Vintage Tackle Contest: Ashaway Slip Cast Reel
We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Ever...
We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›
Ever hear of a spinning reel made to mount on top of your rod like a baitcaster instead of underneath the handle? Me, either, yet there in the inbox of our ongoing vintage tackle contest, was this very old Ashaway reel designed to mount upside down. Some of the tackle entered into the contest just never fails to amaze me. This photo was submitted by Rick Peterson, who wrote:
_I am submitting a reel that was my grandpa’s. I never heard of this company before and I am not sure what the thumb lever on the side even does. This is the most unique reel in my collection and has great sentimental value.
_
_
_”I have a particular affinity for oddball spinning reels, and you’ve certainly got one! It is a wonderful Ashaway Slip Cast reel manufactured by the Ohio Tool Company (OTCO) for the Ashaway Line & Twine Company. The reel was actually designed in 1946 by famed French hotel magnet Charles Ritz (with his friend the prolific reel inventor Paul Mauborgne), who took the prototype to his friend and Ashaway president Julian T. Crandall. Ashaway–which had only made fishing lines up until then–contracted with OTCO of Cleveland to manufacture it and the reel was introduced in early 1948. The most interesting thing about this reel is that it mounts on top of the rod instead of underneath like most spinning reels. It’s actually more like an open-face spincast reel than a traditional spinner. Value is $30-$50 in nice working condition. To view a 1948 ad for the Slip Cast and a picture of the original box, click here, and to see a “how-to” page on operating this reel, click here.”
__
_
_Nice find, Rick. It makes my head spin (pardon the pun) a little, but you’ve got a pretty cool piece of history there. Thanks for sending. Your new pliers are en route!
If you’ve already sent me photos of your vintage tackle, keep checking every Thursday to see if I chose it for an appraisal by Dr. Todd. If you haven’t and want to enter the contest, email photos of your old tackle to fstackle@gmail.com, along with your name, mailing address, and story of how you acquired the gear. If I use it in a Thursday post, you get a pair of Berkley Aluminum Pliers ($50, above).
_
_