Repurposing genius......

[beezapilot]

There is a persistent and pernicious rumor that floats about that I'm a bit tight with a buck. So in my shop I oftimes use salvage material and / or repurpose stuff to suit my needs. Every so often I am presented with engineering that is so perfect that I am stunned.
So today a "bottom fishing reel" built buy a southern gentleman in the 1930's. Something of a photo essay as it unfolds to the heart of it. A big heavy box with metal braided fishing line coming out the front of it.
Open the lid and there is the spool of the reel, a compartment for gear, and a lid to the mechanism that powers the reel itself. Note that cool vintage Monel braided metal fishing line.
Under the lid is the wind up mechanism for the reels power. Pay out the line to the desired depth, wind up the mechanism and wait for the fish to bite, flick a switch and the spool takes up the line. Not much in the effort department, really.
I was curious about the mechanism, surprisingly lots of torque, an escapement like an old clock to meter the spring power..... I'll give you the same clue that I found on a plate in the box- said that the reel takes in line at precisely 78RPM.
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[dverna]

Old record player motor

[beezapilot]

Yep, Victrola.

[Bmi48219]

I realize this thread is almost three years old. Just happened to come upon it and the subject triggered some nostalgia. A former employee was an accomplished fresh water food fisherman and owned two of those line retrievers.
We were discussing the sporting value of edible fresh water fish at lunch one day. I opined my belief that most any fish put up more of a fight than a walleye. He disagreed and offered to prove walleye could be a ‘handful’. A few evenings later we were in his 14 foot aluminum boat, hand lining thirty to forty feet down in the shipping channel of the Detroit River. He owned two near-identical self-winding reels described in post #1 that were rigged with mason’s line attached to three pound cannon balls trailing mono leaders to some flashy spoons. Between dodging ore freighters and rail barges we both limited out in a couple hours. All those walleye were 24” plus fish and every one fought like a whirling dervish.
I’m sure fighting them on a hand line in a eight knot current enhanced the struggle but that night I discovered walleye, under the right conditions, could put up a fight.

[Winger Ed.]

I know my computer is a piece of East German surplus that I got after the Berlin wall came down,
but the attachments either won't open for me, or they're gone.

Bummer.
Or, as they say in Southern Russia- Bummerouski.

[GhostHawk]

River fish always fight better.

They are used to having to swim against the current, so they are in shape. Lake fish get fat and lazy.