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Post 30 Nov 2017, 08:35 • #1 
Guide
Joined: 07/14/15
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Location: CA-QC
I think people put British reels on American rods on a regular basis. Anyone doing the reverse? I am just setting up a Pflueger 1494 on a Hardy Jet 7.5 foot five weight. The rod is 60’s vintage and the reel is possibly earlier. The Pflueger balances the rod nicely. I expect to prefer the Pflueger to say a Young or Hardy reel for the relatively quieter click when fishing quiet locations for spooky fish. other interesting combinations?


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 09:08 • #2 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/21/13
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Location: Perth, Western Australia
Is this even a thing?


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 09:36 • #3 
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Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
it mostly came from cane - Brit reel on American rod is the best of both worlds.


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 11:33 • #4 
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bulldog1935 wrote:
it mostly came from cane - Brit reel on American rod is the best of both worlds.


As with beloved British sports cars on American roads; but, do all British fly reels leak oil? ;)


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 11:36 • #5 
Master Guide
Joined: 12/31/13
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Location: US-Mount Pleasant, SC
Tomah wrote:
bulldog1935 wrote:
it mostly came from cane - Brit reel on American rod is the best of both worlds.


As with beloved British sports cars on American roads; but, do all British fly reels leak oil? ;)


To say nothing of their electricals...


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 14:18 • #6 
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Joined: 04/20/07
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I never give a thought to it. I use whatever reel/line combination works for the fishing I'll be doing that day, and same for the rod. Where either was made, who made it, the time period of manufacture, the color and so on don't even enter into it.


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 14:36 • #7 
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whrlpool wrote:
I never give a thought to it. I use whatever reel/line combination works for the fishing I'll be doing that day, and same for the rod. Where either was made, who made it, the time period of manufacture, the color and so on don't even enter into it.


Bingo! why fret? you like it? fish it! :-)


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 16:17 • #8 
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I don't think anyone ever gave it a thought, except it's been mentioned by those of us who happen to like venerable American cane rods, and maybe also happen to like venerable British fly reels. It has nothing to do with their point of origin, and everything to do with their function.
The thread is not even about preferences, because only a handful of fly fishers on this side of the pond have ever tried a British rod. The Brits learned a long time ago what they had to export. The thread is simply about an opposite to an axiom that doesn't mean anything to anyone, anyway.
It's jokes, except for asking if anyone has other examples to throw up.

It was about 1920 when Hardy became the fly reel maker to emulate on this side of the pond, too, and US makers wasted no time working up their versions of the St. George that might stand their patent and trademark infringements in court. Oops, prewar Perfect clones didn't pass the bar, nor did Dowiagic attys. Otherwise, Pflueger and Shakespeare high-power lawyers managed to keep the Medalist and Russell going in spite of their obvious infringements.
Image Image
The 1938 Medalist patent drag was, however, a clean sheet of paper.

fwiw, Hemingway liked Hardy rods, but then he never fished a dry fly in his life.
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Then you have to ask if the Hardy rod is a Fisher, after all.

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Thomas Special rod, and Thomas Special reel
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before that (1915), this was the All-American approach - a benchmade conventional American fly reel on a quality American fly rod.
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I did go through every reel I ever tried on my Farlow Armourcane, but alas
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Why was Farlow Armourcane ever imported? Because post-fire Leonard, Norm Thompson, and Lee Wulff figured out they could make more money selling imported factory cane blanks than building them to sell. Nice little semi-para 5-wt, though - kind of a pocket rocket.

But the axiom kept going with glass, too
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Even SA offered it in perfect combos - Fisher rods and Hardy reels.


Last edited by bulldog1935 on 01 Dec 2017, 07:22, edited 2 times in total.

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Post 30 Nov 2017, 16:21 • #9 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/13/07
Posts: 630
Location: GB
Easy to understand. Yanks make the best rods. Brits make the best reels.


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 16:26 • #10 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/28/16
Posts: 930
Location: Northern WI
Creek wrote:
Easy to understand. Yanks make the best rods. Brits make the best reels.

Hear, Hear. I love my Ross R's but nothing beats the sound and aesthetics of a vintage Hardy lightweight.


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 17:44 • #11 
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Location: urban Colorado
Marty Romeo wrote:
Tomah wrote:
bulldog1935 wrote:
it mostly came from cane - Brit reel on American rod is the best of both worlds.


As with beloved British sports cars on American roads; but, do all British fly reels leak oil? ;)


To say nothing of their electricals...


Lucas Electrical, also known as the Prince of Darkness..

"a Landrover doesn't leak oil, it just marks its territory"


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 20:36 • #12 
Guide
Joined: 07/14/15
Posts: 113
Location: CA-QC
I think the conclusion is that there aren’t many examples of good British rods post the cane era, and not a whole lot more examples of American reels....the question only came to me because I happen to be putting the Pflueger on a Hardy JET......and come to think of it, wasn’t Tarantino an American who designed the JET?


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Post 30 Nov 2017, 21:07 • #13 
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yes.
and Fisher built most Hardy blanks, but I don't know enough about it to know which ones.

As far as great British cane, not really - they're pretty much all big para and semi-para. Thick-tip wet-fly rods.
American rods are progressive in long rods and para in short light jewels. American rod builders were willing to experiment and push both type rod tapers to extremes.
Basic production rods like SB323 and Heddon especially in lengths shorter than 9' and lighter ferrules are jewels.
The 8' 2-1/2 oz No 39 Leonard Fairy Catskill I showed above is line G - 3-wt - from 1915.
Image

I'll also add that Hardy was first making conventional frame winding-plate (Hercules) reels - their first big break was worthwhile alloy castings - before they figured out the Perfect in 1891.
As far as the St. George, Uniqua and centerpin in general (the model for all contemporary fly reels), they first got the idea from JW Young and his Simplex reel of 1895.
http://www.antiquetackleobserver.com/20 ... 1870-1921/


Last edited by bulldog1935 on 01 Dec 2017, 07:32, edited 4 times in total.

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Post 30 Nov 2017, 21:19 • #14 
Guide
Joined: 02/22/16
Posts: 307
Location: Livingston MT
Marty Romeo wrote:
Tomah wrote:
bulldog1935 wrote:
it mostly came from cane - Brit reel on American rod is the best of both worlds.


As with beloved British sports cars on American roads; but, do all British fly reels leak oil? ;)


To say nothing of their electricals...


I had a 1965 Sunbeam Alpine with Lucas electrical system. Wipers wouldn't work in the rain, lights wouldn't work in the dark, you get the idea. Why do the British drink warm beer? Because Lucas makes refrigerators.....:rollin


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 02:25 • #15 
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Kalgrm wrote:
Is this even a thing?
Well put! +1.


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 05:30 • #16 
Guide
Joined: 07/14/15
Posts: 113
Location: CA-QC
Thanks Bulldog for a nice reminder of some really nice early American rods...and British reels.


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 07:17 • #17 
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Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Whether it's a thing or not depends on whether your favorite wish books are Kaufmann's Streamborn or Folsom Arms.
Image Image


Last edited by bulldog1935 on 01 Dec 2017, 07:52, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 01 Dec 2017, 07:29 • #18 
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Kaufman's, some dream and much reality, me being mostly a pragmatist. Lost touch years ago after I had two or three lifetimes worth of fly tackle. Gosh, I think I bought some of my first Fisher blanks from them, but maybe not. Checked up on them about the time of the bankruptcy a few years ago--are they reborn in any way now?


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 07:34 • #19 
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Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
I haven't looked at one since the 80s, and last bought arctic fox online from them, but they make a good literary device.
MRFC is alive and kicking.


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 08:42 • #20 
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whrlpool wrote:
Kaufman's, some dream and much reality, me being mostly a pragmatist. Lost touch years ago after I had two or three lifetimes worth of fly tackle. Gosh, I think I bought some of my first Fisher blanks from them, but maybe not. Checked up on them about the time of the bankruptcy a few years ago--are they reborn in any way now?


I don't think so. I had visited their store both before and after it moved, as I often traveled to the Portland area on business during the '90s and early '00s. I remember buying some weighted nymphs from them. I was interested in rodbuilding back then, and though I didn't actually start for another 14 years or so, I admired the Struble reel seats, etc. in the Streamborn catalog. Great store, and catalog. Sad that they went out of business. Bringing this back to topic (sorry for taking it off), I don't recall if Kaufmann's carried Hardy or other British rods, but reels certainly.

Did visit MRFC this year; their catalog still has some rodbuilding stuff. Bought a fly line, a Cortland #5DT Sylk to fish with my (decidedly American) Steffen 804/5. Would love to spool that line onto a British reel.


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 09:12 • #21 
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Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Between Brit and Americans, there are also two distinctly different approaches to making reels.
For the Americans, it's stamp them out as quickly as possible with the minimum of human interaction. After WWII, the quantity increased, and the average quality decreased.
For the Brits, it was employ an army of underpaid craftsmen to bench-make everything. .
Image
There are certainly a handful of bench-made American fly reels going back to Meek and Payne.
But for the most part, it wasn't until 1980 after establishment of fly fishing pro shops that Americans turned to the British model of bench-making fly reels.


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 09:39 • #22 
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I had a 1965 Sunbeam Alpine with Lucas electrical system. Wipers wouldn't work in the rain, lights wouldn't work in the dark, you get the idea. Why do the British drink warm beer? Because Lucas makes refrigerators.....:rollin[/quote]

I rode British motorcycles for many years. During one beautiful summer evening I was strolling along a country road and had to turn the lights on on my 1966 Triumph Thunderbird. Sparks and a small fire brought the bike to a halt! But I sure did love riding that bike, single carb, low compression, and it was actually pretty reliable even if it did have Lucas electrics.


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 13:43 • #23 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/13/07
Posts: 630
Location: GB
I used to race motorcycles in the 60's. We had a saying about the British bikes.

"When they stop leaking oil. They're out of oil."


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 13:57 • #24 
Master Guide
Joined: 12/31/13
Posts: 519
Location: US-Mount Pleasant, SC
As to the OP, certainly no worse than putting Chinese made reels on Chinese made rods.

But that's just, like, my opinion, man.


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Post 01 Dec 2017, 21:47 • #25 
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tom406 wrote:
Marty Romeo wrote:
Tomah wrote:
As with beloved British sports cars on American roads; but, do all British fly reels leak oil? ;)

To say nothing of their electricals...

I had a 1965 Sunbeam Alpine with Lucas electrical system. Wipers wouldn't work in the rain, lights wouldn't work in the dark, you get the idea. Why do the British drink warm beer? Because Lucas makes refrigerators.....:rollin


This problem was solved. Shelby Tiger. A 289CI Ford Engine in a Sunbeam body. Along with a 12V electrical system.


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