When I first started
seriously fly fishing, in 1972, I built my own rod on a Lamiglass blank and fitted a Plfueger Medalist 1494 to it. I don’t recall
the line with certainty, but I’ll bet it was an Aircel. That set-up wreaked
havoc on the local yellow perch, black crappie and bluegill population. I
remember taking one fish after another on black Weber poppers while my
grandfather, at the other end of the boat, went wanting with his
ever-present worm and bobber rig.
By 1974 I’d become addicted to this sport. I’d signed on as a charter
member of the newly formed Cape Cod chapter of Trout Unlimited and was
exposed to “salters” – sea run brown trout. The demanding sea-runs lead to
the purchase of another, more specialized fly rod. It was a Heddon Pal 8’3”
8wt. A Plflueger 1495DA took pride of place on that reel seat.
The same year I purchased the Heddon I ran into a blitz of bluefish tearing
up sand eels just out of range of my best casts. Heavier artillery was
needed. Another Lamiglass blank was purchased, this time a 9’ 10wt that
matched up to custom-cut lengths of lead core trolling line. My crude
shooting head system found a home on a Pflueger 1498DA.
I still have that 1498, more than 30 years later. It still works just
fine. My original 1495 finally wore out – it met its match in the form of a
Great Miami River carp. In the last five years I’ve added to my family of
Medalists. I now have a 1492, 1494½, 1495, 1495½ and the 1498. Someday
soon I’ll find a 1494 and a 1496 to round out the collection. But make no
mistake, this isn’t a collection for a drawer or a keepsake box. These are
still working reels for me. And I use them all often.
The Pflueger Medalist is quite likely the most popular fly reel ever built.
In production since 1930, the older Medalists command respectable collector
values. The earliest Medalists are easily recognizable. They sported a
round line guard and sculpted “bowling pin” shaped pillars. The very
earliest reels also used a knurled metal cap for a drag setting.
By the 1950’s the Enterprise Manufacturing Company had officially changed
its name to Pflueger. In 1966 the Shakespeare Company acquired Pflueger,
but continued to manufacture the Medalists in Akron until 1969. In 1969
production was moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas. The letters DA, for "dual
action" were added after the model numbers. These reels allowed either
right or left hand retrieve.
By 1979 Shakespeare had shifted production overseas to Japan, Hong Kong and,
eventually, China. Reels from this period can be identified by the letters
CJ (Japan) and AK (Hong Kong, China) stamped on the rim. Also, the reel
foot had the words Japan, China or Hong Kong inscribed on it.
It’s a good time to own a vintage Pflueger. High quality replacement parts
are readily available. In fact, you can make your vintage Medalist perform
at a level far beyond their original design by replacing anything and
everything from the reel foot (older reel feet are sometimes too wide for
contemporary reel seats) to the handle, and from the drag plate to the line
guide. The
One-Pfoot company of North Conway, NH custom manufactures all kinds of
parts and specializes in fine tuning vintage Medalists!
I love fiberglass rods, and one day soon I’ll write an article about my
burgeoning collection and my fascination with this anachronistic design.
Suffice it to say that sometimes progress for the sake of progress misses
the fine points of the exercise; in the case of fly rods there is still a
lot fiberglass can do that graphite can’t. The Medalists in my collection
are happily paired with glass rods, but also find lot’s of time strapped to
carbon.
My little 1492 holds half of a DT 4 floating line and is matched to a
Cabela’s Stow-Away five piece rod. This is a fine panfish outfit, and it’s
often found bouncing around the back of my Jeep when I’m scouting or
traveling. This set-up also fits nicely into my check-on bag for those
overnight business trips to destinations where the water is soft and the
fish may be willing.
The Medalist 1494½ has a wide spool and offers the perfect capacity for a 5
or 6 weight line. I have it filled with a Scientific Anglers density
compensated uniform sinking WF 5 line. This reel is almost always in my
vest when I’m carrying a 4, 5 or 6wt rod. In fact, it saw quite a bit of
use this winter chasing skipjack, white bass and hybrid stripers on the Ohio
River!
My 1495 is a true workhorse. I have two of them and two extra spools
(available directly from Shakespeare for under $10 each). I carry my 6wt
ghost tip, 6wt double taper, 7wt double taper and 7wt Pat Ehlers bass bug
line fully dressed and ready for action. I’ll bet these reels have been
fished hundreds of times and have landed hundreds of fish. Certainly I can
recall just about everything from striped bass to trout, from redfish (one
Padre Island Texas toad took me into the backing four times!) to pike
finding themselves attached to lines spooled on my Medalist 1495’s!
The 1495½ is a wide spool version of the 1495. I keep this reel spooled
with a double taper 8 wt line for close in work with my (still kicking)
Heddon Pal. The slow casting rhythm of that old glass rod, coupled to the
amazing cast-ability of a supple double taper line, makes easy work of
dropping cork bugs and small spinner-fly combos into tiny holes along the
bank of my favorite bass pond.
The 1498 is a beast. It’s a large reel. I keep an old 10wt bass bug line
spooled on it for those times when big flies and big wind conspire against
me. My Orvis TL908-4 happily handles the big line, and that heavy hawser
guarantees that my 4/0 hair bugs will be delivered to the spot they need to
find. There have been a few Minnesota pike that have regretted that
combination! Best of all, I didn’t break the bank to have this specialized
back-up system available. Between EBay and Sierra Trading Post, I didn’t
have to invest more than $50 in the whole shooting match! Now that’s cheap
insurance!
If you’d like to know more about Pflueger Medalist fly reels, look no
further than Richard Komar’s article on
Fly Anglers On-Line, or the original version on
FlyReelsOnline. The later even offers .PDF images of original Pflueger
documentation and owner’s manuals.
One day soon I’ll purchase a brand spanking new Pflueger Medalist and let
you know how current production stands up to the classic American-made
versions in my collection. Until then, I think the Medalist deserves the
gold!
