Fly Fishing

Abu Record Standard

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Following my series of classic fly reel pictures i like. After the famous ABU Delta, here is another great ABU fly fishing reel:

The ABU Record Standard

The Record Standard was manufactured by ABU under the brand of ABU and Pebco (Model 5). They were similiar in design and specifications and were build in Sweden from 1942 to 1965. They had a capacity of 100 yards of backing under the flyline.

abu-record-standard-front abu-record-standard-back
ABU Record Standard FrontABU Record Standard Back
abu-record-standard-side
ABU Record Standard Side 

On the backside it is labeled with “RECORD Standard”, “MADE IN SWEDEN” and “A.B. URFABRIKEN SVÄNSTA”, that means something like “A.B. Clock Manufacturer Sweden”.
It is not in mint condition, but hey it is pretty old.

If you are looking to purchase a ABU fly reel, have a look at our ABU fly reel page.

Henschel Millennium Edition

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Henschel Millennium Edition

Short introduction: Ian, a reader of this blog dropped me a mail that he wants to sell two special fly reels, interesting for collectors.

This is the first one:

Pictures of the fly fishing reel Millennium manufactured by Henschel.



It was manufactured to commemorate the millennium and was limited to 100 pieces.
As you can see this is number 100 and is inscribed with a name.

You can find more info on the reel here.

Key features:

Millennium Edition

Specialities for the Millennium-Edition in 2000:
Aluminium-parts black hardanodized
All exterior stainless parts 24 carat gold plated
Gold colored engraving

This reel has the foot forward, very seldom, thats a real gem.

If you are interested to buy this reel, drop me a line and i will forward your mail to Ian.

Danish Fly Festival in Kolding, Danmark

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Being in Danmark lately, i used the opportunity to visit the Danish Fly Festival in Kolding.
A really familiar gathering with an exhibition hall, a casting hall and an outdoor casting area.

Inside the building there were also several rooms for flytiers and instruction  courses.

I took a few photos to give you an impression. Click on the images to resize.
Typical Fly Festival Booth
Fly festival booth with fly rods and fly fishing reels.
Traditional Salmon and Sea Trout flies
Traditional tied salmon flies from Tommy Kjærgaard – great -.
Traditional Salmon and Sea Trout flies
Traditional flies closeup – look at the colors –
fishes, squids and crab flies
Saltwater flies – Fishes, squids and crab flies tied by Peter Joest

Just like nature
Realistic, nature identical nymphs. I didn’t get the name of the tier, maybe someone can help out here?
But i bet they are tied with the help of the HJP Nymph Tool ;-).

Finding the right amount of backing for your fly reel

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Determinig the amount of backing for an unfamiliar reel is always a problem.
You must have enough reserve when you catch a big one, but must not overfill the spool to avoid balling you line.

The best way for finding out how much backing fits to your reel i know of is the following:

  • stick your fly-line to the spool of the fly reel with tape.
    when it is a WF (weight forward) line, make sure you tape the shooting head (the end with the larger diameter).
  • wind it on the reel.
  • when finished tie your backing to the fly line and reel as much backing to your spool till you think the capacity is ok.
  • cut the backing with a scissor or knive
  • after that strip the whole off the reel.
  • tie the cut end of the backing to the reel with an appropriate knot.
  • reel the line back in and you will have the proper amount of fly line and backing on your fly reel.
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