A 1917 Hardy St. George is a responsibility - something like a curator -

- even if you make $600 profit by fishing it for four years.  

 

 

Edited September 1, 2025Sep 1 by FloridaFishinFool
removed comment

1 minute ago, bulldog1935 said:

A 1917 Hardy St. George is a responsibility - something like a curator -

- even if you make $600 profit by fishing it for four years.  

Haha, I’d agree with that. Nice trout. 
 

What rod is that? 

 

Edited September 1, 2025Sep 1 by FloridaFishinFool
Off track comment removed

Back in the day when I was mostly a saltwater guy I modified almost all of my Penn conventional reels with Newell parts, bases, bars, spools, better bearings faster gears, etc.  They would cast a 3" anchovy if you had a good thumb. 

@F14A-B

When I fished on TV with Frank Smethurst (and my buddy Jimbo)

he called our tailwater rainbows Guadalupe Steelhead.  

Skittering a sofa pillow to work up a feeding frenzy - off-frame to the right behind Jimbo are Frank, videographer and producer - did learn some cool tricks from Frank over 3 days, including Otter's milking eggs - when you absolutely, positively need to catch a fish right now

The para woolley booger rod in post above was built by my buddy Floyd Burkette - he scaled a Wayne Cattanach taper from 4-wt to 5-wt, and traded me a $1000 custom rod for a $500 reel he wanted.   This is original 1918 FE Thomas light-ferrule Special -

- the photo, we're gonna need a bigger net

segue to topic - the reel is Young pattern 15a imported as Varden by Lyon & Coulson - the reel was also imported and sold as the Thomas Special Fly Reel

 

There's a lost generation of new, boxed 1940 reels out there.  Bought by or given as gifts to heros of WWII, never used, squirreled away for a generation, then put on the market.  Another responsibility to honor them, by taking them fishing.  

I was the original owner of the Langley 340 Target and 330 Lure cast reels. Jason Lucas recommended the Langley reels back in 1955. Very light weight at 4 oz & 4 1/4 oz, small reels perfect a kid with small hands. 
I am thrilled these reels found a good home😀

Tom

Thanks Tom - here's the 330 Lurecast

And here it is on my bench after vinegar bath, bushing/spindle metal polish, and solvent bath.  

6 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Thanks Tom - here's the 330 Lurecast

And here it is on my bench after vinegar bath, bushing/spindle metal polish, and solvent bath.  

That reel got a lot use and wear my favorite for over 10 years. Ambassador 2500C retired it!

You do excellent work👍 

My first Shimano baitcaster. Got it for Christmas at 12 years old. The “hood” has been missing since around ‘98-ish, still looking for a replacement. 

Still works great, just a bit of boat rash and time wearing on it. 
 

 

Now you're talkin' my language!

 

Been missing since 1998-ish? Seriously? That IS a long time. So let's see if we can get you fixed up. Here is one on ebay that may fit, but not sure if the graphics are the same.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/226944308543

 

I'll PM you if this is not the right graphics for your reel. I'll refer to the Bantam bible and see. But I need to see the other side of the reel for its model number so I can find the right part.

 

 

I did get into showcase display reels only once in my lifetime when I was contacted by author Phil White through ebay when he was doing his research for his incredible book called "Shimano Bantams - The First 15 Years."

 

Back then I was doing the same thing I do now. Fix reels. Phil needed display reels to photograph for his book. So I sold to Phil White somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 reels or more right off my workbench that he used for showcase display examples photographed within the book.

 

It was an honor and a privilege that he would include my work into his historic publication! I am forever grateful to him.

 

 

Just found out Phil White is still alive and posting online! So maybe this book IS still available? I don't know. Bulldog posted a link below where Phil can be found posting today.

 

 

try this link - https://www.ebay.com/itm/226944308543  - you never need anything past the first ? - the ? and everything that follows is related to your specific user infomation.  

 

Phil White

https://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=12

Last active:

Sun Aug 31, 2025 4:28 pm

 

Phil is probably better known for his effort and books about Meisselbach:  

He used to maintain a really wonderful interactive website about Many antique reel brands.  

2 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

I bet this thread doesn't need an editor.  

 

Nylon gears were never a good idea - I fished through my Mitchell 300 in 4 years of HS catching Spanish macks from the jetties.  

Avail's part is PET, not nylon, giving better wear and brinnelling resistance.  

How you gonna brinnell a worm-gear driver, anyway.  

Back in about 87 or so, Ryobi had a nice, lightweight reel that several of my Navy buddies were buying, like $30 or so. I’d spent $80 on my Shimano baitcaster and I was already catching 5 to 8 pounders in the Osceola forest meanwhile these trick little Ryobi reels were breaking right and left. Now they were about a 50 size reel made out of graphite rather than aluminum. You could buy them on base, NAS Cecil Field. Some of these guys would break them and go buy another one and break it. I asked what was going on but nobody knew 😂so at work we took one apart and it was all plastic on the inside, plastic main gear , I think the pinion was plastic also.. I never seen such garbage in my life. I watched a guy destroy a zebco 33 in that forest. About 2-5 pound fish and they were toast. The amount of 5-10 pound fish in those little strip ponds was incredible and virtually no fishing pressure either. But if you were fishing a Ryobi or Zebco you were good for a couple big fish and that’s it. 
 

My Shimano lived for 15 years and I gave it to a teenager in the family who promptly pawned it.. 

8 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

try this link - https://www.ebay.com/itm/226944308543  - you never need anything past the first ? - the ? and everything that follows is related to your specific user infomation.  

 

Phil White

https://reeltalk.orcaonline.org/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=12

Last active:

Sun Aug 31, 2025 4:28 pm

 

Cool! So he is still alive and posting. Good to hear! So maybe the book is still available? I'll edit that part of my comment to reflect this.

 

I had always hoped for a part 2 to that book that would have moved into the Curados full line. He did touch on them though the very early models.

It's kinda antithesis for ORCA Reel Geezer to write about Curado.  

 

If you want to see the most valuable reel collection on the planet, here's Ron Gast:  

https://www.luresnreels.com/

This will get you started

https://www.luresnreels.com/mmilam.html 

The screws were numbered because they were all lathe-single-turn and matched to the screw holes.  

 

you also might like this BR thread

 

18 hours ago, F14A-B said:

You could buy them on base, NAS Cecil Field.

 

... we took one apart and it was all plastic on the inside, plastic main gear , I think the pinion was plastic also.. I never seen such garbage in my life.

 

Wow! That old NAVY base was right down the street.  Lots of crashed jets in this area from that base! Cecil is gone now. Turned into residential neighborhoods because everyone got tired of all the jet engine noise flying overhead under 1000 feet.

 

Your comment reflects my whole perspective on plastic reels. And plastic IN reels today. I completely agree with you 100%. Kind of funny reducing weight is same thing. I LIKE my heavy reels. Shimano, can you please make heavy reels again?

 

We need 3D printers that can machine metal so we can duplicate plastic parts and install quality back into reels piece by piece if we have to.

 

I've already done it once on a Bass Pro reel that had a plastic part that kept failing. I took it to a local machine shop and had a metal part made out of aluminum. Problem solved.

1 hour ago, ElGuapo928 said:

My first Shimano baitcaster. Got it for Christmas at 12 years old. The “hood” has been missing since around ‘98-ish, still looking for a replacement. 

Still works great, just a bit of boat rash and time wearing on it. 
 

 

 

I just checked in the Bantam bible and wouldn't you know it but when Phil photographed your particular reel he did not turn it in such a way as to show very clearly that hood. Its barely visible. Most of his photos were side shots and angled side shots trying to show most of the reel. Here is the page for your reel:

 

 

 

And oddly enough do you see my page marker at the top of the page? I sold to Phil White one of my personal lefty reels. So on the following page after your reel is one of my old reels. Kind of weird photographing my reel out of some old book. But I do believe it is the same hood as yours and is more visible on my old reel page in the book:

 

 

This should be the correct hood and same as your 2200 reel part:

 

I never would’ve imagined there to be a book on these things!! I think I still have the box and the little tool/grease kit for it too. 

Now that I know which part you need and the correct graphics, I will see if I can find one for ya. It shouldn't be too hard. They are out there. Might have to buy another reel to get it, but these reels are dirt cheap these days. 40 years ago they were the standard for many bass pro's.

 

I still enjoy watching those old bass fishing videos watching some of our professional bass fishing heroes using them.

2 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

If you want to see the most valuable reel collection on the planet, here's Ron Gast:  

https://www.luresnreels.com/

This will get you started

https://www.luresnreels.com/mmilam.html 

The screws were numbered because they were all lathe-single-turn and matched to the screw holes.  

 

 

Thanks for the links. Those are some really awesome old reels. And I like the aged patina they exhibit. Museum pieces for sure.

 

As a Shimano fan boy I love the Timeless Shimano website where he does about same thing in high-maintenance reel work.

 

https://timelessshimano.com/

My first Shimano baitcaster, Bantam Magnumlite, left hand, "high speed 6.1". Bought new in '88. Use it on an All Star WR1 that I bought in '91 in a saltwater tackle store for $30!!

I've upgraded the bearings and the drag, maintain it so it's like new. Bit heavy by today's standard. 

Set up is dedicated for Carolina rigs.

Sweet setup!

 

I'm looking more at that rod than the reel!

 

A Morgan McCain All Star rod!

 

At that time he was purchasing blanks from Gary Loomis and Don Mook's business LCI or, Loomis Composites, Inc. Since that rod says "made in USA" I tend to think that is an LCI blank.

 

When Morgan McCain hired Don Mook to go to Houston, Texas to build a rod blank factory for him there, once Morgan McCain started making his own rods in Houston he changed the graphics on his blanks to say "made in Houston, Tx."

 

That rod right there is a piece of rod making history! And one I'd love to have in my collection! I still look for those to this day. I recently found one with way too much tip broken off and man did it hurt to have to put it back in the rack.

 

I have been fortunate to get to meet my rod blank making hero Gary Loomis twice now at ICAST in Orlando. We sat down and just talked for awhile about his rod blank history and I went straight for asking him about his history with Don Mook and LCI rods. Don built a number of blank factories all across the western USA. From Oklahoma to Texas to northwest. And he has faded off into the sunset.

 

Gary Loomis told me back then he was selling rod blanks to just about everyone including Browning which surprised me.

 

This world will never know the full extent of how many and how far the Gary Loomis legacy goes. It simply was not all documented. I wish someone would do lengthy interviews with Gary on video. Now is the time.

 

On another note, how do you like that fighting star technology?

 

I still have two reels with it. One baitcast reel, the Phil White #162 out of his book, and a 4000 size spinning reel with an adapted version of it which I have used for many years. I think it is more effective on the spinning reels. Easier to use.

And from what I read, Trey Kistler's dad worked at All Star in Houston.

That drag is a bit cumbersome trying to adjust it while fish fighting. I like a light drag but as you know, those big Florida mama's happen at any time. Lol

That WR1 is a GREAT rod.

Kistler. Yep.

 

People just don't realize that as an analogy, Gary Loomis and Don Mook represent the trunk of the rod blank making tree. Not the roots, because rods were made before Gary Loomis was born, but that man is the one who broke all humanity over to graphite rods from bamboo rods, steel rods, and fiberglass rods.

 

Gary Loomis stood at the employee gate to Boeing Aircraft Corporation and talked to employees walking in and out of Boeing. He did this day after day until he finally met with and talked to some of Boeing's carbon fiber composite engineers who were then working on secret DOD aerospace research and development ongoing there at Boeing. (CIA spy and BlackBird pilot Dick Kantner was also involved at the same time.)

 

Once Gary began making contact with those carbon composite engineers, he made contacts there that came over to his side and helped Gary Loomis develop some of the very first graphite rods ever made. We all have him to thank for getting us out of the dark ages and into the space age of rods!

 

So for that, I place Gary Loomis & Don Mook as the trunk of the tree with many branches to it including Kistler and All Star and others. Only Gary Loomis and Don Mook know to who all they sold blanks to and who all jump started their careers from what he pioneered. Gary told me he even sold rods to Johnny Morris and Bass Pro at one time. The list is extensive and we will never know the extent of it all.

 

Gary Loomis is truly a legend! A living legend!

 

And your rod there is from his very first carbon composites company. Don Mook was his partner and you almost never hear about him, but he is far more important to the Loomis story than is known.

 

 

 

About the fighting star drag mech. It was cumbersome on the baitcast reels. Not too easy to use. I am glad Shimano adapted it into the spinning reels. Shimano quickly dropped it from the baitcast reels, but it has lived on in the spinning reels. And it is easy to use.

 

 

 

@FloridaFishinFool, I bought a Browning ML spin rod in the early 90's at BPS. The man there said it's a Loomis blank, sorta didn't believe him. Now, maybe...

Also have an E6X inshore spin rod. Made by Gary, 7'6", Med, Fast. Best speckled trout rod ever!!