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Post 13 Dec 2011, 23:51 • #1 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/29/10
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Location: Osage Orange Range, North Texas, US
Or, The Special Status of Drag-Plate Pflueger Medalists

The absolute bulk of the attention around these parts is paid to spring-and-pawl reels. (Exhibit A: The 20-page Click-Pawl Reels sticky thread.) Drag-plate Pflueger Medalists seem to be the exception: these reels also have their own sticky, and we discuss them with a frequency not seen by, say, Ross Cimarrons or Lamson Konics. If there is a rationale, is it that the Medalist line has been around for over half a century?

To the extent drag mechanisms define reels, don't the drag plate Medalists have more in common with disc drag reels than they do click-pawls?


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Post 14 Dec 2011, 01:38 • #2 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/23/10
Posts: 784
Location: SF Bay Area
" If there is a rationale, is it that the Medalist line has been around for over half a century?"

Not unlike many of this sites members ... I bet the medalist was either a first reel, or one that was used for many years by quite a few here. I think it's a combination of that, and the fact that they're inexpensive, vintage, and function extremely well without failing. Tough combo to beat.


Last edited by Holdover on 14 Dec 2011, 11:49, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 14 Dec 2011, 05:07 • #3 
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Enduring design and construction. Dependable function. No need of a "pass."

Yes, they are a friction drag (shoe and disc) type, not a click pawl. In my view, their design is superior to many of the more recnt compression disc types, especially those using a gear to drive an offset disc. The Pflueger design is more integral than many of the current types in which, for example, the clicker is a non-essential part, almost an afterthought.

In the Pflueger, the design is compact and simple, with the clicks being audible verification of function as they are produced by the spool and frame mounted plungers that engage the disc.

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Post 14 Dec 2011, 07:35 • #4 
Guide
Joined: 12/30/08
Posts: 264
Location: US-WV
For me its the enduring history of this reel which is still being written. The Medalist has been around for a long time, they are a quality design that has stood the test of time. Medalists are like really good music they never go out of style and are just as enjoyable today as they were when they first came out.


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Post 14 Dec 2011, 08:49 • #5 
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Joined: 08/10/05
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Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
um, I own a nice prewar drag plate reel. I don't fish it. But I do like the first version of the patent drag reel, its looks, feel and sounds.
I do fish five prewar click-pawl Pfluegers and three of those are Medalists.

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For almost exactly 50 years, the Medalist was the premiere American-made reel, not counting bench-made reels.
It was the top-line production reel. There were some excellent production reels made including the Heddons, earliest Shakespeare Russell in various badges, the Shakespeare perfect, but they never caught on because everybody liked the Pflueger drag.

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These were also squeezed out by the imported Brit reels, which they tried to imitate
(The Medalist imitated nothing - it stood alone.)
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The Americans made scads of stamped-from-sheet reels and most of them were junk. The Medalist stood out as the quality American-made reel and the home-grown drag made it even more unique. Note also the Medalist was not a cheap reel until production went offshore (and snazzy American flyfishers decided the design had become long in the tooth). Another beauty of the design was its simplicity and longevity, not requiring the attention or hand-tuning of the Brit reels. Slap them together and they go. It defined the American fly reel, even beyond its prime.

Ross and Lamson, coming around in the 80s, started as bench-made reels, and both finally moved offshore. Note that Ross, Abel, Valentine all use their form of the original Medalist ratchet design - the simplest possible clutch on a drag fly reel. At least one offshore Ross I remember compares more with the American stamped from sheet junk than it does with the Medalist.

The Medalist also lost some quality when it went offshore. It was cheaper to make frames and finally feet from diecastings, inferior material to the aircraft-grade aluminum sheet used for 40 of those 50 years. The Medalist is offically dead, gentlemen, after 80 years. They are no longer being manufactured anywhere, and I believe Shakespeare is putting the brakes on the parts and support.


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Post 14 Dec 2011, 08:50 • #6 
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bulldog1935 wrote:
The Medalist is offically dead, gentlemen, after 80 years. They are no longer being manufactured anywhere, and I believe Shakespeare is putting the brakes on the parts and support.

Wow. I did not know that.
Truly a shame ...


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Post 14 Dec 2011, 09:03 • #7 
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Location: Marble Falls, Texas
I'd only add that they balance many "venerable" glass and bamboo rods well and have tended to be less expensive. More modern reels are a bit lighter, as is appropriate for a graphite rod. I can generally count on an appropriately sized Medalist to balance one of my older rods reasonably well, while I can't always say that with one of my recent reels. The same can be said for the venerable spring and pawl reels.

Sorry to hear they are no longer in production.


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Post 14 Dec 2011, 10:54 • #8 
Master Guide
Joined: 08/30/08
Posts: 659
Location: Lincoln,CA
I had a client a number of years ago that had her and her husbands cane rods and reels in the garage. I asked about them and she agreed to sell them to me. There were two Pflueger Sal-Trouts and a Medalist. They originally lived in Michigan and spent 16 years in the south and fished the 7 wgt Heddons with the Sal-Touts. She said he was very excited when she surprised him with the expensive, hi quality Medalist for Christmas. Just thought I'd throw this out as an example of what folks thought of the Medalists.

Mike


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Post 14 Dec 2011, 22:33 • #9 
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Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
I couldn't afford a Medalist when I bought my first fly rod in 1974 (in high school, working weekends as a tire mechanic), and I bought a True Temper, which was the last Japan-made version of the OC-76. No offense to anyone, but I do not have fond memories of the reel (still own it)


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Post 15 Dec 2011, 03:04 • #10 
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Joined: 11/25/09
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Got to love a reel that never went out of style. I have been thinking about getting a couple for myself.

Dusty


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Post 15 Dec 2011, 07:44 • #11 
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Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
doesn't take a crystal ball to project prices going up on these, especially Akron reels ...
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Post 15 Dec 2011, 10:47 • #12 
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Pictured up above is a 1494 I bought new in about 1963. The one with the fingertip-polished crescent by the winding knob. Works as well today as the day I got it. I have such complete confidence in it that I gave away the spare drag plate and plungers I bought from Coren's Rod and Reel service way back ages ago. A drop of machine oil here and there and they last forever. Well, I got to preferring other reels to the larger-sized 1495s and 1495 1/2s that I also had and used a lot for 15-20 years, so I sold them, keeping only my 1494 and a spare spool. But soon I couldn't take it being so Pfluegerless and bought several more USA Pfluegers--all 1494s, winding up with more Pfluegers than I had to begin with, plus change from the ones I had sold. I put a rim control Pflueger spool on one and used it quite a bit this year. Anyway, I won't be needing the 1494s for much but reassurance, since the old-timer won't wear out, but I will be hanging on to them, plus offering Ron $15 for that corker he just showed.


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Post 15 Dec 2011, 11:04 • #13 
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long gone, bro, and had $75 worth of OnePfoot parts in it.


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Post 15 Dec 2011, 11:08 • #14 
Emeritus
Joined: 06/08/07
Posts: 2505
Location: Superior, Colorado
A man could have a mighty fine reel collection with just the reels Ron's sold off. :lol


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Post 15 Dec 2011, 11:23 • #15 
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Joined: 06/08/07
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Location: Superior, Colorado
An original Orvis Madison was in fact a Pflueger Medalist in disguise.

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Post 15 Dec 2011, 12:28 • #16 
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Even as they reduced any in-house manufacturing, Orvis knew good stuff. As a high-end marketer, Orvis sold the Pflueger-made reels as their "entry-level" models. I never bought one, but almost many times. I daresay there were Orvis customers who had them while sneering at the lowly Medalist, never realizing they were essentially the same reel. Cofisher, they do have a different drag adjuster mechanism. You've probably had both the Pflueger and Orvis version. Do you find it adjusts just as smoothly in terms of drag range? And ergonomically, do you prefer the Pflueger knob adjuster or the Orvis lever, or find them equally convenient? Probably I had better just get one, hadn't I.

I forgot to mention that, like the earliest nonadjustable click pawl Pfluegers in several sizes that Ron commented about, the 1492 (and there was a comparable Orvis-badged reel) was fixed click-pawl also and the 1492 remained so throughout its production period.

Ron, I'm sure you know that I knew I couldn't possibly lowball you like that. Somebody got a darn nice reel from you, and I'm sure at a fair price. It will probably outlast the owner, who I hope is fishing it hard.

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Last edited by whrlpool on 15 Dec 2011, 14:23, edited 2 times in total.

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Post 15 Dec 2011, 13:17 • #17 
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whirlpool wrote:
I forgot to mention that, like the earliest nonadjustable click pawl Pfluegers in several sizes that Ron commented about, the 1492 (and there was a comparable Orvis-badged reel) was fixed click-pawl also.

My first "Medalist" was the Orvis 4/5 version with a click-pawl. I was surprised to find the drag plate mechanism when I later bought a 6/7.

Although I prefer the Orvis aesthetics over the all black Pflueger, I think the early silvery-gray Medalists are quite striking.

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Post 15 Dec 2011, 16:35 • #18 
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Location: Superior, Colorado
Whrlpool, I have had a few Medalists as well as the Madisons. I really like the Orvis much better generally speaking. I agree with Abe that the Orvis version in my mind was much nicer looking. As far as the drag set-up, I like the lever much better than the knob. My hands just didn't work the knob very well. With the level, you periodically have to do some adjusting on it, but I thought it was a stronger drag than the knob. If you want a 1498 (8/9) in really nice shape, drop me a line.


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Post 16 Dec 2011, 17:01 • #19 
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See post #13 (not sure if this will link to the discussion or individual post) for a veteran take on why Pfluegers were the great American fly reel: viewtopic.php?p=109921#p109921

Cofisher, I purged myself of all but 1494s although I used to use 1495s and 14951/2s a lot. The 1498 always seemed a bit unwieldy to me, and even for Atlantic salmon fishing, its capacity wasn't needed with a WF 8 line as you could get--well I forget--but upwards of 150 yards IFGA greenspot 18lb. dacron backing on a 1495 1/2. That's not a knock on the 1498 in general, it being no larger than some of the clumsy--with less capacity--dinnerplate sized large arbor reels. But truth be told in Maine at least, most 1498s were used as trolling reels, not always on fly rods, even, with full sink lines or more commonly lead core line as opposed to being used on fly-casting rigs. I was always pretty much a dubber at Atlantic salmon fishing, but I did have one take off about as far as could be across the Penobscot river, running against the drag on a 1495 1/2. The reel didn't malfunction, but the angler did, and the fish got off when he took to jumping out there. I think it took me like 20 minutes to reel all that backing back up. Never caring for fixed-click reels, I never had a 1492, and now I am content with my little--and recently increased--stash of 1494s.

Tradition around here has it that there can never be too many photos on a Pflueger thread:

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When I bought my first Pflueger, I didn't give much thought to what it looked like, but I knew it was an improvement over my Lawrence Sunbeam knock-off. The same reel is up above in several of the pictures.

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Post 03 Sep 2012, 17:29 • #20 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/27/06
Posts: 774
Location: SW Missouri Ozark Plateau
I recently found an unused, brand new, in the box with original, but yellowed by time, cellophane wrapper, Medalist 1492 spool from the 1950s. I'm not a collector and I intend to use the spool. It was really a savored moment to mate it with my 1972 Medalist 1492DA reel and it fits perfectly. I have a half dozen Medalists, mostly the DA models and I really treasure them. Keep them clean and lubed and they just go on and on forever. I love my Hardy reels, but the old USA made Pflueger Medalists are a treasure in a good, functional, last forever, fly reel. They are history and nostaligia in your hand. With replacement reel feet made by One Pfoot, they fit all my rods perfectly, too. I have traded bamboo rods back and forth over the years, but my Pfluegers remain.


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Post 03 Sep 2012, 21:59 • #21 
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Joined: 02/19/08
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Location: Seattle, WA
I've been building my Medalist collection quite a bit over the last year. I like their classic look and durability. You can never go wrong with a Medalist.


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Post 04 Sep 2012, 09:02 • #22 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/29/08
Posts: 435
Location: US-NJ
When I was first getting into bamboo rods and had little money I used a South Bend 359 with a Medalist reel and felt a little outclassed by my fishing buddies who fished Payne rods with Hardy reels. Then one day I was fishing in front of the Catskill Fly Fishing museum and all the old-timers came rushing over to check out my combo. They claimed it was the outfit they lusted after when they were young and could only afford low end Montague rods with Russell reels. The bench built stuff was way out of their league. It is all a matter of perspective. A Hardy reel was out of reach for many regular fishermen 50 years ago or more and the Medalist was the American quality reel.

My first Medalist was a 1495 1/2 bought for my bass bugging rod in the mid 1960's. It still purrs like new.


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Post 04 Sep 2012, 11:44 • #23 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/27/09
Posts: 573
Location: US-SD
Anything or anybody around as long as the Medalists deserves a pass, as they have demonstrated staying power! A Medalist reel is like a 30.06 rifle: hardly ever a poor choice, and likely to work very well when you need it to.


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Post 05 Sep 2012, 14:04 • #24 
Sport
Joined: 07/15/12
Posts: 85
Location: US-CA
I have a Shakespeare medalist, and have not really held it in much regard, seemed cheaply built compared to the Orvis Battenkill slip disk I got from my dad. I keep the Shakespeare around for training kids on a fly rod. By association, I have never pursued the Pfluegers, but you guys have piqued my interest. Any recommendations for a Pfueger model to keep my eyes out for that would be a quality contrast to the Shakespeare?


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Post 06 Sep 2012, 16:44 • #25 
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I love this old thread. And I love the look Medalists get when the paint gets worn off around the handle from years of winding.
keith


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