you're kidding, right?  

 

 

@ButchA you have a great combo there.  7' TriSport was my first serious spinning rod, which I fished for bass, inshore and jetties all through high school.  

Adding details, my green Penn 716 is matched with 6-1/2' Fispo (Harnell blank); Hardy Exalta on Phillipson ES66; half-bail CAP (4th model) on 5' Cortland C2000; Mitchell 440 Ottomatic on Garcia Conolon, which was the legendary fast glass rod of the 70s.  

Wow!!!  Thank you!  I noticed the Garcia Mitchell 304 in your photo!  I have one too from the 60's that my dad fixed up and gave to me when I was a kid.  I still have it and mounted it on his old Garcia Conolon Kingfisher light action rod.

@ButchA First and foremost share a photo of your Mitchell 304. Also @bulldog1935 has quite a few pictures in a post which I’m drawing a blank on the title but it’s something to the effect of 🤔 “so you like the oldies” I know I’m screwing it up and don’t have time to search it so maybe bulldog can refresh my memory.

Hi @ButchA - my 1949 CAP (Carpano & Pons) wouldn't become Mitchell 304 for another 5 years.    And yes, please show your 304.  

Here's my BR contribution to Old Stuff that @Eric 26 was fishing for

 

Here's my dad's early 70's Abu Garcia Conolon light action rod paired with my mid 60's Garcia Mitchell 304 that he fixed up for me when I was a kid....  So many wonderful memories of fishing with my dad! 

My last DC reel...................Maybe???

Fishing had taken a backseat this past year, year and a half, but no more. Took two weeks off in June, booked a cabin in Santa Clara lake and a trip with the local guide.

 

Oh, and I got a little something extra too:

 

 

Now that I finally got one, watch as Shimano revamps the Metanium 150 in the next 12 months like it happened to me with the NRX and the Expride.

 

Weight-wise it's very close to the Curado MGL and if feels like a just slightly smaller frame, but the tolerances are much tighter. Can't wait to put this thing through its paces. 

 

Slowly acquiring parts for a new build.  The reel itself should be here next week, and the rest of the parts the following week.  Sure I could've gone aftermarket, but my objective is to build a reel that Daiwa doesn't with all Daiwa parts.  It'll be a slick reel for fishing the Detroit River and piers in my neck of the woods.  @bulldog1935 knows what I'm building, but outside of him, it's a secret 😏

 

@redmeansdistortion 

On 4/7/2024 at 3:04 PM, ButchA said:

Here's my dad's early 70's Abu Garcia Conolon light action rod paired with my mid 60's Garcia Mitchell 304 that he fixed up for me when I was a kid....  So many wonderful memories of fishing with my dad! 

I had that exact same setup;  recently gave the reel away, still have the rod.  Memories from the 50's and 60's.

7 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

@redmeansdistortion 

Yes it will be, getting pretty excited over here 😀

From reading these posts, the Conolon rod must have been very popular in it's day.   Most Readers are relating it to 1970's vintage, some to the 1960's.  I still have mine and my seriously fading memory thinks I got it in the 1950's.  Anyone know the history?

@Tackleholic https://www.geocities.ws/fisherdude2_99/early_narmco_conolon_rods.htm

The Mitchell Museum used to have the most complete Conolon rod catalog collection, but that archive has disappeared.  

https://www.realsreels.com/RodsGarcia.html 

https://www.fishingtalks.com/garcia-rod-info-1975-17016.html

 

The Royal Javelin fly I owned for awhile had original hang-tag price of $35 in 1955, which is over $400 in today's money.  (NOS rod was a cheap ebay snag)

https://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2442&p=4445  

https://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=72881 

https://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1128

Caught some good fish finally with the new custom ALX and caught a surprise big fish with the Old 18 UUL I got for Christmas. I was using 2 lb Daiwa Samurai J-fluoro which I think might be my new favorite line to use for BFS

 

Time to turn some screws. 

 

6 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Time to turn some screws. 

 

 

23 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

A little mock-up. 

5 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

A little mock-up. 

 

@redmeansdistortion As I have zero mechanical skills when it comes to “servicing/tuning” my reels, in fact I ruined the first reel I tried to service years ago I’m absolutely floored with the amount of talent displayed on this site. From the simplest things such as new handles and color matched screws and knobs to the full tear downs/tune ups and sometimes just starting from a frame such as you and @bulldog1935 have done it is an absolute joy to see and I for one look forward to seeing them all. Thank you one and all for sharing your talent on this site. 

41 minutes ago, redmeansdistortion said:

A little mock-up. 

 

Who needs Ito.  

All finished!  Here's a rundown of parts. 

 

TD Sol gears, Alphas SV105SH worm gear, Alphas Air handle and nut, Alphas pinion shaft, Alphas SV105SH worm gear, Alphas CT SV spool cap, SLP micro bearings, and a drag clicker to finish it off.  This is made from all Daiwa parts except for the drag clicker.  

5 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

 

Who needs Ito.  

@bulldog1935 I do if I want a “tuned” Daiwa or I need ZPI or Isuzu and a good amount of money 😉😆

5 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

All finished!  Here's a rundown of parts. 

 

Absolutely gorgeous! 

On 4/7/2024 at 6:58 AM, ButchA said:

Good morning...

 

How about seriously "old school"?  Vintage?  Anyone still have a rod/reel combo from back in the day?  Check out my 1968 Berkley Tri-Sport T32 with a Spinmaster Diamond III spinning reel.  This was my dad's pride & joy for decades.  So many childhood memories of going fishing with him!  I just respooled this yesterday with Sufix braided line on a spare spool in the tacklebox. 

 

The only old school thing I own is a 1973 Ambassadeur 5000 that I need to fix up. I’d like to get more, but I’m so stuck on trying to stock up on the new stuff I like to have the money for the older stuff. I’d like to go hit some antique stores and see what I can find.

 

I need to get all of my stuff together for an updated picture. I’ve spent way too much money on reels in the past couple of years, and I’ve only bought four. I got a Daiwa Millionaire CT SV 70H because I’m a sucker for round reels. Got a Shimano Conquest DC 100, because, again, sucker for round reels and wanted to try out a DC reel. I got the Daiwa Zillion G, because everyone was saying it’s the best all around reel you can get. And, finally, the first one I bought when I started getting back into the hobby was a Tatula SV TWS, which I think I’ve used twice since I bought it because I’ve been too busy playing with the others.

Family photo time. 

Daiwa Steez SV TW 2024 100XHL

LEGEND XTREME CASTING ROD 
IXFC70MF / 7'0" / Medium / Fast

 

Haven't came in yet!  but I'm looking out my window daily for this pair! 

On 4/15/2024 at 3:49 PM, msgf91 said:

Caught some good fish finally with the new custom ALX and caught a surprise big fish with the Old 18 UUL I got for Christmas. I was using 2 lb Daiwa Samurai J-fluoro which I think might be my new favorite line to use for BFS

 

2lb samurai?!  That's crazy.  I don't need that kind of stress while I'm fishing.  I bet it is quite the challenge though.