Remember When.

I remember when a Daiwa GS 10 and an HMG was the top of the line!

That Daiwa GS 10 was made from 1978 so it is a little before my time. I do remember seeing one on my Grandpas old fishing rods with layers of dust on it.

I still have my Mitchell 300 in original hard case with manual purchased in high school back in the 1970s. Still use it occasionally, enjoy it even now.

I still love HMG’s!

Brad Dimond wrote:

I still have my Mitchell 300 in original hard case with manual purchased in high school back in the 1970s. Still use it occasionally, enjoy it even now.

Those Mitchell 300’s and little brother 308’s were the top of the line reel for many years. I remember I thought I was a Big deal when I got one of those.
As mentioned the Fenwick HMG was also one of the top rods in its day.

What about the Zebco 404 and if you were cool the chrome 33 model.

JEREMY wrote:

What about the Zebco 404 and if you were cool the <nobr style=”font-size: inherit”>chrome</nobr> 33 model.

i thought i had it made when i got upgraded to the 404 from the 202.

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brad Dimond wrote:</div>
I still have my Mitchell 300 in original hard case with manual purchased in high school back in the 1970s. Still use it occasionally, <nobr style=”font-size: inherit”>enjoy</nobr> it even now.

Those Mitchell 300’s and little brother 308’s were the <nobr style=”font-size: inherit”>top of the</nobr> line reel for many years. I remember I thought I was a Big deal when I got one of those.
As mentioned the Fenwick HMG was also one of the top rods in its day.

i have that fenwick HMG and love it!!!!!!!!

the HMG isn’t a top end rod????? I guess if it is over $100, it is high end IMO. I have 3 of them and just got another this year. my favorite way of seeing if a rod is quality not always price but to line it up and see if the eyelets are on straight.

I remember went I really upgraded, To one of them fancy open face reels a Garcia 306.

eyeguy507 wrote:

the HMG isn’t a top end rod????? I guess if it is over $100, it is high end IMO. I have 3 of them and just got another this year. my favorite way of seeing if a rod is quality not always price but to line it up and see if the eyelets are on straight.

These days they are no where near a top in rod. But back in the good old days they were

The green Johnson Century is what I grew up with fishing the Rum River! We used to give our buddies a ribbing for having those cheap Zebco reels LOL!

My neighbor gave me an old setup. The rod is garbage but the reel was an old Zebco Cardinal 554. Made or designed by Abu Garcia I believe. I took it apart last summer for a cleaning and re-lube. Runs like a top now

eyeguy507 wrote:

the HMG isn’t a top end rod????? I guess if it is over $100, it is high end IMO. I have 3 of them and just got another this year. my favorite way of seeing if a rod is quality not always price but to line it up and see if the eyelets are on straight.

Don’t you know that unless you’re using a custom rod, you’re basically using a cane pole? Gotta get with the times, man.

moustachesteve wrote:

The rod is garbage but the reel was an old Zebco Cardinal 554.

Steve the Zebco Cardinal’s were a nice real in their day. Worked at a bait shop in Rochester (Wild Goose Sports) and they were the easiest to clean and maintain.

Sold a lot of bail springs for all kinds of reels back in the early 80”s also.

I have my dad’s old Mitchell 300, with the extra spool, spool case & his aluminum tackle box made in spring lake MN …… I put the Mitchell on an ugly stick rod and I still use it occasionally. It’s noisy and obnoxious but cool to think of all the crappies he caught with that thing.

My favorite real as a kid was the zebco202.

I used to sell night crawlers to the bait shop for 25 cent a dozen (& a Baby Ruth candy bar) and the bait shop owner resold them for 50 cents a dozen.

I was poor back then, I didn’t dare know what the rich people were using.

Who remembers the name of their very first reel? I was 7 years old and got a Huck Finn rod and spinning reel. It always seemed like the reel only had 30′ of line on it.

My very first rod and reel was a Montgomery Ward bait caster outfit. Fiberglass rod which fitted into a receptacle on the metal pistol grip handle. Cork grip on the handle. The reel seat was tightened with a screw from the underside of the rood handle.
My next purchase was a Berkley open face spinning outfit. Both the rod and the reel carried the Berkley name on them. Berkley only made reels for a few years. I bought that combo in 1966 when I was 14 years old. Took that outfit to the BWCA on a church youth outing. Floating Rapalas (gold and silver), a couple Lazy Ikes (yellow and yellow with red spots), a frog colored Flat Fish, a couple Arbogast Hula Poppers and a few jigs was all I needed.

A Johnson Laker given to me by real fisherman, I was 5 , Clarence Dombrock from Auston Minn he was a fisherman.

My first rod was a twelve foot cane pole with black braided line on it,fetched a ton of bluegills out of our cousins pond with that thing.
Anyone remember Super America gas stations selling lures and fishing equipment of all kinds??
Ours did when it was built back in 1970,it was full service as well !!
I thought I was in heaven ! they sold the first combo kits I ever seen,my first combo was a cherry rod with a zebco 202 on it,I think I paid less than ten bucks for the whole works.
Of course several hula poppers,baby blackbird buzz baits and my first ever beetle spin !!

My kid brother bought one also,we practiced for hours learning how to cast it just right and flung a weight tied to the end of the line what we thought was a mile !
We plum wore those things out in two years,crappie,gills,bass,that rod and reel did it all.

I believe Skyline graphite rods were even more expensive than HMG back then.

Anybody remember the Ted Williams line of rod and reels.I got mine at Sears.

Who had the Popiel Pocket fisherman? I did and it got used.

What was the name of those Johnson reels? I remember their commercial slogan “Cast it a Country Mile”. I also believe they touted it as tangle proof-but I do remember my younger brother could still get the line wrapped around the shaft inside that reel

Kirk Charipar wrote:

What was the name of those Johnson reels? I remember their commercial slogan “Cast it a Country Mile”. I also believe they touted it as tangle proof-but I do remember my younger brother could still get the line wrapped around the shaft inside that reel

The ones I had were Johnson Century(metallic green).
And back then Sears stuff was decent quality,used a Ted Williams combo for salmon for a bit.

My 1st boat was a 14 ft. Sears semi-v. Was originally a car top boat but got a trailer for it because it was a pita to get on top of the car by myself!

I still have my Whirlaway from the 50’s. Pretty good outfit for a kid. Kept me in and out of trouble.

milemark_714 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>kirk charipar wrote:</div>
What was the name of those Johnson reels? I remember their commercial slogan “Cast it a Country Mile”. I also believe they touted it as tangle proof-but I do remember my younger brother could still get the line wrapped around the shaft inside that reel

The ones I had were Johnson Century(metallic green).
And back then Sears stuff was decent quality,used a Ted Williams combo for salmon for a bit.

I remember it being black plastic, and the front of the reel/spool resembled a plane turbine

Lynn Seiler wrote:

I still have my Whirlaway from the 50’s. Pretty good outfit for a kid. Kept me in and out of trouble.

I had to google it. Never heard of a whirlaway.

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