What's your oldest gear being used
Submitted by Faulkner Family on Tue, 2021-10-12 19:16
Just back to hedland and took up a 11' glass beach rod that I was given 36 years ago and was told by the old guy that had it that it has been sitting under the house for 20 years and only used it for a few years, that makes it nearly 60 years old or maybe older. Pairing it up with a sigma Shakespeare 080 that I bought for $125 new 35 years ago and is still going strong.
What old relics are you still using
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RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Butterworths rods and Mitchell reels
Still using 3 Butterworth rods, 8144, 8132 and a 9144 that I bought when I was about 17-18 and matched up to 2 x Mitchell 499s and a 489. Also got 3 x ABU 7000s that are around the same vintage that are still going strong
Not bad considering I am about to turn 17 shortly
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17867
Date Joined: 11/03/08
Geez John. Looking damn old
Geez John. Looking damn old for a 17 yo . Lol.
Them mitchels you got are they the ones with or without the bail arm . Good old reels with not much can go wrong with them
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Mitchells
The 499s are the ones without a bail arm, the 489 have a bail arm. If you are a lefty then they have a 7 instead of a 9 on the model number.
Have about 4 x 499s and a couple of 489s in the collection of around 40 reels of all sizes and about the same number of rods of all sizes and makes
sunshine
Posts: 2555
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Yup 8144 and Sigma 080
Still rate the drag on the Sigma as one of the smoothest in ANY reel I have used and that includes some very expensive ones.
have one of the first graphite beach 144s at least 40 plus years old.....have to use a totally different technique for casting than the old butterworth but half the weight.
gave a mate my old old Diawa 7000 and it looks crap but still reliable as hell
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17867
Date Joined: 11/03/08
From memory the sigma 080
From memory the sigma 080 wasn't far off top shelf back in the 80s. Been a good reel from the start. Got my first yellowfin tuna with it in coral bay this year
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
davewillo
Posts: 2258
Date Joined: 08/09/16
Got a Mitchell 301 that I
Got a Mitchell 301 that I got about 50 years ago, complete wioth the plastic case it came in with spare spool. It's on a light glass rod from the same era. Don't really use it these days as it's a trout outfit and not capable of casting tiny modern lures. Was fine back in the day for flinging Wonder Wobblers and Floppy Minnows or bait under a float. Got an Abu 5000 baitcaster that would be maybe 1972 vintage complete with leather case and spare parts tube. That's caught some good KG's and skippy.
PGFC member and lure tragic
pelagicyachts
Posts: 1301
Date Joined: 23/02/11
I have a Penn Longbeach that
I have a Penn Longbeach that was my Grandfathers that would be over 80 years old.
History
After he married he used to run the lighthouse in Walvis Bay (Namibia) and he had trouble landing what we call YTK off the rocks as no reel could stand up to them (half his luck eh!). He wrote to Penn and told them of his woes asking if they could provide something robust and they sent him a Longbeach 65a to test. He wrote to them thanking them advising it did the job, they wrote back asking if he could send it back as it was one of their prototypes - he said no thanks, ill send you a cheque! :-)
Wind forward 80+ years and it is still being used, it has a bit of slop in it but my dad and now myself have never changed anything in it except the clicker spring -
Mulie
Posts: 546
Date Joined: 20/02/11
I still use a Sigma 080 as
I still use a Sigma 080 as my salmon reel. Paid about $120 for it in the 90's as a young bloke.
Mulie