Pflueger Reel Info Wanted

[Fochetti]

Bill Or Anyone else with Knowledge Of Pfluegers,

I have a Pflueger 1495 reel that was my fathers, so can anyone tell me is this an older one. Or is it a new one with no value at all.

The inside of the spool has three rivets that seem to hold it together.

Thanks,

John

[David Lee]

In photo #3 .......

There is 1495 AK - that's made in China or Japan .

As far as 'value' ??????? Money-wise , perhaps $30.00 . As a Fly Reel ???? Fish it , it won't let you down . Fish don't give a squirt as to what you use to catch them !!

David

[Fochetti]

Can you or anyone for that matter tell if it is an older one or is it fairly new?

[David Lee]

Can you or anyone for that matter tell if it is an older one or is it fairly new?

Of course I can , silly ! Please read the following ......

The Pflueger 'Medalist' Fly Reel by Bill Kiene
I sold and used the old Pflueger 'Medalist' fly reels for over 40 years now. Actually we don't sell them anymore but you can get very nice old ones on eBay, fly fishing classifieds and at garage sales. At one time they were the standard fly reel for most fly fishers in the USA.

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Another good Medalist article: " The Indelible Pflueger Medalist by Bill Thompson"

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These are the models I am familiar with:

1492 = #2-3 line (click drag)
1492 1/2 = #3-4 line (click drag)
1494 = #4-5 line (adjustable disc drag from here down)
1494 1/2 = #5-6 line
1495 = #6-7 line (my favorite size)
1495 1/2 = #8-9 line
1496 = not many around
1496 1/2 = fairly rare
1498 = #10-12 line
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The older ones had 6 rivets holding the spool together. The later models after about 1960 had 3 rivets.

The first models were click drag only in the 1930s. Then in the 1940s they went to the adjustable disc drag.

The real old ones had a machined steel drag disc inside. Old ones had metal drag knobs and metal caps on the center of the spool where the latch was. The frame pillars were actually not removable on the ones made before 1940.

The good ones were made in the USA from 1930 to 1980. The ones made from 1940 to 1960 where best. Then in the 1980s they went to Japan, Hong Kong and China. These are not much good for anything.

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For years I sold ($20.00) machined naval bronze reversible drag disc that I bought from Herman Voss of Pompano Beach, Florida.

I have a one piece machined solid aluminum spool for a Pflueger 'Medalist' 1492 1/2 that was made by Herman Voss. I got it from Chico Fernandez.

We also had Hardy nickel silver counter balances we installed in the Medalist in the 70s and 80s so we could go for Steelhead and Bonefish with them.

I sold a product called the 'One Pfoot' which was an accessory for the Medalist that was a machined aluminum foot assembly. The 'One Pfoot' company has many after market parts for the Medalists.


In the '80s they went to metric screws. I called Shakespeare who bought the company and they said we did not need those SAE frame screws anymore. That really pissed me off.

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I have a collection of old Medalists that are just for memories now.

My first good fly reel was a '1494' which I bought new in the 1960s and used for many years on my Fenwick fiberglass trout rods. It would hold a WF6F Cortland 'peach' 444 fly line and 50 yards of 20# Cortland Micron backing.

I have an old '1495 ½' that I bought used. It was built in the 1940s. All metal parts with and round line guard and 6 rivets on the spool.

I landed a 40 pound Tarpon on an 8 weight rod at the Rio Chico lagoons in Venezuela with it in 1985.

With the same reel I was 'spooled' (~150 yard of backing to the end) wading at Christmas Island by a rather large Bonefish in 1986.

I caught big Steelhead with it on the Dean River in British Columbia in 1983.

I caught big Rainbows in New Zealand with it in the late 1980s.

They used them at the Fenwick Fly Fishing schools in the 60s/70s so many of them are still around. Mel Krieger and many of his friends have them still. They called me years back for the Voss brass drag disc and Hardy counter balances.

They made the Pflueger 'Supreme' anti-reverse big game models too with a solid machined aluminum spool.

They are all but gone from the scene today. We only see a few every season now.

Years ago I use to install dozens of screws in them every summer for customers. They would vibrate out. We put head cement on the screw heads to keep them from coming loose and falling out. Today we would use Loctite to hold them in.

I am sure I could clean and lube mine up that are here on the shelf and go catch anything on them.

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Bill Archuleta has the number one fly reel parts and repair business in the world. Call or email Bill for any help you need with any older fly reels. Bill's specialty is old Hardy fly reels made in England but I believe he will work on most anything.


THE END .

I have used my 1495DA from the late-60's to land pretty much everything - biggest fish so far has been a Striped Bass of 40+ Lbs. . Friend Lee S. has landed Dorado on his Pflueger (killed the reel while doing so , if I'm not mistaken ....) . Darian C. used them since the Stone Age .......

They work . Drop it and get an un-fixable prang ??? What have you lost ???

David

[Darian]

From the style of the reel foot, I'd say it's a relatively new one for whatever that's worth.... :cool:

[lee s.]

John,
Sorry this does not answer your question, but as Darian observes, it appears that someone has already customized, a bit, (Reel Phoot?) your reel. I have not seen any come out of the box with that foot. The only drawback of these reels, for me, is that the original foot is big and cumbersome and often doesn't fit well into modern seats.
Nice inheritance, old or new! ;-)
.....lee s.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

It's pretty new but should work fine.

Probably made overseas as David said.

That 1495 size is good for a #6-7-8 line rod.

I have some really old ones if you get by the shop.

Maybe older than me?

Cool Pflueger "after market parts" web site:

http://www.onepfoot.com/

[Hairstacker]

I am also of the opinion that it is of pretty recent vintage. For decades they were made in the U.S. and said so on the little plastic spool latch cover. Once Shakespeare took over, reel production was shipped overseas and the "Made in U.S.A." was dropped from the latch cover. Production was moved overseas in 1979 and the letters "AK" on your reel indicate it was manufactured in Hong Kong and/or China. If I recall, these reels for a while had the name Shakespeare on the latch cover. Later on, the name Shakespeare was dropped from the latch cover, which is the reel you have, and they were being sold new in various places, including Cabela's and Wal Mart, until just a few years ago. (In fact, I remember the Wal Mart in Tracy had them on clearance for $5 each about 3 or 4 years ago.) I see that the current version has the name Shakespeare added back on to the spool latch cover.

Current retail value of the current version is $25 brand new. Yours is of such recent vintage that it has no collectible value on the used reel market. That by no means suggests it isn't a decent reel. As others have suggested, I would simply enjoy it and fish it, which is no doubt what your father intended when he purchased it.

[Fochetti]

Right on guys I was just curious cause I saw that article by Bill on the main page and then found the reel. I really don't have any use for this reel due to the fact that I already have about a million, so does anybody else have any use for it. I will let it go for $25.

Thanks,
John

[Bryan Morgan]

Hang on to that reel,you never know. I still have a Pflueger 1783, that was made in about 1935 that has never been used.