I have a closet full of rods and reel combos. For years my kids would draw from the closet and many of the rods would never make it home. It's great not having to worry about whether the rod comes home broken or comes home at all. Now that the kids are gone I'm thinking the rods are going to sit there until the grandkids discover them.

A few years ago I took my two old Ambassadeurs to a guy in Great Falls and had them completely rebuilt. The 5000C was my father's and he bought it to fish at Dead Lakes in Florida in the 70's. It was black, now mostly white/silver. Caught a bunch of fish with it already this year. Drag smooth as silk, perfectly balanced anti-backlash counterweight. Perfect. My 6000 (has a baitfishing clicker, one of the industry's great inventions) was one I bought for redfish with my first forestry contracting paychecks in '85. It is now my catfish, sturgeon and pike reel. My Zebco Cardinals stayed around for twenty five years - their weakness was in the part that goes from the rod handle to the reel itself- it was potmetal and would break if you dropped the rod buttfirst, and it could not be welded. We used to rebuild Mitchell's (302's?) for saltwater and take the bails off and just use the little flat washer to hold the line, so you could cast real fast and look cool, too. I even have my grandfather's Pflueger Supreme from 1930's But it is a crude piece of machinery, with the handle spinning like an out of control windlass every time you cast. Makes a loud noise, whirrrrrr. Not really fishable. Still a treasure.

too young to have accumulated a lot of old stuff.
however i have a bunch of retired batis hanging on my wall. the bait i caught my first musky on, the rapala that i caught my first "big" fish on (24 in. walleye), the fly i caught my first trout with a fly rod on, etc.

My grandpa gave me alot of his old gear, most of it from the 50's. I made a shadow box, and put all the lures in it, and I hung up a rod, a net, and some reels on the wall. I put two of my fish mounts around it, and some old fishing pictures. Why not use some of it as a decoration? Use it as memories, just as you would with everything you bring to the taxidermist?

In North Carolina there is a guy who works at the Ft Fisher Aquarium who takes old saltwater tackle donations. He fixes them up and usues them in a program to teach kids who are disadvantaged to enjoy the sport of fishing. My wife and I donated 12 rods and reels to the program and it made us feel good to contribute to helping others being able to continue teaching our younger generations to enjoy the sport we love.

I either fix it, and if its unrepairable, yet sentimental, I save it. I have appreciation for vintage fishing equipment and buy things once in awhile on ebay.

I have my grandfathers old bamboo fly rod hanging up in my living room, and I actually use a late 60's Pflueger Medalist on one of my modern fly rods, and its a great reel!

I also have an old Johnson spincast reel (the green metal ones) on an old Shakespeare short, lightweight rod, that I love using for small lures on streams. I cleaned and oiled the reel and its super smooth. I got that whole setup at Goodwill for $4.

So in short, dont throw the stuff away! Use it, decorate with it, or give it to someone who appreciates vintage American made fishing gear...just my thought.

I trade with my dad. I'm 13 so I don't get to many new reels but when I find one i like I trade my older spinning reel.

I just found your blog and it's the best! I googled " Seahorse # 707" a reel I'm working on and got to your blog.

I have a box of Penn's that my family used in the 60's and 70's, two or three old garcia mitchells, the first fly reel I got when I was 8 years old and a bunch of Diawa's and Zebco's I'ved used over the years.

You keep all the tackle not for the value but for the memories of the days that you used it. If I had a valuable piece the memory associated with it is worth much more than any money you might get from it.