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Post 18 Jan 2021, 11:17 • #1 
Guide
Joined: 12/07/17
Posts: 128
Location: Long Island, NY
This Pflueger drag modification makes me cringe.


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Post 18 Jan 2021, 11:23 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 5561
Location: Relocated to the Drought Stricken West.
I've always seen a leather pad attached. At least in photo's. I've never physically handled one of these modified reels.

Was that reel owned by "Stumpy"


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Post 18 Jan 2021, 12:19 • #3 
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Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
I always thought it was a good way to butcher a perfectly good reel, notwithstanding that doing that was touted by some experts. Yes, a leather pad was part of the butchering.


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Post 18 Jan 2021, 13:48 • #4 
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Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
switching to nice things done to Medalists, Herman Voss spools

also viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9604#p132413


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Post 18 Jan 2021, 18:42 • #5 
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Joined: 04/20/07
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Always wondered if--apart from butchering the side plate--that mod lead to rapid wear or damage if it were pressured from the side much. Such pressure imparts a lateral force that the spool sideplate,, the spindle boss, the spindle and the spool latch weren't designed for. They may have had sufficient strength, but I wonder if the latch and its groove especially were overly stressed.


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Post 18 Jan 2021, 20:16 • #6 
Master Guide
Joined: 07/12/17
Posts: 390
Location: SW B.C.
A guy wonders, with the braking power of the Medalist drag, what the heck a person would be fishing for that would theoretically need fingers jammed on the spool to slow it down?! :eek Maybe Bonefish on a 1494 is aiming a bit high!

"Was that reel owned by 'Stumpy'". Well-played, sir.


Last edited by Shrimpman on 19 Jan 2021, 19:20, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 18 Jan 2021, 22:03 • #7 
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Joined: 05/09/06
Posts: 2517
Location: US
That was a Lefty Kreh modification at one time if I recall correctly.


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Post 19 Jan 2021, 02:30 • #8 
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Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
Some fiction converted to fact at the Orvis American Museum of Fly Fishing ? Did Lefty tell fish stories?
https://news.orvis.com/fly-fishing/muse ... first-reel

It is supposed to be Kreh's first reel, but the story of Brooks and trout fishing probably wouldn't have used a 1498, as I recall when I saw Pflueger reels in magazines being used in salt it was always the grownup model 1498, but that was post 1953. So were Medalists use din the salt in earlier years? which model would have enough capacity, the 1495 1/2 or 1496 1/2? 3-400'?
The rectangular line guard was a 1950 change according to the histories I've read, so the reel pictured in the Musuem would not have been available in 1947 when Brooks took Kreh shopping, his first reel must have had the "chain link" line guard if the online history is correct.
It also appears in the Orvis photo that the modified reel has a non-perforated spool, which certainly would work better for the finger brake, but I have pictured how this would work, which ever way the reel is handed, the back plate is on the rod hand side, so you hold the rod with thumb and one finger while using the middle finger to ride the spool or you reach around with the line hand in which case my thumb or palm would be blocking the spool handle. whack whack whack- I'd have to see one of these in use before I take the story at face value, it must have started as a spoof.


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Post 19 Jan 2021, 03:45 • #9 
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Joined: 10/14/19
Posts: 128
Location: Tauranga, New Zealand
I couldn't do that to a Medalist. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night, Cheers


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Post 21 Jan 2021, 19:54 • #10 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 5561
Location: Relocated to the Drought Stricken West.
So in the era of this type of modification, what were the other options for a drag that would slow down a steelhead or saltwater fish?
Pre-FinNor (late 60's) what were the options. And even then. What were the options that a mere mortal could afford?

If your goal is to catch fish, it doesn't matter what the reel looks like.
I guess the martin Disk Drag models are significantly later.


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Post 21 Jan 2021, 22:44 • #11 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
The Medalist drum brake drag dates to the late '30s, before Kreh started fishing, and I suspect could put quite a lot of drag on the reel.
I think the idea here is the ability to increase or decrease drag instantly and continuously, at user discretion, something that as far as I know is still not built into reels. A finger inside the reel has a similar effect. As does palming the exposed rim of a spool.
I had thought that this mod was a late '60s thing, I seem to recall reading about it in the '70s, or later but even when I lived near the sea I never saw a medalist modified this way.


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Post 21 Jan 2021, 23:39 • #12 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/16/10
Posts: 814
Location: South of Houston, TX
Thought I’d upload a couple of illustrations from Lefty’s Fly Fishing in Salt Water.
He also lists quite a few reels he recommends for salt, but as my copy was published in ‘03 he doesn’t list the Medalist among them.
But he does show some modifications.



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Post 22 Jan 2021, 07:27 • #13 
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Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Well there ! Can't see for sure, but that looks like a 1495 or 1495 1/2. The 1498 had a heavier duty brake shoe. Both sizes fit for Atlantic salmon fishing. I'd want to try a 1498 before "modifying" one of the smaller Pfluegers. Interesting time in the development and popularity of saltwater flyfishing that was testing the limits of reels designed for fresh water and fish up to the size and fighting strength of Atlantic salmon.


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Post 22 Jan 2021, 09:02 • #14 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
The thumb looks like it would be on the wrong side on my reels, or you switch hands to retrieve after the run is over?
I've never read Zane Grey's fishing books and I should, I think I read all his westerns when in grade school.


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Post 17 Oct 2021, 11:40 • #15 
Sport
Joined: 02/04/07
Posts: 78
Location: US-CT
I just spotted this when searching google photos
That's me and those are my reels and my modifications.
They're both model 1495 1/2 AK that I bought for around $25 new, and used them a number of years in the salt water before getting my first anodized disk drag.
I modified the first one after a particularly large bluefish gave me a messy bird's nest of a black lash. It was a little nerve wracking putting a saw to the reel but I'm glad I did it as I never had that problem again.
You don't need the leather as when fingering the spinning spool it just "tickles" your finger tips.

I once told Lefty how I had done this as to his instructions and he just looked at me like I had three heads.
But hey, it worked and I'm not sorry that I did it.


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Post 20 Oct 2021, 09:16 • #16 
Master Guide
Joined: 07/05/05
Posts: 742
Location: US-VA
As I recall Boyd Pfeiffer showed how to make that modification in his "Tackle Tinkering# sometime in the early 70s. I was using a 14941/2 in those days and considered it, but, not having the tools never did it. Glad I didn't. In the early 80s while fishing for salmon with an older friend, Bill Ballard, he showed me how he reached inside the reel to put finger pressure on the spool. Since he fished for Atlantics all over the world I think he knew what he was doing.


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Post 23 Oct 2021, 22:01 • #17 
Sport
Joined: 12/18/15
Posts: 95
Location: Annapolis, MD
Tempting but I don't think I could do that to one of my reels. I used a 1495 1/2 for bones, tarpon and barracuda down in the Keys during the later 70's and lost a bunch of fish due to burned fingers trying to stop the runs, but for the most part the Pflueger drag did a decent job if you left it alone (and remembered to set it before going out on the flat). I eventually upgraded to a Scientific Anglers System 9 with exposed rim and problem solved. My 1495 1/2 is still my go-to to for stripers on the Chesapeake Bay.


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Post 24 Oct 2021, 11:17 • #18 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/12/18
Posts: 457
I've seen photos of Medalists with a leather pad attached to one of the pillars with the intention that the additional drag pressure be applied to the line on the spool. Doesn't it seem more sensible to just put a fingertip or two onto the line inside the spool to add drag rather than cut away part of the reel body?


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Post 24 Oct 2021, 13:16 • #19 
Guide
Joined: 08/11/21
Posts: 208
Location: Tucson, AZ
Exposed rim spools are so much nicer to apply extra pressure...cupping the rim...but old Medalists are fine, as you can exert pressure on the outer part of the spool with your fingertips.

I used to change directions of the cranking, but now just leave them righthand retrieve and it works fine..though admittedly I fish for warmwater species that don't normally make long runs to test the drag.

Hook a carp and all bets are off, though...


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Post 25 Oct 2021, 07:10 • #20 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
This was mostly grist for the outdoor writer's mill. There were probably more pictures of them butchered in that way than reels actually used like that. A fish that could overwhelm the drag on a 1495 or 1498 is pulling at the limit of the tackle it was used with, let's say a 9-weight 'glass Atlantic salmon/steelhead rod. This gear is balanced to work together. You can put Brembo brakes on a vehicle with narrow tires, but it won't handle differently or slow down faster. And if you push harder on the brake pedal, it will just skid sooner, maybe flat-spot the tires, yielding less steering control when you slide into the ditch.


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Post 25 Oct 2021, 07:20 • #21 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
I bought this Fin Nor for the going rate on Medalist.

Image Image


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Post 25 Oct 2021, 14:02 • #22 
Administrator
Joined: 01/10/06
Posts: 7811
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Like Radding, I think the cutout modification is cringe worthy. On the other hand, I modified my 1495-1/2 with a counterbalance. When I caught a bonefish on the modified reel and I could feel the Medalist drag fade in and out. I've since purchased better saltwater reels. Sadly, I haven't had a chance to pursue bonefish again.


Tom



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Post 25 Oct 2021, 17:55 • #23 
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Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
anybody ever try a finger inside the reel?


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Post 25 Oct 2021, 18:08 • #24 
Guide
Joined: 02/26/15
Posts: 219
Location: US-north ga.
That's cool Dudley


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