Wright & McGill Gettin' Gills

I finally found a suitable (at least to me) Wright & McGill reel to go with my 60s vintage W&M ultralight rod. Tore it down, cleaned and lubed this beauty made in Italy by Ofmer. This is the model ECP.

Before
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After
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Check out those ported brass gears. They sure do polish up nice! Smooth operating too.

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Reels them in nicely!

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Wow, that’s neat.
Quality stands out, doesn’t it.


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The old Eagle Claw Rods bring back good memories catching trout on Deer Lake in Washington during my service years. Rented a rowboat with a gallon paint can full of cement for an anchor! That reel cleaned up nice!
Bob

For sure. The internals of this reel were a cut above most of the other older reels I've worked on. I have another Italian reel that is similar in quality.

Some time after this series of reels were produced, W&M/Eagle Claw started having reels made in Japan. I may get one of the later reels to compare.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Redge

Wow, that’s neat.
Quality stands out, doesn’t it.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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Nice memories.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BobC

The old Eagle Claw Rods bring back good memories catching trout on Deer Lake in Washington during my service years. Rented a rowboat with a gallon paint can full of cement for an anchor! That reel cleaned up nice!
Bob

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Neat looking rod and reel... Quality on that reel for sure!

Look like they were made for each other..... Beautiful rod and reel...... Nice work saving it...

Very cool setup!


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I mostly like level wind reels. Problem is it's hard to cast really light jig's with them. So I do keep aound a few spinning reels. Got a little Ocuma ultra light on a 5' Ocuma rod I really like. But I got old too. Some of the inside of that reel reminds me of the old Mitchell 308! Speaking of Mitchell, love'em, I just got an old full bail 300 on a new rod. First reel's I ever remember fishing with were Michell 300 half bail reels, wish I still had one! Anyway didn't have a rod I liked for it so scrounging around the Bi Mart I found a Shakespare spinning combo for $19. Pretty inexpensive I though and the rod has a full cork handle. couldn't give me one of those new ugly thing's! Strange thing was it was an ultra light reel on a 6' med action rod? Now I've got my old 300 up and running for something but have a new ultra light reel I need a rod for. See how that works. Shoot if I was married I'd have an excuse for another new rod!

The two reels both have a slide assembly for the cross-wind function. Other than that, they are quite a bit different. And they should be. The Mitchell design dates to the 30s or 40s. The W&M is probably 60s.

Mitchell slide

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Love the old 300s. I have a 301 (left-handed 300) paired up with a Garcia Conolon 6' 6" light rod. Lots of fun catching fish with it.


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By that 301 look's like it's in nice shape!

It is in good shape. The next time I open it up and clean it, I will polish the gears and slide. This should make the operation a bit more smooth.