A collectible fishing reel primer

The choice is manyfold. One can start collecting antique fishing reels in different ways but it's probably better to have a little discipline which makes the task a sensible one and a more enjoyable one than a random collecting. Here are a few ideas.

You can start collecting according to a particular time (e.g. pre-II World War, before the '50s, the 1800s! expensive though, uh!), to the brand (e.g. Mitchell, ABU), to a special technique (e.g. only fly reels or salt-water reels) and so on with dozens of variations in-between (e.g. ABU Garcia Ambassadeur reels before 2000)

Firstly, the conditions of the reel are very important. A well kept reel is more valuable than a broken reel of the same kind. Also if it comes if the original packing and manuals which by the way are restected collectible items on their own.

Here is a classification of the ORCA organisation by Mr Steve Vernon, author of Antique Fishing Reels, Stackpole Books, 1985.

"For reels, ratings should be provided for both "appearance" and Mechanical Condition" and the ratings should be used to supplement complete descriptions."

Grade	APPEARANCE	Grade	MECHANICAL CONDITION
Mint	Original factory condition. Never used
A10	Looks mint, but no guarantees as to whether it was used	M10	All functions work perfectly, not wear
A9	Hard rubber still polished; edges sharp; markings sharp; machining marks crisp, plating intact, no corrosion, pitting, chips or scratches	M9	All functions work well, though some wear apparent. Spool fully adjustable strong click; strong brake; smooth level wind.
A8	Occasional light scratches; minor, normal plating wear; rubber edges may not be sharp; minor foot imperfections; clean; crank knobs tight	M8	All functions work well, though complete adjustment may not be possible. Slight spool dinging; some click wear; brake pressure may not be maximal.
A7	Small chips; some plating wear; screw slots obviously used; light cleaning required; if recently polished, some surface defects	M7	Normal use and wear; spool sloppy; click weakening; level wind slight wobble.
A6	Chips; small dents; scratches from normal use; light corrosion; foot filed heavily or bent severely; some screw heads buggered	M6	All functions work, but some may be fairly worn; some gear noise; click may slip or be very weak; needs new pawl.
A5	Larger chips and/or scratches; heavier corrosion, light pitting; slight bends in pillars, crank; knob pins bent or loose; may need small replacement part such as a screw, net or bearing cap	M5	Functions work, but with some difficulty; click or brake not functional; level wind jams, broken gear tooth or worn gears
A4	Has significant problem; heavy corrosion; buggered screws; cracked rubber plate; small broken part, missing major part(s) such as pillar, line guide, click button; foot seriously damaged	M4	Functional problems requiring replacement parts to make operable
A3	More serious problems. Broken foot or other frame part; bent or badly dented plates.	M3	Major functional problems, possibly due to missing or broken parts that are not easily replaced
A2	May be useful for parts	M2	Major problems
A1	No aesthetic value	M1	No mechanical value

And here I give you the best way to don't loose time and concentrate on the task not only for fishing reels but for other antique fishing tackle: oldreel.net

The Oldreel.net website is my best starting point for finding updated information of reel prices and trends.

Finally, the value can be a personal one, too, of course (e.g. my first old fishing reel)!

Following is a respected (and valuable) list of brands which can rely on for collecting purposes:

So, here we are, we got a good ground from where to start. Now of course it's time to deepen our knowledge and look for more resources which can help us understand our collecting of old fishing tackle...

A Collectible Fishing Reel Primer