Classic reels

20241205_171416.jpg20241205_171357.jpgThis was made by Bengt Morner in Sweden. You can put it into freespool by turning the handle opposite the retrieve direction. Then on the underside of the handle is a leather pad that when you press the handle to the spool, it acts as a drag. He did this to allow Atlantic salmon to run past bridge abutments where he fished. He was an automotive engineer. I have emails from him explaining this and how to maintain the reel.
 
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WW, my first fly line (from the early 60's) is exactly that shade of green. It's a level size "C" floating line, nowadays called a 7wt. I don't recall what brand of line it is. You're lucky to have that line label.
 
Greg Armstrong said:
A variety of JW Young’s, a Dingley in the left middle, and a Hardy St. George on top of the Fye/Richardson fly box…

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Really nice collection. Thx for sharing the pictures.
Acquired my first Hardy St George 3" and fished it Thursday. Good reel but just a little heavy for my 6 & 7' bamboo.
Looks like I need to research JW Young and Dingley reels because I was not aware of those manufactures.
 
BigSplashTom said:
Really nice collection. Thx for sharing the pictures.
Acquired my first Hardy St George 3" and fished it Thursday. Good reel but just a little heavy for my 6 & 7' bamboo.
Looks like I need to research JW Young and Dingley reels because I was not aware of those manufactures.
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Thank you. Collecting them can become addictive, but it’s sure fun to fish these old antiques on equally old bamboo rods!

Dingley helped Hardy become what it was back in the day. He was arguably the finest reel maker in the early part of the twentieth century.

As I understand it, each maker at the Hardy shop was responsible for each of the individual reels they were working on, and would stamp the first letter of their last name on the innards of each of their reels upon completion… if you have an early Hardy reel with a “D” stamped on the inside, Dingley was the man who made it.
He later moved on from Hardy’s to start his own company, and produced some of the most advanced (and beautiful) reels of the time.

The book “D is for Dingley” has just gone back into production and gives the whole history about the man, along with amazing photos of his reels. It’s available on Amazon…


JW Young was a very successful competitor and produced many models of reels, most were stamped with the retailers name on them. “Allcocks” was a major retailer as well as Modarcum, Farlows and others… even Orvis had reels made for them by JW Young.

Here’s the best book on the company if you can find a copy.

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I know that some on this thread have some beautiful photos of some of these old, but very functional reels (I use mine all the time).

I’m hoping they post some more of them!
 
Here's a Young's reel that is a bit of a unicorn. A Pattern 8 in a 4" size with a rootbeer agate and a salmon sized pawl. Most Pattern 8 reels were in the 3-1/2" size and fitted with pawls suitable for trout. You can see the shape of the pawl with the longer shoulder on the left side that gives the spring less leverage resulting in a stiffer outplay and counter acts possible flipping of the pawl when the fish makes a run. If you've ever had that happen to your Hardy then you know what I'm talking about.

I have this reel in the current rotation and lined with 6/7 Rio Power Spey which sadly sees little use as my summer run steelhead fishing is nearly nonexistent.

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I once picked up a couple old Dingley reels, one 4" and another 3-1/2", both in the style of a St George. The finish was a little rough on both, but the overall build quality was smooth and strong, like a tank. They're both gone now, in the hands of folks who are coordinated enough to reel with their right hand (not me). Dingley with Lighting.jpgDingley & Favorite AI.jpg
 
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