Thomas & Thomas "trophy" reel made by ross

cw76

cw76

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Good day, hope everyone is swell, anywho I just came across a 9/10 wt. vintage ross reel made for T&T I believe in the 80's seems to be designated "Trophy". I haven't been able to glean any info and am super curious.....Any one savvy? Also the reel cam w a T&T "gaspe" 9'6 9/10 wt fly rod looks preety old and in immaculate shape..My guess same vintage. Googled the heck out of these to no avail:confused:
Ty, Cody
 
burk48237

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Thomas and Thomas marketed several Ross and Sarcone reels through the years. I believe the "Trophy" was identical to the old very early "Ross Reel". Does it have a solid backplate with large teardrop shaped perforations on the spool? It was a pretty decent reel with a good drag, I know guys who used them striper fishing. Ross still services them for reference. Later they marketed their own version of the Gunnison, one of the standards in trout reels for years. Could you post a picture? The Sarcone T & T reels are worth big bucks, but the Ross reels go for about the same money as a use Ross from the same period.
 
Ard

Ard

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Hi Cody,

I've never seen a reel like that except the one you are showing. The drag alone is really different, what are the dimensions of the reel?

Ard
 
cw76

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Good day, the reel measures 3.5" D and 1.75" W. It came with a fancy tooled leather "T&T" case as well. Cody
 
caseywise

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i did some research and i think the reel is a ross S3 custom fly reel built for t&t in the early 1980's.
having held this reel in my own hand, i must say, its a true piece of art. the ross reel co in the 80's were truely above all the rest.


casey
 
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huibgeselschap

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wow, i like vintage top quality unknown reels, but this tops them all! interested about this reel exact history. maybe some pics to the reel manufacturer or T&T could help?
 
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kimcarls

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I have worked here at Ross Reels for 15+ years in the service department. These Ross S series reels were made to order for a T&T promotion. Ross also did a Gunnison 2 sized reel with the T&T Logo at the same time. These reels were made here in Montrose, Colorado in 85 or 86. No idea how many, Ross did not keep these records. Thomas &Thomas would be the best source for these answers. We still do service work on these reels but they are not covered under our warranty, so there is a charge for this.
 
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huibgeselschap

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wow, really nice reel! like those older gems as well! i got the orvis sss set complete, a series one pate and an older islander, my preciousss!
 
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audax

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Hi all,

I thought I'd post a couple of scans from old T&T catalogs. The first is from the 1987 catalog, which was the first year T&T offered this reel. The second is from the 1989 catalog and is included because it is slightly different.

Click on enlarge





You may also recognize the Regal reel. It was marketed as unique for its multiple drag inputs. I never saw one in a shop or strapped to a rod.

Back to the reel of topic,...I was interested in the Ross S version about that time period and asked the staff at a large and well known shop about it. None had heard of it, despite it being a cataloged item. Oh well, never saw one of those either!

_______________
Eric
 
cw76

cw76

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Thanks folk's, that is great info:) I broke out my reel the other day and mounted it up with the T&T gaspe' rod that I got from the same seller. Pretty sweet, vintage setup.
 
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