Inexpensive fly lines

[samsonboi 0]

11 hours ago, Poopdeck said:

I go regularly to auctions usually every Saturday morning. In attendance you have the hoarders, the collectors, the ebayers and people like me looking for a deal. Collectors are the worst and typically run the bids higher than the value because they usually really want the item. Hoarders spend pennies on junk, the ebayers are looking to make a 40 to 50% profit on the resale so they offer no harm to us deal seekers. I find most fishing related items at auction to be junk and not worth a nickel. I did score a lightly if ever used regal medallion vise for $22.50 and about 30 packs of dubbing for a dollar. The deals are there but you have to put the time in and if your specifically and only looking for deals on fly fishing they will be few and far between for anything in good condition.  I do run across a lot of bamboo rods, auto fly reels and old metalist reels usually in poor condition. They usually sell for 5 to 20 bucks but I'm not into bamboo or collecting old junk. 

Medalist reels are not junk. They are the best made American production reel ever. (Until CNC machining came out. Then anyone with a CNC machine and bar stock became able to turn out high-strength reels very quickly) They are also usually easy to repair and service. Now you will not find the best Medalists (click pawl with round line guard) at those auctions, because they can go to obscene prices mint in box and are pretty pricey even in used condition ($200 is a decent price). The smaller- closer to 1492- reels, aka the trout sizes, are most expensive because they are the most useful. The 1492's and 4's are the most expensive, then the 5's, and then 1496 and 1498 which are huge.

[Poopdeck 0]

Medalist reels may be the most often found fly fishing item at the auctions I go to. They are as prevalent as a Penn Senator reel and are always in the box lots. When I say junk I'm talking condition. I go to what would be considered low end auctions in the auction world where bidding starts at a dollar. They clean out the estates of the deceased and sell the deceased possessions for the relatives of the deceased.  Imagine everything in your grandmothers house packed into small boxes after the family picked through and kept all the good stuff. The stuff nobody wanted is what shows up at the auctions I attend.  I have never seen any kind of reel in mint condition at my local auction and mostly all reels are in very poor condition. Perhaps they sell the really good stuff on eBay or perhaps the family keeps or sells the really good stuff on eBay before calling the auction house for what remains. I see medalist reels sell for less then 10 bucks but it is an auction so you never know who else, if anybody, will be bidding. Some days you may have to pay 20 and some days you may get it for a dollar. 

[j8000 0]

Mike,

I have very rarely, and I mean once ever found any fly tying stuff at yard sales.  One time at a monthly estate sales shop I found in the sewing area, a box of various feathers.  Mostly were pillow feathers, but did find a small bag that had a half skin of 30 year old or so light brown hackle feathers.  Quality wasn't good at all, but for fifty cents I bought it anyways along with a couple other feathers I don't use much.

Where I have had good luck in the last few years is with good quality used fly rods and between good and junky fly reels that still have line in them.  Even if the junky reels have good line, I feel good.  But these deals don't come along very often and is a real score when I see them.  But personally I'd rather buy a quality used item for a decent price then pay the same amount for newer junk.

 

Jeff

[tjm 0]

Poopdeck you should consider buying and reselling those Medalists, the parts of a working Medalist parted out are worth about twice what the reel is worth, I think the last screws I saw sell went $3 ea, the spools are almost always good and can bring @$20, latch covers $15,  springs pawls $15, ratchet bearing $10, spool cam and spring $12, foot $15, all sell.  The guy on ebay from NY is currently parting out a single reel for in the neighborhood of a $120. he keeps a steady supply of parts on there and occasionally sells a complete reel. If I had the sources you talk about I'd likely be doing the same thing. There's a guy from Ca that buys the complete reels there and then resells them as spool and reel frame for roughly double.

 

[niveker 0]

I could use a few more Medalists, if anyone is getting rid of them cheap:

 

 

[skeet3t 0]

Pflueger Perfection- about 58 years old. Still use it. Line? Amazon Anglatech for about eleven bucks. Going to try it. Time will tell. Wonder how many lines are made in the same factory?

[Poopdeck 0]

8 hours ago, tjm said:

Poopdeck you should consider buying and reselling those Medalists, the parts of a working Medalist parted out are worth about twice what the reel is worth, I think the last screws I saw sell went $3 ea, the spools are almost always good and can bring @$20, latch covers $15,  springs pawls $15, ratchet bearing $10, spool cam and spring $12, foot $15, all sell.  The guy on ebay from NY is currently parting out a single reel for in the neighborhood of a $120. he keeps a steady supply of parts on there and occasionally sells a complete reel. If I had the sources you talk about I'd likely be doing the same thing. There's a guy from Ca that buys the complete reels there and then resells them as spool and reel frame for roughly double.

 

I imagine that's what somebody does since the reels I see are good for a few parts. Personally I would have no interest in parting out reels, posting them to eBay and shipping them to make a few dollars. I did not realize the parts were in high demand and it's probably why reels in poor condition sell at all. I often wondered why people wanted them and the old Penn reels. I surely learned something and I will keep my eye out for them in the future, if the auction house ever come back. Hard to survive a going on  4 month and counting shutdown when your in a dying industry to begin with. 

[tjm 0]

14 hours ago, Poopdeck said:

if the auction house ever come back. Hard to survive a going on  4 month and counting shutdown when your in a dying industry to begin with. 

I suspect a lot of small businesses are gone for good, and I wonder if all those people who were unnecessary at work these past months will ever go back to work.  There are too many of them sun bathing where I want to fish, they block all the parking and make land owners angry.

[tjm 0]

21 hours ago, skeet3t said:

Wonder how many lines are made in the same factory?

Probably three factories in USA, one in Canada, one in UK, and one in China? (for plastic fly lines)

[Daneal 0]

Its perfect! for

On 5/26/2020 at 8:27 PM, mikechell said:

😒 I'm the cheap bass turd that likes, or at least is okay with, inexpensive fly lines.  I've been fishing with $9.00 E-bay lines for a long time.  Could be I would be able to cast better with more expensive lines.  I've now got some, bought on sale when Gander Mountain went out of business.  Once one of my 9 dollar lines needs replacing, I'll find out if the higher quality line makes a difference for me.

$9.00 E-bay lines " the same lines can found aliexpress $1" ha ha