Vintage PA-made Reel Find

[CinnamonJoe]

I know there are whole boards/social media sites dedicated to vintage tackle, and I am on those from time to time, but I enjoy this community the most.

(just getting that out of the way, because not everyone is interested in using old junk for gear! LOL)

I found this little guy a few weeks ago. I collect (and use!) early-mid 20th Ocean City fly reels; especially the Plymouth, Viscoy, and this, the '76'. Also the retailers Ocean City OEM'd re-labeled versions of these reel (Sport King, JC Higgins, Xpert).

I have two teal green 76 single reels, but lacked a candy apple red one. I picked this one up, with box and warranty paper for less than $20. I love the connection to PA; that these were made in Philadelphia.

These are basic, single action, blue collar reels; but I find them to be nearly bulletproof. For most small-ball flyfishing, for fish under 3 pounds/< 18", they work fine for me.

I am not sure exactly when this one was built, but my guess is the early 1950s. Who knows what waters this reel saw before it came to me, 70+ yrs later?

Joe

 

[nd1001]

Neat find. Cool that the previous owner kept the box and paperwork.

 

[sandflyx]

have a bunch of ocean citys including the rare 78 salmon reels in blue and red.

 

[CinnamonJoe]

have a bunch of ocean citys including the rare 78 salmon reels in blue and red.

Those 78s are a man's reel. Big reels for big fish!

That's a clip from the 1949 OC catalog. Note the larger line capacity on the '78'. That reel is probably older than I thought. In 1950, they re-designed that series of fly reel; thereafter they look significantly different; still solid reels, just changes. I have/use a few of those ',newer' ones.
Joe

 

[Tups]

I believe the 1950 re-design of this reel (76/77/78) looks like the Model 77 in the photo below. The remodel was painted a tan color until after True Temper aquired OC in the mid-1960’s or thereabouts, at which time they made it in black. Also, note that OC eliminated the spool porting, perhaps because of the emergence of synthetic fly lines, making line drying less necessary. These are well-made reels; more robust than some of the models which preceded them.