Kenai River Fishing with Antique Fishing Tackle
Posted: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
by Marc Theiler
http://kenaiguide.com
During the days of yesteryear the freshwater fishing rod of choice was made of wood or bamboo. Today, most rods are made of modern materials including boron and fiberglass. Reels have come a long way from the early ones that were made of heavy metals such as brass and silver to today's lightweight strong carbon models. There has been a notable increase in the number of people collecting antique fishing tackle and the subsequent use of such. The Old Reel Collectors Association, Inc. (ORCA) and The National Fishing Lure Collector's Club (NFLCC) are two current organizations that help people worldwide learn about antique fishing tackle collecting. ORCA has a national convention each year usually around June where there are all sorts of displays as well as items for sale. They have a full slate of officers and produce a The Reel News, the magazine of the Old Reel Collectors Association every other month. They are an excellent source of printed material about reels and manufactures of such. The NFLCC is the larger of the two organizations. They too have a national meet each year which is usually held in July. They also have a series of regional meets throughout the country during the year. In addition to the NFLCC Gazette which is published quarterly, they put out the National Fishing Lure Collectors Club Magazine twice a year. Both publications are excellent sources of historical information about fishing tackle and companies that produced such. They also publish a membership supplement to the Gazette which contains state by state as well as foreign country membership lists, services and programs available, standing rules of the NFLCC, grading systems for tackle, and a NFLCC code of ethics.
Utilizing antique tackle to catch the smaller species of salmon such as reds and pinks and some silvers requires a stouter rod and a reel that has a drag system. While fishing on the Kenai River for these species a good rod and reel combo is a 8 to 10 weight bamboo rod at least 8 feet in length with a salmon size reel. I like to utilize an Edward Vom Hofe 2/0 or 3/0 Restigouch 423 reel. This is a very well made reel of hard rubber side plates and nickel silver rims and handle. This reel has a 7 point geared drag system.
My favorite Kenai River fishing with antique tackle is for king salmon. I use a variety of set ups including the Lancewood 12 to 14 foot old English rod. This material was actually in use prior to the introduction of bamboo fishing rods. I also use a series of Leonard bamboo rods that are 10,12 and 14 feet in length. I have several reels that I utilize on these rods including Edward Vom Hofe Tobique 504 reels in varying size. These reels are multiplying reels and thus are able to retrieve line much quicker as the spool turns about 2 ½ times for each turn of the handle. I also use larger Julius Vom Hofe raised pillar fly reels in varying size including a 4 inch with a 1 ½ spool and the larger 4 ½ with a 2 inch spool.
It is a hoot to hook a fish while fishing on the Kenai River with antique gear. The test comes when you work on maneuvering the fish into water where you are able to land and take a picture or two of your catch.
Kenai River Fishing
This Article has been viewed 477 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.