Vintage Ultralight

How small is your rod and how light is your line? It's not about the size of your tackle, but how you work it. Come share your Ultralight and Bait Finesse System (BFS) fishing success here!
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Smead
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Vintage Ultralight

Post by Smead » Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:20 pm

Langley 850 Spinlite De Luxe Series

It's almost hilarious paying $22.50 each, in 2021 dollars, for reels that sold for the equivalent of $325.49 regardng 1957 dollars!! :D

Advertisement:

https://alantani.com/index.php?action=d ... 0605;image

CPI Calculator:

https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

The first model was an 850, improved models were 850As and then 850Bs...Zebco made them for awhile after they bought out Langley.

Nicely constructed, though the Zebco models had better handle knobs. The only real downside is the auto A/R which is finicky and requires knowing how to keep it working. Will need disassembled and cleaned up.
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LowRange
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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by LowRange » Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:30 pm

Neat. Those old reels have such a cool aesthetic. I have a vintage Langley reel that is tiny with a light weight whiffle spool. I actually mounted it to a Kuying Teton 662L and it cast a 1/7 oz ned head and Z man punch craw as far as the the Pixy with Airy Red spool. I wonder if this is vintage BFS? It would be like discovering drifting was 1st done in the nineteen teens by Model Ts or something.
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Smead
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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by Smead » Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:03 pm

Langley had a couple of notable baitcasters, to include the Streamlite and the Lurecast...Zebco also made them for a few years after the Langley buy out.

https://www.fishingtalks.com/langley-co ... -2726.html

I've played with a few old pre WW2 Shakespeare baitcasters, it's amazing how free spinning they can be if assembled correctly, with good jewels adjusted right and properly lubricated.

The down side is your thumb as the drag, though there were leather straps available to assist with that. Pflueger had a neat aftermarket handle with a drag built into it, The Cub, that I've messed with too. IIRC, they had a version that would fit square shaft ends like on Shakespeare and other reels.
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LowRange
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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by LowRange » Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:30 pm

Smead wrote:
Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:03 pm
Langley had a couple of notable baitcasters, to include the Streamlite and the Lurecast...Zebco also made them for a few years after the Langley buy out.

https://www.fishingtalks.com/langley-co ... -2726.html

I've played with a few old pre WW2 Shakespeare baitcasters, it's amazing how free spinning they can be if assembled correctly, with good jewels adjusted right and properly lubricated.

The down side is your thumb as the drag, though there were leather straps available to assist with that. Pflueger had a neat aftermarket handle with a drag built into it, The Cub, that I've messed with too. IIRC, they had a version that would fit square shaft ends like on Shakespeare and other reels.
It is an experience using one of those reels. Just putting line on winding it in is a challenge. I use skinny braid and do my own "high speed level wind" PE special and move my fingers side to side while pinching the line and palming the fore grip. I want a vintage early ML or L type casting rod. Fiberglass would be ideal but outside the period, right? I want to make this a period correct-ish BFS setup to roll out once in a while for fun.

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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by Johnny A » Thu Oct 28, 2021 3:10 am

When I was a kid, a distant uncle gave me some magazines from when spinning tackle was just hitting the scene. The evolution of fishing tackle between introduction to today was actually pretty fast.

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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by toddmc » Thu Oct 28, 2021 10:08 am

Nice! I remember my grandpa having some of those. My first combo in the 70's was a Berkley rod and a Penguin ultralight reel. I thought that I was big-time when I had a Shimano extra small ultralight with Rapidfire in the 80's. All of my Shimano ultralights of that era broke and Rapidfire really sucked. I still have a Daiwa SS700 that is one of the best ultralights ever made. I have been meaning to replace it because it is very worn, but I have been doing more BFS over the last few years.

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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by Smead » Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:04 pm

LowRange wrote:
Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:30 pm
Smead wrote:
Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:03 pm
Langley had a couple of notable baitcasters, to include the Streamlite and the Lurecast...Zebco also made them for a few years after the Langley buy out.

https://www.fishingtalks.com/langley-co ... -2726.html

I've played with a few old pre WW2 Shakespeare baitcasters, it's amazing how free spinning they can be if assembled correctly, with good jewels adjusted right and properly lubricated.

The down side is your thumb as the drag, though there were leather straps available to assist with that. Pflueger had a neat aftermarket handle with a drag built into it, The Cub, that I've messed with too. IIRC, they had a version that would fit square shaft ends like on Shakespeare and other reels.
It is an experience using one of those reels. Just putting line on winding it in is a challenge. I use skinny braid and do my own "high speed level wind" PE special and move my fingers side to side while pinching the line and palming the fore grip. I want a vintage early ML or L type casting rod. Fiberglass would be ideal but outside the period, right? I want to make this a period correct-ish BFS setup to roll out once in a while for fun.
Post WW2, fiberglass is perfectly fine...pre WW2 is crazy, steel rods if you couldn't afford bamboo.

Interesting article:

https://www.fishingtalks.com/who-made-t ... 63048.html

You might want to look on Ebay and try to find some NOS braided nylon line for your Langley and see how that casts.
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Smead
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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by Smead » Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:10 pm

toddmc wrote:
Thu Oct 28, 2021 10:08 am
Nice! I remember my grandpa having some of those. My first combo in the 70's was a Berkley rod and a Penguin ultralight reel. I thought that I was big-time when I had a Shimano extra small ultralight with Rapidfire in the 80's. All of my Shimano ultralights of that era broke and Rapidfire really sucked. I still have a Daiwa SS700 that is one of the best ultralights ever made. I have been meaning to replace it because it is very worn, but I have been doing more BFS over the last few years.
Lots of love for that SS 700!!

It's so simple that you might only need to replace the bearings...unless the main gear and pinion are worn...at least you can still get a new one though!

Some past threads on the reel.

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=65921

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=79718

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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by Smead » Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:16 pm

Johnny A wrote:
Thu Oct 28, 2021 3:10 am
When I was a kid, a distant uncle gave me some magazines from when spinning tackle was just hitting the scene. The evolution of fishing tackle between introduction to today was actually pretty fast.
Spinning, and spincasting, gear brought a lot more people into "casual" fishing...can't pass up on that kind of new market; competition was/is fierce; not with post WW2 consumer demand and a baby boom generation!

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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by uljersey » Thu Oct 28, 2021 4:20 pm

The only remaining item from my earliest fishing years as a youngster, early to mid 1970’s. Japan made South Bend 25 spincast. South Bend was a pretty prominent name in fishing back then, anyone else remember them ?
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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by Lawaia » Thu Oct 28, 2021 7:56 pm

Sorry to go off topic, but since the ss700 was brought up, I thought I might ask Smead a question. Do you happen to know the difference if any between the Daiwa SS700 and the SS600 from Japan? I've seen them years past and besides the color scheme they almost look identical, I can't find any specs on the Tournament SS600. So I thought if anyone might know it would be you. Thanks.

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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by Smead » Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:33 pm

Lawaia wrote:
Thu Oct 28, 2021 7:56 pm
Sorry to go off topic, but since the ss700 was brought up, I thought I might ask Smead a question. Do you happen to know the difference if any between the Daiwa SS700 and the SS600 from Japan? I've seen them years past and besides the color scheme they almost look identical, I can't find any specs on the Tournament SS600. So I thought if anyone might know it would be you. Thanks.
I've seen them...differences from the SS700: grayish color or gold instead of black, the "T" knob and handle extension, The spool looks like the same size. The gold one has a plastic spool. I would think that the spool capacity would be less, maybe it is slightly less??
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Smead
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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by Smead » Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:41 pm

uljersey wrote:
Thu Oct 28, 2021 4:20 pm
The only remaining item from my earliest fishing years as a youngster, early to mid 1970’s. Japan made South Bend 25 spincast. South Bend was a pretty prominent name in fishing back then, anyone else remember them ?

5AA4D419-EEAF-4BFE-B9C4-DCA7C26D2DB4.jpeg
E38961BC-17B8-446D-B89D-9DDD22B17751.jpeg
Some history here:

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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by Smead » Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:47 pm

Discovering why that little 850 Spinlite cost as much as the 860 surf casting reel...a bronze main gear and probably a steel pinion, will check with a magnet when I get it completely apart.
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Re: Vintage Ultralight

Post by Lawaia » Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:44 am

Thanks for the reply on the SS600. I figured it's a JDM version of the 700 and like you said probably slightly smaller line capacity. I own a couple of the 700's, I still use them for UL trout fishing. Something about the simple older reels I like, just like the Shakespeare 2200 025 simple but underrated. Thanks again and my sincere apologies for getting off track of your original thread of the Spinlite.

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