Vintage Tackle Contest: Pflueger Summit No. 1993-L

We’ve seen a bunch of old Pflueger reels in our ongoing vintage tackle contest, but the one below submitted by Jeff Reiten is the most impressive of them all simply because the condition is so stellar. It looks as if he just plucked it from the case in a country general store. Jeff wrote:

__Here is a photo of my grandfather’s reel. It is a PFLUEGER SUMMIT NO. 1993-l. All papers and tags are there, plus the Comfo Ring. I have no info on the reel as he has passed away. Any info would be great as this seems a neat old reel, which is___ new in the box____. _

Vintage tackle expert Dr. Todd Larson of The Whitefish Press and “Fishing For History” blog has surely seen plenty of vintage Pfluegers, but yours hold some special appeal. Dr. Todd says:

__”You have one of the great iconic reels of the twentieth century. The Pflueger Summit was one of Enterprise Manufacturing Co.’s three iconic baitcasters–the others being the Akron and Supreme. The Summit was first catalogued in 1904, although it was redesigned in its “modern” form in late 1926. According to Pflueger historian Bob Miller, the Model 1993-L was introduced in 1935, with the “L” designating it as a lightweight aluminum spool model. The hang tag on yours dates it as a 1950s model. These are quite desirable reels, and since yours comes with all of the goodies (including the Comfo Ring which was designed to make it more comfortable to palm), it is worth $50-$75. It’s a great American classic. To see a close-up of the box and other info, click here.”
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_Given the condition of your reel, I’d pit it against any modern baitcaster on the market! Congrats, Jeff. Thanks for submitting, and keep an eye out for your new pliers.

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).

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