Let’s take a look…2022!

Hello folks and fellow anglers, as always I just get these crazy ideas from time to time or just bored, after all my winter fish chasing hasn’t exactly turned out as I envisioned, so I instead like to take this time to share and look at how our beloved fishing reels have evolved over the last 30 plus years. Let’s just say I wasn’t around long enough to remember such reels like Mitchell 308, Old Abu Cardinals, or the Penn 422 so I’ll start from these 4 ultralight spinners I happened to have pleasure of catching anything that swam since the mid-80s! Remember folks it’s just for laughs and a good read- I’m no expert in reels nor I claim to be the next Alan Hawk, an extraordinary saltwater reels expert by the way. So here we go!
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The 1980’s released Abu Garcia Cardinal 552/752 were my sets of ultralight reels I used in my teens catching channel cats, bluegills, pond trouts and occasional striped bass in the deltas. Its claims to fame as advertised technology or so their traditions went, since the mighty classic Cardinal c3/c4 of the 60’s was its Quick Release spool and rear adjusted drag system. I went through a couple of these due to gear strip or anti reverse clutch failed, but I always seemed to go out and buy another one, sentimental.( it can be had from eBay for cheap still)!! Next stop late 90s model to early 2000 when one of America’s oldest name in the tackle industry est. 1933 Fin Nor, introduced the mighty powerful Ahab line of saltwater capable reels. I nabbed myself a MegaLite 1000 for UL work.
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Fin Nor technology and advertised performance advantages came in the form of over-sized brass gears, super powerful drag ( just look at them bad boy cork!), and graphite body for lightweight (says it right on top of spool knob!!) Now i don’t know how they contradicted that part because this reel I own weighs in over 10 oz for a UL1000. Just stating the number put tears in my eyes comparing to one of them Daiwa Arity fished by member Alphahawk:) And I don’t know if Fin Nor was the one that coined the term: Drag so strong it can to pull a truck- maybe I read it somewhere in one of them fly fishing magazines, anyhow the Ahab megalite 1000 drag is crazy strong, in the vicinity of 12 to 15lb ( not officially tested of course), but smooth, it is not. Not by today’s standards anyway.
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Early 2000 to 2015 we saw what I called The Bling era of spinning reel design thanked in part to the like of Shimano Stella and Daiwa Certate, holes were drilled and gold accents were added as bling facto. These 2 Japanese brands somehow were able to sneak past many many great reel manufacturers including Penn, FinNor, Pflueger and the awesome Abu Garcia. My guesses are as good as the next person who says it’s because of weather sealing technology! I was one of many saltwater fishermen often had sands and debris got into and sizing up gears. But it’s more than just that. Bail springs would not snap back leading Quantum Engineer to come up with magnetic ( no spring), titanium wire bail, Titanium vacuum coating (my example piece), and Hot Sauce oil technology promising won’t gum up if water does get through. But why stop there when you can seal the reels from water intrusion in the first place you get Daiwa to come up with MagSeal, anti-rust ball bearings (plenty of it), and carbon material body and Shimano to rid of the anti-reverse feature of many a reels, to save weights and prevent water intrusion. Attachment 416089
Last but not least this good example, 2013 Daiwa Certate take us to the current crops of reels in the market, which most all look alike by design except the current generation Abu Garcia with their uses of carbon fiber body just like your neighbors Lamborghini supercar and we’re talking exciting years to come for gear heads like me folks. Like always please share your thoughts and story of your favorite UL( classic or current) but keep light! Cheers!


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Thanks for the write up and the trip down memory lane. Those are certainly some nice reels

Good write up. Told me some things I didn’t know. As little space as I have now, if I don’t use it an a year or so, it become someone else. Except my Curado, it’s not going anywhere. Course, it doesn’t go to the lake either.

Some cool reels there. Wasn't familiar with any of them. Thanks for the knowledge.

Very nice write up with some sharp looking bling !

Thank you all for looking and it’s my pleasure to provide a glimpse into our almost forgotten past. Fishing equipment to me sometimes can serve as a Time Capsule into my own personal past where great times with friends and relatives (some of whom already passed on) fishing the many streams, deltas and estuaries for whatever.
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Truth be told most of these underdog of a reels would never even get a second looks if they were not part of my arsenals. Most will just vanish from their owner’s memories like a pair of old shoes, but for me I remember a handful of them with drags so weak it gave up after 10, 15 minutes bout with a log of a catfish near pitch black by a Vasona park pond in Campbell, Ca. or one bail arm never closed properly and the line just went out til rod was in the water before I my cousin realized we only had 30 yards of 10 lb line on there instead of 6lb! Days like that I’ll never forget. Oh FYI most failed reels were caused by the user ME! Cheers!



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Nice photos and write up, LV. Yes, a few of the collectors on the site here have some examples of survivors that will really open your eyes on reel evolution. In the day the Mitchell’s were THE reel you wanted, and many are still going today. I have two somewhere out in the garage!
Bob