1494 Medalist - 1962

When I first got into bamboo rods my outfit was a South Bend 359 dry fly rod with a Medalist reel. I felt a little low end because my fishing friends all had Payne rods with Hardy reels. One day at the Catskill Fly Fishing museum all the all timers gravitated to my outfit because they said it was what they coveted when they were young and had to settle for cheap Montague rods and Medalist knock off reels. The old Medalists are built like a tank and have smooth drags. Besides the reel foot, the other con for them was the huge number of tiny screws that held it together. The screws somehow always came loose and the first thing I did when I got one was to take out all the screws and put them back in with Lock-Tite.

I would say from the 30's to the 70's they were America's premiere fly reels. Even in the 90's when I needed a new reel for my smallie outfit the fly shop owner smiled when I opted for the $25 Medalist over the $150 high end reel.
 
My uncle gave me one years ago, he'd got in the 60's. He used to line it up with 6lb mono and sling bait with it on an old Fenwick glass rod (which I also have). The "original" mono-rig!

I don't fish it near as much as I should.
 
JG63 said:
What can you say? Lefty used them in the salt - everyone in mid century had one or more - they last forever and can take a punch like a barn door - all hail Pflueger! We need fish pix with this rig ASAP! Well done Joe!
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So, it might be a few weeks? It was 7° here this morning when I dropped my daughter & son off at before school show choir practice. Phil better get his story straight in a couple weeks here-just saying! LOL 🦫
 
Medalists? Nope, never heard of them!

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fritzer said:
Trust you don't use more than one reel at a time 😂……..nice collection!
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Thanks! That's just some of the medalists, have a bunch of others as various decorations throughout the house. One of these days I will gather up all my reels, and most of my usable rods and take some photos.
 
What's the equivilent size for that Finalist in Medalist terms? The 1498 or one of the smaller ones?

I love the asymmetrical drag adjustment slopes, how it doesn't like really kick in the extra brake til you torque it down all the way.

Now I want one.
 
gfenlikestolosepasswords said:
What's the equivilent size for that Finalist in Medalist terms? The 1498 or one of the smaller ones?

I love the asymmetrical drag adjustment slopes, how it doesn't like really kick in the extra brake til you torque it down all the way.

Now I want one.
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I would say the 1498 would be similar. Not home right now, will compare later tonight
 
Here is the my original Pflueger GEM reel - Model No. 2094 that was my first reel mounted on a Shakespeare Wonder Rod back in the late 70’s. That reel was very well loved! I caught my first trout on the fly on that outfit.

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