Why is the Medalist 1494 such a sought after fly reel, especially those with the older Akron, Ohio stamping ?
acal
The Medalist that were made in the USA were the blue collar reels of their day. Those that couldn’t afford a Hardy or even an Orvis bought a Medalist. They were rock solid and dependable amd were sold not only in sporting goods stores but hardware stores and bait shops around the country. If my memory serves me right they were first made in Akron OH and then later down south somewhere and finally around 1973 the whole operation went to China. So those made in Akron are more sought after.
I own both a 1494 and 1495 that were made in Akron. The 1494 with a 4 dt line balances beautifully on my 7’ 4wt cane rod. I use the 1495 wth a 6wf line on a Fenwich 7 1/2’ 6wt glass rod and on an older graphite 6wt.
Dave
People also like them because with a few One Pfoot add-ons, they can look like this:
Here is my favorite Pflueger…
Kerry: Which Pflueger model is that?
Bruce
“Those that couldn’t afford a Hardy or even an Orvis bought a Medalist”. Pflueger, for many years, made the original Orvis Madison reel, which, essentially was a Medalist with the Orvis name stamped on it.
I’ve got an old Orvis Madison #9 and it works flawlessly even at its age. Just don’t get even one grain of sand in it. I wonder if there are larger sizes in the old OM than the #9 ?
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
Sal Trout 1554. It was made in the thirties, again in the mid-fifties and I think in the early sixties. I believe the one I have was made in the thirties.
Kerry,
I believe your reel is the 50s/60s version of the Sal Trout.
Many circular holes in the backplate. A really great reel for the money.
Here’s a pic of the earlier pre-war Sal Trout…different backplate
Bob
Thx Bob. I always get confused with when mine was made. I now remember reading the “cross” back model is the early one.
Which Sal-Trout would hold a 4 or 5 wt. line?
Either one with the appropriate amount of backing.
They are very lightweight reels and some spool some leadcore backing plus standard 20/30lb backing
if added weight is needed.
These reels can normally be found for sale on the BIG worldwide bazaar.
Since we’re talking Pflueger Sal Trout reels now, here’s a couple of pics of a Model 1555 brass skeleton Sal Trout from the 1920s.
I bought my 1494’s and 1495’s in the late 60’s/early 70’s, just before Pflueger went overseas. The plant was in Fayetville, Arkansas
Recently on another board there was a thread about the pioneers of northeast saltwater fly fishing and what kind of gear they used.
To a man, every single person that responded that had fished the salt in the '50s and '60 all used a Medalist. Either a 1495 1/2 0r the 1498.
There were better reels, but with the Medalist you knew you were getting a reliable reel at a reasonable price
I’m surprised no one put a link to this page up yet
thanks dudley. That was the article i was lookling for
I’ve posted these on these pages before, but here’s a couple of my medalists with the ‘customized’ drag 
for fishing the salt
Fingers and/or palm; the best drag in the business.
When my Dad passed on he left me all his fishing gear and he loved Pflueger! Here’s his Sal-Trout 1554 (it’s like brand new!) and I think he bought it in the very late 50’s; and then his 1494 (made in Akron) purchased very soon after.
Here you go, history buffs: http://flyanglersonline.com/features/oldflies/part287.php
I have a 1494 1/2 made in fayetteville (and I bought it new, thats how old I am!!), use it on my 5wt and sometimes 4wt, had the onepfoot done and it works great; but I must say I like the ross evolution I picked up on clearence very well too.
I think it was one of the Salt Water pioneers, perhaps Left Kreh, that had modified a Medalist with a cut out and a piece of oiled shoe leather attached to the reel that he could push against the exposed side of spool. It saved his fingers from burning up.