Hi - Came across these reels in my dad's basement and with so much info out there about Medalists I was hoping someone might help to narrow my search as I know nothing about Medalists. As you can see my dad did not baby his stuff but used it pretty hard.


The reel on the left is a 1492 DA, the middle is 1494 diamolite line guard, and the right is 1494 diamolite pat. pending.

thanks much for any help

Kbobb : You must be the Pennsylvania geology super sleuth. There aren’t likely 2 Kbobbs here in the Keystone state. All that I know about Medalists is what I learned here and at the Flyfish Ohio website, which you should definitely read and re-read. He has a great article on the history of the Medalists. I will regurgitate some of what I learned here. The patent pending is the oldest, made between 1931 and 1938. After that, Pflueger began making the ratcheting drag mechanism shown in the diamolite version. Your Dad’s example would be an early Diamolite because they stopped using the sculpted pillars soon after introducing the drag. The DA version was made after 1966 when Shakespeare purchased Pflueger and soon moved manufacturing from Akron Ohio to Arkansas. The diamolite model has a steel ratchet plate whereas the DA has a plastic one, at least mine does. The two earlier models are collectors items. Don’t quote me on any of this as I’m not even a journeyman when it comes to old fly reels. But I love reading about them and there is lots to read about Medalists on this site.

I need to correct myself. Your DA is a 1492 which was never made with the ratchet plate drag but always had a pawl and gear arrangement.

Sorry bout that kbobb. I’m confusing you with someone else at PAFF - the guy who says don’t bother fishing the Tuscarora sandstone (low buffering capacity and all that ).

The click and pawl 1494 (with the round line guard bird cage arbor) is a nice old reel, and probably the most valuable of the bunch but in the neigborhood of $75-$175 assuming it is working well. I am guessing that it isn't some special model, but it is a 1930s era reel. The 1494 with the chainlink line guard is nice too and worth displaying, but I prefer the later 1494 reels with more modern style open frame line guard. The chain link is a pain to get your leader out of after you reel the line in all the way.

All in all, very nice early medalists. And worth fishing. Avoid cleaning the outside too much. That old black paint comes off pretty quick.