I’ve been meaning to post something for quite a while, but really didn’t have a lot to say. After all, it’s still the off season and usually there isn’t much in the way of action over winter. But I find myself sitting at my desk with three fingers of Woodfords Reserve (on ice), and think that this is a good time to finally get around to it.
I have actually made it out during the winter, twice on Lake Simcoe for ice fishing adventures, and once on the Credit hunting steelheads. The Credit was nice as an outing, but I didn’t even see a fish; it was just a nice walk in the valley. I had much more success ice fishing, the first outing we caught over 200 perch, the second was much different; caught about two dozen, but they were quite large.
Ice fishing was nice in it’s own way; standing in the middle of a very large lake with nothing but the morning surrounding you is very relaxing. Not the same feeling as being in the middle of a pristine creek, but nice nonetheless. Catching a lot of fish is nice too, but if you’ve read past posts you know the theme that runs through this blog; It’s not about the fish.
And that helps explain why I’ve been so unproductive. I have occupied myself with the usual activities, fly tying, cleaning equipment, sitting in the basement staring at all of my assembled rods etc., but these things don’t really make interesting conversation, so, having nothing to say, I didn’t say it. How’s that for pretzel logic?
But as I think of it, there is something I could have shared. Last year, I picked up a few items in the off season in preparation for this year. One item was a lightweight fiberglass fly rod (3 weight) for use in the heavy brush when fishing smaller creeks for small trout. Another item was an old fly reel in disrepair, approximately 60 – 70 years old. It wasn’t a particularly valuable item, but it looked kind of cool, so I thought I’d restore it for fun. And with this in mind, we finally get to a story.
Here’s a picture of the reel as I found it
The fly reel was made by the South Bend company, which was bought out by another company, Shakespeare, many, many years ago. Searching for the parts required to restore it led me to calling various suppliers, restorers, even museums in a quest to find a source for these parts, all to no avail. Over a period of two months I spoke with people in California, Arizona, Utah, Montana (of course), Iowa, Idaho, Wyoming, Florida, New York, Maine, Vermont and many more locations in the US. I also covered Canada quite well, from B.C., Alberta etc., Quebec and the Maritimes, and of course, countless shops in Ontario. Truth is, from the cost of the long distance, I could have bought a really nice, new fly reel, but that wasn’t the point of the exercise. I wanted this old reel to work again.
I looked into manufacturing the parts, but this was prohibitively expensive. I even enlisted the help of my fly fishing club, The Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Club (gratuitous plug) and asked their advice and assistance by keeping their eyes open in case they stumbled across anything that might be of use. Nothing I had tried was getting me closer to completing it though, so I was starting to get used to the idea that it may just sit on a shelf for a long time as a hopeful quest, sort of a Holy Grail of fly fishing.
A few months later, I was meeting a friend for coffee and had left the house far too early for our rendezvous, so I decided to swing by one of our local outfitting shops. While there, I saw a beautiful fly reel, and was tempted to buy it, but two things stopped me. First the price, which was $300; a bit steep, but it was a nice reel so it sat in my mind a bit. Second, and more importantly, if I bought it I’d have given up my hope that I would restore the old South Bend, and I wasn’t quite ready for that. As I was looking at the expensive reel, I mentioned to the salesperson what I was trying to do with the old reel, and he gave me a few suggestions for reels that may have interchangeable parts. This is quite common with a few manufacturers, so I was happy to have another avenue to explore.
He also mentioned that there was an annual swap meet event that might have some old reels, even a possibility of an old South Bend reel. This excited me, as I could sense that I was about as close as I had ever been to getting somewhere with this project. I might even find a suitable reel for that 3 weight rod that I mentioned.
The day of the event there was a terrible icy rain falling, and I debated travelling the 60 kilometers to get there, but I couldn’t pass up the best opportunity I had of finding what I needed, so off I went.
When I arrived I immediately thought I’d wasted my time, as it looked like a little flea market, selling cheap spinning lures etc., but as I walked about a bit, I began to see a few stalls where there was older equipment. Searching the stalls, I located a few reels that were close, but not what I needed as a replacement/parts reel, and nowhere did I see a suitable reel for my new rod.
Then, walking down the last aisle, a few stalls from the end, I saw a box of old fly reels, marked as $40 each. I searched through them and found exactly the reel I needed for parts. I made sure of the dimensions (perfect), chatted for a moment with the vendors, and walked away to finish looking at the remaining two stalls.
On my way back, I looked in the box and took the reel out, then continued to look through the rest of the reels available, and noticed another, smaller reel, designed for a 3 weight fly rod. I had been chatting with the vendors as I was perusing their wares, and handed him the first reel, the one I needed for parts. I then examined the other reel very closely, checking out the mechanics and condition, just to make sure it would be a working reel. When I was satisfied, I reached over and took the first reel back from the vendor.
“How much for both of these?” I asked. He thought about it, and asked me to make him an offer. “$30 for both.” I said. “Done” he replied, without hesitation. I handed him the money, left the event and got into my car feeling very happy at the day’s business so far.
When I got home, I wasted no time in stripping the old parts reel and completing the assembly of the South Bend. Everything fit perfectly, and the reel had now been brought back to life! I was overjoyed at the outcome to say the least.
Then, I turned to the other reel and looked at it very closely again. I changed the direction of the motion to suit my style of fishing, made a minor adjustment to the drag springs, and again made sure all was in place and working, which it was. Then just to be sure, I looked it up on the internet. My discovery? Hardy Princess Featherweight Fly reel, $490 (used). Talk about finding a diamond in a coal mine.
Here is a picture of the Hardy, and the restored South Bend
Needless to say, I can’t wait to get out and try both of these on the water. They’re both old action reels, a style called Click and Pawl, and they make the nicest sound when a fish is on the line.
I won’t have to wait too long, the season is less than four weeks away, and as you’ll know, I’m counting every minute.
Come Fly With Me 