Show Me Your Sentimental Setup!

[slainempire]

I would like to see what you have that means a lot to you.  Mine is a zebco 20/30 spincast reel on a 5'6" bass pro shops mean green stick.  My father gave me this in 1989 after he had it for a few years.  He had another one so we would both use the same thing when i was out with him as a kid.  This is what i really learned on and used for a very long time.  Of course i havent used this regularly in years but i still would take it our every once in a while.  I finally fully retired it this year since the gears a pretty worn out.  I couldnt even tell you how many fish this has caught, but the number has to be ridiculous.  Im thinking of buying another one off from ebay to replace the gears but even if i dont i will never get rid of it. 

[kingkong85]

Abu garcia white 7' spinning rod (my dad's rod) I don't know what happened to the reel. Ever since my dad stopped fishing this rod has retired. My dad is no longer with my family and I so I keep it even though I don't use it. He also left a shotgun and bought me my first car. Even though my first car is giving me trouble and have thought about selling it, I have decided to keep it since my car has sentimental values.

[new2BC4bass]

Can't.  No longer have it.  No sentimental rod, but my first reel was a Mitchell 300.  Sure wish I still had that.

[Goose52]

There was a similar thread in the Fishing Tackle forum back in September titled "Sentimental Gear" - this thread not only mentioned rods and reels but also any vintage tackle/lures that you were fond of. This is my response copied from that thread; I've added a couple more photos:

 

I started fishing around 1959 and have most of my gear that I used from then through the 1960s (Fishing Era 1).  I still have almost all my reels from the 60s (2 spinning reels, 2 spincast, and 2 flyreels - missing a baitcast reel).  I'm missing a rod or two but still have 2 spinning rods and 1 fly rod from back then.  I still have a bunch of my lures from the 60s.  I still have most of my 1980s vintage gear (Fishing Era 2) - minus the salt-water rods (don't need a 13' surf rod in Tennessee... )  I still fish some of this stuff from time to time.

 

File photos that I had on hand:

 

My first spinning reel - a Ted Williams (1959), and my first spincast (about 1965) - a Lido (what the heck is a Lido you might ask...it's the reel I got my first 4-pound class bass on!)

 

 

Here's the Ted Williams reel on a mid-60s solid glass Heddon rod - June 2013 on its annual sortie - still reels in bass 54 years after I got it. (I know, it's not a very big bass..............but its a bass... )

 

 

An in-the-box Zebco 202 (~60s something) - I never fished this much and preferred the Lido (don't know where that non-original handle nut came from...............or IS it original???):

 

 

Fly reels - a Sears knock-off of a Pflueger Medalist (right)...and a real little Pflueger (left)....along with a Shakespeare Wonderod (mid- to late-1960s):

 

 

A few lures from the 60s (the Hula Popper has a new skirt):

 

 

MirrOLures from the 60s:

 

 

A made-in-Sweden Abu Reflex in-line spinner - I got a kit of 5 of these in the 60s (for 1 book of S&H trading stamps) and fished them over the years - lost them one by one but am saving this last one:

 

 

A Super Duper - still have a couple of these around:

 

 

Fishing Era 2: - I still have most of my 80s-vintage Shakespeare spinning reels and a couple 80s-vintage rods (two of the reels in the photo have since been eBayed) .  I fished the freshwater-size Shakespeare reels in the photo until recently - finally retiring the last one in January 2012 (the 040 size with line on the spool):

 

 

More than 25 years old at the time, the 040 size reel on the top row, right end in the above photo, scored a 9lb LMB in 2011.

 

 

Finally - a Mitchell 408 on a Garcia Conolon rod (purchased around 1966) - both in excellent condition, still fished about once a year - this photo from this past June:

 

 

Special mention goes to this Ambassadeur 5000, now over 50 years old, that belonged to my Dad. It's on an 80s-vintage Shakespeare rod.  I still fish this every once in a while - this channel cat hit my bass plug a couple years ago.

 

 

I got other stuff too - just no file photos handy at the moment.

 

Lots of memories....

[kickerfish1]

Classic post Goose! Nice vintage collection!

[kingkong85]

Great post goose. Makes me want to start collecting my gear.

[Goose52]

Thanks guys - I don't really have a collection...I just tend to keep things until they're "used up"....and this gear isn't used up yet...

 

... but let's have some more folks post photos of their gear...

[Long Mike]

I have a Garcia Mitchell 301c spinning reel, still in very good condition, that I keep for no particular reason, other than nostalgia.  My best guess is that it's about 50 years old.

[kingkong85]

I'll post a picture or 2 when I get home. Currently out of town and will be for another week and a half.

[MacP]

My most sentimental rod is a 8'6" 5 wt. fly rod my dad built me for my 18th birthday.  When we moved into our house, I lost the semi-antique Hardy fly reel that was attached.  I was gutted.  :-(  I picked up a new reel this year and all's good.

 

[SirSnookalot]

No sentimental equipment, don't even know what happened to my gear, bought all new when I moved to Florida.  I did catch a 61# cobia on a freshwater Shakespere (red reel) in 1975, reel was bought much earlier.  I was a lot younger and stronger then, I'd like to try it again.

[Loop_Dad]

 Wow, Goose, very nice! I recognize some of them, even though what I am thinking about was probably from later years.. Heddon Supper Sonic (I used to have one), the plugs above it on your picture look like monkey face (I used to have this too), Mitchel spinning reel, ambassador 5000.

 

I have a Shimano BM-1 from 70's. This is Japanese Market Version of Lew's BB-1. I had to save up to finally be able to buy this when I was a boy. My brother kept this for me for decades. I didn't even know. And I was recently united with it.

 

 

I also still have a Fuji Speed Stick ( which I am guessing it was sold by Lews in USA as Speed Stick ?) to go with this, but it is at my brother's storage.

[Goose52]

 

 Wow, Goose, very nice! I recognize some of them, even though what I am thinking about was probably from later years.. Heddon Supper Sonic (I used to have one), the plugs above it on your picture look like monkey face (I used to have this too), .......

 

 

The two plugs above the Super Sonic are Heddon River Runts.

 

That's an outstanding Shimano reel !!!

[bighed]

1976 my dad took me on the trip of a lifetime to Lake Yojoa in Honduras.  Dad was a minnow fisherman taking a son interested in all that stuff Bill Dance was doing on TV.  We bought the 9 1/4" Flip Tail worms and such that was recommended for the trip but struggled once we got there, not landing much on our old Shakespeare fiberglass spinning rods and reels.   Turned out the more experienced anglers were using these new Abu 5000C casting reels on Lew's Speed Sticks that we had never seen or heard of before.  My birthday followed that trip by a month or so and my gift was that new 5000C and Lew's I'd seen everybody using. I landed thousands of fish on that rod before retiring it. Still have the rig and the memories with dad fishing together.     

[Hi Salenity]

I have a Garcia Mitchell 301c spinning reel, still in very good condition, that I keep for no particular reason, other than nostalgia.  My best guess is that it's about 50 years old.

The 301 and 309 were the first spinning reels I ever had

[retiredbosn]

I still have the reel I caught my pb on, even better I was lucky enough to have Hank Parker sign it. Rod is either broke, or its the one I gave to ninja