After Garcia bought Conolon and before Abu released their line of flyreels, Garcia partnered or contracted with Young to sell halmarked Young made Pridex, Beaudex and Landex reels. While I have pictures in the earliest Garcia Fishing annuals, I personally have never seen a Garcia Halmarked Young reel. Have any of the members ever come across one, either with a Garcia engraved halmark or even a Garcia decal added?
Richard

Well you have seen more than I have, I havent even seen one in a box. I have seen one vintage picture in a 1966 Fisherman's Digest that shows the back side of a Beaudex with a common red foil decal "garcia" like on the early transition Mitchell and Abu reels.

Richard

cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290119652501

just an example on eBay - a Garcia Beaudex boxed reel - only the normal Beaudex shield on the reel.

Well I finally starting finding some of those early Young made reels for Garcia, featured here is the one that arrived Monday, a mint, unused, never fished, never mounted on a rod Garcia-Young Beaudex, 3 1/2 inch, and yes I've already changed it to LHW and yes I plan on fishing it as well. Its really a great reel, and of course in this condition just needs the factory grease removed, a careful cleaning and then proper modern Lubrication. Hay its been setting in this box for over 30 years, the factory supplied leather pouch is hard from setting, anyone know a proper way to soften the pouch for use?
Hope you like it, the Garcia-Pridex 3 1/2 inch is on its way to me so I will post some pic's of it as well. Now I just need to find a mint Garcia_Landex to complete the series.



























Really great looking well made reels.

I may never get off fishing today, but wouldn't I love to have that reel to take, no matter how branded. What a slick design of the adjustable check.

no question there were Landex reels in the Garcia box.

Hi Ron,
Think your right at this point, the Young company just shipped reels in boxes to Garcia and they used labels to add the Garcia touch, along with the Garcia Warrantee card. Still it would be nice to find one with the little red Garcia foil sticker like the one in that vintage picture I have. Guess I could just buy a couple of those red Garcia foil stickers but that wouldn't be right. Funny looking at the prices on the box, $9.10 $10 and finally $10.50 I sure would like to buy a couple of cases of those reels and put them away for 50 or 60 years. You figure they were most likely cased 24 to the box, so the wholesale level back then was most likely around $5-6 each, perhaps $150 per case. Not a great sum even by 1963 standards. That would have been less than a weeks pay back then. I dare say 24 brand new Beaudex in the box today is a bit more than most of use make today in a week.

My dad owned an Interstate trucking company back threw the depression era, after he served in WWII and Korea we were pretty much Californians. His background, was hard work, long hours and when time was available he loved to fish for Salmon and Steelhead, occasionally Bass, everything else to him was trashfish. He also liked to Duck hunt. Never was much for Deer hunting though. His family and my mothers (Utah) both had deer camps for each family back then. The Schools would close down for a week during deer season and often 20 or more families would be in each deer camp, with several being nearby as well. Deer hunting was a big thing back then and tags were filled even for the none hunters in the camp. Weather usually turned cold around then and I can remember my Uncles house well, behind the attached garage was a long somewhat narrow sort of attached room, at the top of the exterior wall was a series of screened air vents. They would hang their deer there (below freezing) and the families would all have meat for a big part of the winters. While my extended family in Utah was and is by no means poor, they were very frugal. They raised their own beef and pigs, also had extended gardens for food production. The ladies would can (bottle) everything. I can rarely remember any of them ever going to a store to buy anything they could raise or grow themselves.

My Uncles were great hunters, I was tracking deer before I was 8 years old. I took my first really big deer in the Unitah Mountains at age 11. My dad on the other hand was a great wing shot, ducks and geese were his big thing, and oh my the Salmon we took in Alaska. Back before the 70s can you believe the Trinity River of Northern California was a true run of hugh King Salmon as well, we fished there every year with many over 30 pounds, the steelhead that would tag along for the roe were often monsters too. My dad called that real fishing and I have to agree.

I loaned Joe Cornwall one of my dads old Sharpes 8wts for his upcomming article along with a vintage Phillipson as well.

nice reel, certainly a Young-made reel.
The specific question was Young reels sold by Garcia in the 60s, and whether we have ever seen a marked or foil-tagged reel - i.e., more than just the Young reel in the Garcia box.

a 3" Pridex is a fine thing to have.

Well finally one more correct reel and box, this time the Pridex, needless to say its gone fishing a few times before I got around to posting the pictures. I've layed it out on top of a 1964 Garcia Conolon Fishing annual, to the open page advertising the Garcia Young line of reels, one more to go, the elusive Landex.













I love the posted prices for 1964, The Beaudex models from 3" to 4" MW ran $22 to $27, the Landex 3 1/2" and 4" MW models were $25 & $30 respectively, and the Pridex 3"-3 3/4" ran from $19 to $20 for the 3 3/4" however the 3 1/2" LW like mine was $22. Man would I like a couple of cases of each today!

Hi Cofisher,
Thanks I was lucky to find either in the original boxes with paperwork. Never know whats gonna show up on Ebay tomorrow, who knows, perhaps a Garcia boxed Landex.
One good thing that has come out of the rising prices of classic tackle and so many actively on Ebay. The little old ladies with all that tackle in the attic or grandkids that find it in the basement are dragging it out and selling it now. I think quite a bit is not going the way of the yard sale, fea market or Church sale now, but showing up on EBay.
The hunt goes on

Zombie thread. I have a Shakespeare Beaudex, and I really miss FlyFish4GoldenTrout's posts.