Question on Old Martin Fly Reels

Hi All,

You see a lot of the old Martin fly reels on Ebay. I have a Martin, and you see a lot of 61s, 63s, 65s, and others.

Apparantly the Martins were not the cutting edge fly reel, but a bunch of plain folks like myself must have used them.

My question is what is the straight dope on the various "#60" models? Were some better than others? What line capacity did the different models have?

Which one or ones are the best match for a 3 wt or 5 wt. I fish primarily small streams and also warm water fish for bluegills.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks and regards,

Gandolf

Any of those (older - made in the USA) model 60 & 61 Martin reels would work for those wt lines. I liked them for their lite weight, simplicity and cost. Also, had a model 61 and a cheap rod for when I was crossing some deep, unknown waters by canoe ... if "something" were to happen and it were lost, no big deal!



Dale

I had a Martin 67A in the early 80's. I was an OK reel, with weight comparable to the Pflueger Medalists. Unless you have a particular affection for the Martin brand name, I'd rather have a Pflueger Mesdalist.

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I had a Martin 67A in the early 80's. I was an OK reel, with weight comparable to the Pflueger Medalists. Unless you have a particular affection for the Martin brand name, I'd rather have a Pflueger Mesdalist.

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Hey, gadabout ...

I still have one of those model 67 Martin reels ... mine says it's a model "67N" - If I remember correctly, it came with one of Martin's first graphite rods, which was a gift and I've dared not part with it! But what is important, at least with the model 67N reel I have, it was made by the orginal Martin Company in Mohawk, NY, along with the fly rod. As I understand it, Zebco bought out Martin and the model 60 & 61 reels (smaller sized than the 67N), were of the Zebco vintage. The 9' (6/7wt) Martin rod, is a slow actioned rod ... kinda noodley!

Also have a 1494 Pflueger Medalist reel, much older, and your are right, a better made reel.


Dale

Dale,

I also have a few of the Martin MC Classic reels that I bought before the company went south, so to speak. A nice inexpensive reel. Can't take much abuse but otherwise works well.

Take a look here.These folks love their click and pawl reels.
http://p097.ezboard.com/ffiberglassflyr ... D=37.topic