Vintage Fishing

[Steve - K4HX]

Neat old rig. A little TLC and I'll bet that thing will work fine.

The good wife Mabel found an old Penn Long Beach rod and roll bait caster combo at a yard sale some years ago. It needs a little clean up. One of these days. Should be good for cat fishing.

[VE3PP]

For years I walked a couple of rivers that flowed into Lake Huron south of my QTH. Spring and fall, for salmon and steelhead (AKA Rainbow Trout)

I used 11'5" light weight rods that allowed me to use leader material down to 4 lbs (required when fishing the rivers when the visibility in the water is high)

Myself and two of my friends were at the river on most Sunday mornings in the fall right up into December chasing steelhead.

In the spring we would fish once opening day came until the steelhead left the river to go back to the lake.

Lots of fun, lots of great memories too.

These steelhead were caught in the Maitland River which flows into Lake Huron at Goderich Ontario.

http://www.ve3pp.ca/Slabs.htm

[AJ1G]

Nice old Penn Long Beach Steve.  AFAIK they were considered “boat” reels, for fishing where you usually were dropping a line overside, not really for casting.  But that didn’t stop me as a kid from teaching myself to surf cast with one and a really stiff Tonkin bamboo boat rod my Grandfather (the same one who gave me my E. H. Scott SLRM receiver) gave me when I was about 11.  Lots of backlashes along the learning curve.  Like the Scott, I still have the Penn and the old bamboo stick.  When you put some fresh line on the spool, fill it up until you are about 1/8 inch from the OD of the spool endbells.  You’ll get a lot more casting DX with a full spool!

[W1RKW]

Chris, yeah, I was gonna say that looks like a deep sea setup for fishing the bottom over the side of a boat like for stripers like we use up here.  The mono filament looks pretty thick for that purpose.

A little TLC and that classic rod and reel setup should look good and do fine. 

[Opcom]

My grandfather used to make his own 'stink bait'. Yes, it did! Phew! but it drew catfish like a magnet draws filings. Many a fine meal!

[Steve - K4HX]

A local told me the Long Beach was a boat reel/rod. I had no idea. I've only been deep sea fishing once about 35 years ago. Makes sense. I wondered why it was so short!

PP, those are some nice fish! Thanks for sharing the memories.

[AJ1G]

My comment re filling the spool up also applies to your beautiful Abu bait casting reel.  It’ll really make that one sing!  Be careful though when casting across a channel.  There is a nearly new 4 Oz Gibbs bottle popper hung up in the bushes on the west side of the Quonnie Breachway in Westerly RI that I planted there last fall on a longer cast than I was expecting!  You can get to the west side but it’s a more than a mile hike from where you can drive without a pass for driving on sand.  I was planning to get the pass this season, but not sure how much use I’ll get in the current situation to justify the 200 buck cost.  Might just take the hike just to see if the Gibbs is still there.

[Steve - K4HX]

Oh, I've lost plenty, even weedless Texas rigged worms. Downed trees and big branches grab ahold and don't let go! 

[K1JJ]

Here's the latest in fishing fashion for good health.  Everyone will leave you alone.  No need for a license. Even the fish will stay away.    (Bunker of Doom Design)

[Steve - K4HX]

Yeah, really. My brother has added a recorded coughing session to his door bell sound to keep alway solicitors and the like.

Actually, many fishermen wear face coverings now. It's become somewhat of a fashion statement. They are useful when it's cold and windy and also if the sun it too intense.

[Tom W2ILA]

Just rescued this from a garage the other day. Its the earliest, uber rare Penn Spinfisher 700 with a cast handle. Sometime in the 60's they changed the handle to the familiar anodized piece. The reel still works great but will need recapping and an alignment.

[AJ1G]

Nice one Tom, should clean up nicely, although getting all that salt deposit off the spool is sometimes tough.  You probably can get a replacement spool, although it might be tough getting one for the early. 700, the paint color seems a lot darker than the 704 “Greenies”. The attached picture shows one of them that I put on one of the big Murat rods.  I bought a couple of reel seats, which I secured on to the rod with carefully applied rings of gorilla tape.  Back in the day, they often went nuts with way too much electrical tape, didn’t do justice to the craftsmanship of the reels and rods it was applied to.  The 704 has the aluminum crank handle.
 
Lots of good spots to exercise that 700 over your way.  Didn’t get over to Jamestown to fish last year, will definitely be over this year.
 

[W1RKW]

Some of the vintage lure's that pre-date me, they're over 60 years old. I never noticed this before but some of these are screwed together with very tiny screws and the hooks are screwed in as well. 

[K1JJ]

Ahhhh...the red and white Dare Devil.

I have used that one for pike, trout, bass and whatever swims and attacks.   My favorite lure by far.

Back in the 80's I wanted to catch and have mounted every major CT River fish.  On my wall is an 11 pound catfish, a 6 pound shad and an 11 pound great northern pike.  The pike has the original Dare Devil hanging from its mouth.  I need to catch another stripper and LM bass, but these days I always release them.

For lots of action, use two poles in the fall for the CT River. One line has a live shinner swimming around with no sinker. The other pole uses a Dare Devil constantly cast in and out.  The pike can't help themselves!

T

[W1RKW]

T,
Where do you typically access the CT River?  I've done the live shiner thing.  Very productive.

[KD1SH]

  There's something about the color combination of red and white that pickerel and pike can't resist.  Back when I was a kid, wading in shallow water one day, I happened to notice what looked like a torn piece of an old paper drinking cup laying on the bottom.  That piece of waxed paper cup had a red and white swirl pattern on it; probably the Coke or Pepsi logo.  My foot disturbed it, it fluttered up off the muddy bottom, and then, right in front of me, here comes this pickerel - probably 16 inches long or so - and grabs that red and white piece of paper cup and swims away with it!
   I've sworn by those red and white Daredevils ever since.  Not just for pike and pickerel; the Daredevil has been one of the most consistently productive lures in my tackle box for for just about any species other than catfish.  There are plenty of red and white imitators, but the original Daredevils seem have the best action and casting weight.

[KD1SH]

Lower right is - I think - a very old "River Runt", before they went plastic. Right above it is what looks like an original Helin "Flatfish".  And the "Jitterbug", or course.  Cast out onto a glass-calm lake in the dark, wait a few seconds, give it a gentle tug and hear that pulsating gurgle, and SPLOP! - a big large-mouth inhales it.  Lots of wonderful memories there.

Some of the vintage lure's that pre-date me, they're over 60 years old. I never noticed this before but some of these are screwed together with very tiny screws and the hooks are screwed in as well. 

[Tom W2ILA]

Chris, you're right on the colors. I have a 710 that's a dark green like the early 700. My 710 was given to me around '72.  My dads 704 is about the same vintage and is the blue shade like yours. Word was Penn wanted to be sure the 704 looked different than the 700 since mechanically it had been improved.
They are a staple.

[Steve - K4HX]

Love those old lures. I have some of the same ones.

[Steve - K4HX]

And the old advertisements.

[Steve - K4HX]

You Connecticut boys should get one of these.

[W1RKW]

and it can double as a good buddy antenna.    cawmawwn

One last vintage fishing thing I overlooked.  The tackle box.  Older than me at 60+ years.

[K1JJ]

And who can forget the Eagle Claw guy.  I hope he received residuals!

T


And the mystery tornado chaser Tron-mobile.

[Steve - K4HX]

Yea, that dude should be a millionaire. I have an old pack of those hooks. They were part of a tackle box I bought at a yard sale.

I recall seeing those type of tackle boxes when I was a kid. Nice heirloom there Bob.

Got this classic Pflueger Summit. That's why I was looking at steel rods.

[W1RKW]

that is one really cool looking reel!