with a “President II” reel and one of the first graphite rods. He loved that thing. He would always tell me when we were looking at gear “count the guides, boy….the better rods are graphite and have more guides”. I don’t know if they were better back then, but I sure did get to counting them!

I love old vintage stuff.

The 1310mg was a really good work horse.. really good bang for the buck

The 1310mg Crankin Reel (3.8:1) was probably one of my favorite reels of all time from the Day. Slow rolling a big colorado blade they would eat it. Thanks for posting.

Those Cardinal reels were great! Skyline pistol was my first graphite rod for sure.

After that reel, I switched to the green Curados and Shimano has remained my favorite reel since.

Here's a Pluegar that my dad bought in a pawn shop in 1951 soon after he finished college. I believe it was made in the 30s. It's on a rod that I think dates to the 50s, and the Creek Chub Wounded Minnow dates to the 60s. The bass didn't know he was being caught on obsolete tackle. I still fish with this rig a few times each year. I learned to cast a baitcaster using it:



He upgraded to an ABU 5000 in 1958, then bought a 2nd one a few years later. He then let me have the old one and I have used it all my life. I replaced bushings with bearings and the old reel works better than ever. I have it on a Garcia rod that might be from the 70s:




I fish with it often and used it to catch this bass on a Hawaiian Wiggler made in the 50s. The old tackle still works:

The one I have it's what I use it for, It's like having power steering on a car after you've driven one for while without it when compared to other reels. I throw Mann's 20 pluses, DD22's, any monster deep diving crankbait with it. With anything around 5.4:1; which is the lowest ratio I've been able to find in the newer reels, about 30 minutes and I'm done. I can throw monster crankbaits with this Crankin' reel all day if I need to and never get tired. I can't believe someone doesn't make a reel in this ratio as many folks out there that like throwing big cranks.

I have a combo in my rod locker just like the second picture in JP's post. I use it for c-rigging. Have caught many fish on it and still do today when fishing deep.

I have an old lews speed spool made by Shimano from I believe the late 70's on a browning silaflex cranking rod from the 80's that will still cast a mile. Still used it up till a few years ago. I have since put it away for a keepsake.

Cool stuff coosa. Even cooler that you are still catching 'em on those rigs.

Thanks, I enjoy using the old tackle occasionally.

Ogles, a Johnson Century was the first reel that I ever owned and I learned to fish with it before starting to use a baitcaster. I think they came out with it in the 50s, and a lot of adults used them for fishing the plastic worms of that era. They were light, and much easier to cast on a spincast. Most considered the Johnson a step above a Zebco. I actually fished more with a Johnson Citation. It was larger and had a much faster retrieve. I also used a Sabra some for catfish. I still have working reels of all 3 models

I still have my original Ambassadeur 5000C and Fenwick HMG 556 I started off with. So many nights together on Monticello back in the 80's after Bob Garcia caught the state record there. I'll never part with it!

I have a 5 1/2 medium skyline rod with a 4500 abu on the rod rack.
It’s my favorite topwater walk the dog or popper combo.
I see you had some old school bps cork handle rods I remember back in the eighties bps would put on a sale buy two get one free. Bought 9 pistol grip bionic blades with cork handles .
Wonder why they don’t have sales like that anymore.?
Got numerous cranking sticks for 29.00 dollars still use them everytime I go fishing.

Wish I still had my original Lews BB1 that had Shimano on the side.

How bought this girl? I also have a green curado in the box and a red one.

I've still got that Bantam in a box somewhere. Only Shimano I ever had fail consistently. Couldn't keep the anti-reverse from letting go. Still got a couple of greenies. Don't fish them anymore but they're still capable.

The King of bass reels back in the early 70s when Toledo and Rayburn were coming on



It was a real luxury when you got 2 rigs, one for worm and one for everything else!



Pistol grip 5 1/2 foot rods were the thing then!

Didn't fish with this one but it was a work of art back in 1947. And $45 for a rod & reel was a lot of money back then. Direct drive, steel rod and heavy braided line. The rods were made from surplus World War 2 tank antennas. Have casted it some, thinking about trying to catch a bass on a vintage lure. For rods & reels today we have it made!

I have never seen that Hurd. Pretty cool.