It's Time for a Fun Thread!

[Ard]

Idea was inspired by the post about the old Redington Red Start rod.

Let's see your Vintage or antique gear, fishing and camping please as this isn't a hunting forum.

I bought a Jansport Yellowstone in 1981 and here it is just a couple years ago along a river while I was away fishing for awhile.





That's the tent I took along on an 11,770 mile fishing trip around America strapped to the back of my GS 750 in 1981. It's been pitched in 37 States and 7 Provinces from Newfoundland to Alaska, I got my moneys worth on that deal.

I'll keep posting photos as I have time but will look forward to seeing your vintage rods and tents and assorted gear also.

I added this one after moving here it's a 2004 Expedition and for extreme conditions it has been worth having. Bigger than the Jansport and when you guy it down fully will stand an 87 mph storm on the coast of Kodiak Island.



No foul weather on that trip above but I was there for 3 days with Boss and needed the room.

How bout a 1994 Orvis PM-10 five weight with a St. George on it

 

[satyr]

Sorry, I wore all of my old stuff out long ago. My new tent is DCF and weighs 19 ounces for a two man tent. Now I can walk even further to get to even better trout water since I am carrying so much less weight.

 

[bumble54]

Sorry can't post any old camping gear, most I had for camping was a sheet of plastic strapped to the BSA, whittled poles and pegs on site, none lasted very long. A log was as far as I got to having a chair. All good fun though and quite a few adventures.

 

[longbow_ray]

Here is my early 90's vintage Eureka Timberlite.

This picture was taken last year at Horseshoe Meadow in California. My buddy and I were
doing some acclimating at 10,500 ft., before our hike up Mt. Whitney (14,508 ft.). That's his brand spanking new MSR tent behind my vintage Eureka.

 

[jzim]

Please see the attached link. I wrote an article for my blog about taking fishing trips up to Canada when I was a teenager (mid to late 1960's). In the article I wrote about the transition from bait to lures. There are several lures my father and I used. Remember, these are 50 year old lures.
All Things Fishing: An Old Tackle Box Tells A Story

 

[mcnerney]

Nothing vintage here, I tossed my old two person pup tent (next to worthless) several years ago. My current tent is a three person Marmot, perfect for one person and his gear. My tent is in the foreground, Rich (aka RangerRich99) is in the background. This was taken a couple years ago while we were camping at Pleasure Park and fishing the Gunnison. What a great trip that was. So far Colorado's snow pack is looking pretty good, I might just go back there this summer.

 

[Ard]

I'm just one of those people that makes things last, I still have the MSR Wisperlite Stove I bought along with that Jansport tent.

I've been using a SnoPeak mini since 2005 so it's getting up in age now too.

I had these made by Ron White at Orvis back in 94' so they are almost antiques now.


That's an 8' six with a Princess, both it and the #3 Flea below are different than either the Madison grade or Battenkill rods sold in the shops back then.



The flea is the same age, I had wanted an Orvis bamboo since I was young and was able to afford them by the early 90's. I didn't like the reel seats on either the Battenkill or Madison rods so I called the rod shop. Back then I had the number and you could call and talk to the manager so I did. Turned out this guy Ron was a nice fellow and had learned under Wes Jordan and was the bamboo specialist so I ask questions. He assured me that the actions between Madison and Battenkill grade rods was identical. The differences were cosmetic as in the number of nodes and color so...…. I sent my reel (Princess and explained how I liked a rod to balance and ask that my cork be a little longer with plain hardware and a cork insert. He spiked the butt inside the reel seat to counter the tip weight with the loaded Princess mounted and made a 2 tip Madison grade rod unlike the stock models.

We did the same with the flea, it has the amber translucent wraps, ambonia insert with nickle silver rings and that one came with 3 tips for good measure. I use my old Featherweight on the little rod and they match balance wise perfectly too. The reels are old too, I got the Featherweight in 1978 and the Princess in 85.
I'll keep looking through old pictures to find other things I've had for a while and post as I find them

 

[wjlapier]

We've had this tent for a long time, but I'm not sure when we bought it--maybe in the 90's. It spent much of it's life in the garage once the family grew and we started pulling trailers around. I pulled this thing out last spring for opening day of the river I fish and it was tough but got the job done. Getting in and sleeping on the ground wasn't the hard part--getting out crawling on my knees was.

 

[lightline]

This is my first fly rod from around 1975, an FF-75 I still have and fish. Bronson reel.


A Hardy on a Hardy. Early 80's is when I got them. Always just kind of liked that idea, and still have them.


I have a 1000 square foot basement that includes two bedrooms. Nobody lives there, and I'm a hoarder of sorts. I'm getting better, and tossing or donating gear every year, but there's a lot of 70's and 80's fishing and camping gear down there. I'm under 25 fly rods now, and almost all the vintage reels are gone. Still have old framed Kelty backpacks, a little Zen tent, original Thermarests, late-70's Coleman stoves, and a Whisperlite. I still have Pfleuger Medalist reels, Eagle Claw EC's, and of course the Hardy LRH and Featherweights. I use those less now though. The comfort and advantages of the newer, lighter, larger arbor click/pawl fly reels have taken over the nostalgia of the oldies, even though they're kinda ugly, especially on the older rods.

I must be ancient. I don't consider anything less than 30 years old vintage or antique. 40, really.

 

[Rip Tide]

This is my South Bend #25
7'6", 2/2 ,"Double Built", HCH from the Wes Jordan era.... late 1930's
Burnt orange silk with black tipping
Very rare in this condition.

 

[lightline]

Now that's vintage Rip Tide!

 

[srock]

Ard, react thread. This brings me back to my earlier days when I bought some decent camping equipment so I could go wilderness camping in relative comfort and safety. I still have some of my old stuff and will post pictures shortly when I get them in the right format. I still have an old Moss Little Dipper tent for instance, and an Optimus 111B stove. I do not know about the rest of you, but camping was my ticket to good fishing water on a budget. I could not afford the lodges but with a decent tent, a royalex canoe, and a bit of sweat equity I could get places that other people were paying top dollar to fish. SR

 

[Ard]

That's how I was able to see the country buddy the travel left me with memories galore

 

[Rip Tide]

I should probably take a picture of my vintage Coleman lantern collection.
Talk about hoarding

Here's something that you don't see every day
Back when Fly Fisherman magazine (apparently) didn't give a flyin' fart about C&R they'd send you a creel with your magazine subscription.
C. 1978, maybe

 

[Ard]

I'm thinking that you may have more old gear than most of us

 

[sweetandsalt]

Well, my well known preference is for contemporary, low mass, advanced graphite rods. But one must have historical perspective. I've never fished these rods and they are before my time but here is a brace of tubular steel rods. The lower one is a telescoper and both feature agate guides.

 

[spm]

I may have posted this before, but here is my first fly rod, c late 1960s. It is a Heddon Pal Pro Weight, 8' 7wt, glass, downlocking reel-seat, original fiber tube and sock. And yes, that is an automatic reel with it; a South Bend Oreno-matic.

Thanks,
steve

 

[Rip Tide]

1) South Bend 359-9
2) H-I Governor
3) Fenwick FF79

The Fenwick is my regular everyday go-to trout rod

 

[Ard]

Everything in the photo is vintage: rod is a 2002 Greys Platinum X, reel Hardy Viscount LA 7/8, pack is first generation Filson foul weather vest circa 2001, Waders are LL Bean Wicked Tough breathables. Fisherman was at the time an antique at 52



Casting to salmon as they traveled the coast toward the Kenai River Alaska. You could see them in the waves as they curled near shore, probably the most exciting Salt fishing I've done since moving here. I still have the Filson pack vest but the rod was FUBAR-ed by a King in 2007. Still use the reel, the waders were done in 2011 and my hair is now gray.

 

[Ard]

This is my D.H. Thompson 360-A vise circa 1991 they are full rotary and I use it today as my tube fly tying vise.



The adjustable head makes it perfect for tubes, I clamp a Pro Tube mandrel in it and away I go.



I bought that at the Cortland Outlet store in Cortland NY. for 40 dollars in 1994, at the time I didn't know what I'd use it for but it seemed to be a good deal. I already had a Renzetti Traveler but the Thompson was too good to pass up. Now 25 years later it sees use every year.

Here it is with the tube pin mandrel in the jaws. I was so glad I had this when I discovered tubes a few years back