I wonder if anybody can help me. I have a 1930's fly reel I have been told it is very rare and extremely collectable.

it has been identified as a Pegley Davies 3 inch diameter centre pin. The only visible markings are on the rear are of a matchstick man in a fly fishing pose and stamped with 'The Competitor reel' and stamped beneath with 'Made in England'.

I am told that it's rarity value is because the original mass produced reel was 3.5 inches in diameter and had 2 winding knobs, mine is the far less produced 3 inch diameter reel with only the single winding ****.

it is in generally very good condition for a near 80 year old reel and actually works perfectly.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

hello you may need a photo but i remember pegley davies company but alas not that reel, but there will be kind members who know or may have 1 too. richardw has a lot of knowledge and some other gents too. good luck

Can I ask who told you this. and did they give you an estimate of it's value,and If So, did they make you an offer.

Jim

PS Welcome to the forum.

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Morning me old fruit,

Photo of the wee reel would be good!

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the welcome, very kind.

Below is copy of an email I received from a guy after I advertised this item on ebay, I have since removed the item from sale. I was having trouble making an informed identification of the reel, but got suspicious with amount of interest the reel was receiving.

I am a recent convert to this sport (3 years now) I live in Brittany and to fend off the boredom, I at times buy job lots of fly fishing tackle. I keep the items I want to add to my own kit and sell the rest individually, my kit so far has cost me nothing and it pays for my licence and am able to buy other pieces of tackle from the resulting sales.

The guy who contacted me appears to know his onions he is a collector and a fly fishing instructor, his concern again appears totally genuine, he did'nt want to see me under sell the reel and he never made an offer.



hi DAVE,
thanks for the photos a little bit to many pixels they came realy close up hard to see, but i know i have a better idea what the reel is. (STAND BY) the reel was made in the 1930s by pegley-davis known as the casting reel stamped the competitor. it was made commonly for course fishing as a centerpin reel 3 1/2 inches diam. but yours is a bit special! its 3 inch across one winding handle, the cutaway is for palming the spool to speed line recovery or to slow it down as a break.on the edge of the reel is a leaver to put on or take of the check (click) the normal ones ie the 3 1/2 inch were marked pegley-davis around thecenter of the front spool thats what through me at first. the common one had two handles. what you must decide is after doing a full net recon, are there any markings on it any where.
if its what i think it is its worth between £150 =£250. usa go mad for them! send more photo atachments if you can. they were simler to the ogden-smith the SPINOS reel for fly fishing,
i could have made a few euros there. they are only a few honest english man left .

have fun searching

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As I said any help gratefully received.

Thanks again.

Dave

Thanks for the info Dave.As stated, a few photos will help.then I hope you get some of our more knowlegable members to help you out.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Are you sure it is a fly reel?





The Competitor above was a casting reel. (F W K Wallis type of casting). Made by Youngs probably...

Your single handle and smaller diameter version is certainly rare, I haven't come across one before but then again I am no collector, so can't comment on the value. Put some pictures up of yours and let's have a look. It is all very interesting...

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

Hi,

The photo's are of the 3.5 inch model. Mine is the 3 inch. Pegley Davies is a very similar company to JW Youngs. I will upload a couple of photos later today.

Thanks again

Does your 3" look like this?



With the back like this, only with the "Competitor" engraving?



The same reel was sold by Ogden Smith as "The Flyos" (the 3 1/2" casting reel was sold as "The Spinos").

They were all made by J. W. Young & Sons in the late 1940's. The spool latch incorporating a grubscrew was not used until post WW2.

Interstingly, my Milbro example was orinally a Flyos, and you can just see the "Ogden Smith, London, England" engraving under the sticker.



regards,

Doc

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www.doctor-fly.com

This is the photographs of my reel. it is definately a Pegley Davies, very similar to the Milbro and JW Young. The 3.5 inch version is usually marked as Pegley Davies on the spool front, but the 3 inch is unmarked apart from the logo on the rear.