Anglers Mark Alert: Vintage Reels

I came across these vintage reels the other day and it reminded me what the "Anglers Mark" is all about. These reels are not of any real value, other than the coolness of their design that takes you back to the 60's and 70's - times when we were growing up and getting out on a jon boat with cousin Chuck and doing some fishing.


This vintage automatic fly reel was manufactured by the Shakespeare Company, Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.A. The Shakespeare NO. 1822, Model ED, OK AUTOMATIC fly rod reel offers silent winding, a chromed line protector, and will hold 80 yards "G" and 34 yards "D" line. According to Lures And Reels.com, This model was made in 1967.  What the heck is "G" and "D" line? Evidently fly lines were given an Alpha rating way back. Here's an article that explains the switch from the Alpha to numerical rating.

The Shakespeare Model 1810DK was designed to be used on spinning rods which hade either sliding reel seats, sliding rings, or fixed reel seats which were mounted behind the hand, and under the rod, in a similar position to that of a fly reel. The DK stamp indicates that it was produced in 1970.

Shakespeare's Model 1837 GB Tru-Art Automatic Fly Reel could hold 80 yards of "G" line and 35 yards of "D" line. The
Silent Tru-Art was made from the middle thirties till 1977. This reel was made in 1949.












 

The Shakespeare Model 1795 Wonder Cast Model EF was manufactured in 1965. The push button Wonder Cast  has a dual drag system. A push of the button releases the line and the reel retrieves it. 






The Shakespeare OK Automatic Fly Reel Model 1824 EK was made in 1961.  Many are listed as "silent stripping"

The Shakespeare Wonder Cast 1977 EK  was manufactured in 1971 according to Lures and Reels. com
This is a push button spin casting reel.










Shakespeare's International 2852 Fly Reel was manufactured in the 1970s from bar stock magnesium for lightness and strength when Shakespeare wanted to go up market. It's a little strange that the literature mentions made in Britain but there's a "made in Japan" sticker on the mount!







The Pflueger Polaris 86 was made in the early 1960's here in the United States.