Pflueger Medalist 1595 Rc Fly Fishing Reel

1929-1936

Pflueger 1492 Fly Reel Specs
Pflueger Medalist 1595 Rc Fly Fishing Reel Set Up
Pflueger Medalist 1595 Rc Fly Fishing Reel Case
Pflueger 1494 Medalist

The 1931 catalog listed the 'MEDALIST.' The reel appears to be the one C.T. Pflueger applied for a patent on Oct. 27, 1928 and was granted on Sept. 9, 1930 as Patent Number D81995.

One of America's best-loved fly reels returns streamside. The venerable Pflueger® Medalist® has been redesigned to fulfill the needs of the modern angler, while its long-standing emphasis on quality and reliability remains intact.

Relaunching America's most iconic fly reel. The Pflueger Medalist standard arbor fly reel, redesigned with full machined aluminum construction and multi-position click and pawl system.
The 1931 catalog listed the 'MEDALIST.' The reel appears to be the one C.T. Pflueger applied for a patent on Oct. 27, 1928 and was granted on Sept. 9, 1930 as Patent Number D81995. 1930s-40s era Pflueger Medalists - 'Trademark, Pflueger Medalist, Made in USA' on spool latch cover - Model #, 'Patented' stamped on the reel body below the foot.
Relaunching America's most iconic fly reel. The new Pflueger medalist standard arbor fly reel, redesigned with full machined aluminum construction and multi-position click and pawl system.

1930s-40s era Pflueger Medalists

- Model #, 'Patented' stamped on the reel body below the foot
- Bronze spindle
- Round metal Diamolite line guard
- 6 rivets around spool latch cover
- Amber colored plastic handle
- Aluminum spool latch cover
- Knurled metal drag knob
- Sculpted cross pillars, riveted to body

In 1931, the models were as follows:

1937

The 1396, 1592 and 1596 were dropped. The reels included the change to a spool arbor, which could be weighted. That was patent number 2,018,468, granted Oct. 22, 1935.

The models were as follows:

1938

This year, the Medalist underwent a few more changes. The main one was the adjustable drag under Patent number 2,059,763. The dual click patent was awarded patent number 2,059,765.

The models were as follows:

1939

The Medalist line gained a wide frame model, the 1495 ½. The ½ models were 1' wide versus the standard 13/16' wide models.

The models were as follows:

1940 - 1949

The 1496 1/2 and 1494 1/2 were offered. The 1496 was dropped.

The models were as follows:

Pflueger Medalist 1595 Rc Fly Fishing Reel

1952

1950s era Pflueger Medalists

*1959, 'Made in Akron O USA' was stamped on the reel body below the foot.

The reel foot is now tapered rather than having straight sides.

The models were as follows:

1958

The 1498 is added. The 1496 ½., 1496, 1392 and 1394 are discontinued.

The models were as follows:

1959

The 1594 and 1595 were discontinued with the availability of a left-hand conversion ratchet, part number 3933. This was supposed to fit any Medalists except for the 1492, which was a click drag.

The reel body now has the stamp, 'Made in Akron O USA,' versus just 'Patented.'

The models were as follows:

1961-62

1960s era (pre-1966) Pflueger Medalists

Pflueger 1492 Fly Reel Specs

* 1964

Right or Left Hand Wind/Rectangular Line Guard/Adjustable Drag/Dual Click: 1494, 1495, 1495 ½, 1498
Right Hand/Square Line Guard/No Drag/Dual Click: 1492

1963

Another change in the ratchet occurred; it was made so it could be flipped over and used for right or left hand wind.

The models were as follows:

1966

The Enterprise Manufacturing Company officially changed its name to Pflueger. Shakespeare Tackle Company acquired Pflueger and manufactured the reels in Akron, Ohio, from 1966-69. The letters DA were added after the model numbers.

1970

Pflueger made the Madison Model 4/5, 6/7, 8, and 9 fly reel under the Orvis label. Medalists were now made in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

1972

The Pflueger name, model# DA, Made in USA was now on the frame. The 1' wide 1494 ½ joins the line up.

The models were as follows:

1973-74

The 1' wide model 1492 ½ joins the line up.

The models were as follows:

1979

Production moved overseas to China, Japan and Hong Kong, Shakespeare Medalists had the reel foot assembly crimped and the contours of the foot were coarser and less refined. The letters CJ (Japan) and AK (Hong Kong, China) appeared after the model numbers. The reel foot had the words Japan, China or Hong Kong inscribed in it. The words 'Pflueger Medalist' and/or 'Shakespeare' appeared on the spool latch cover.

1990s

W. S. Franke Custom Fishing Rods, North Conway, NH, introduced the 1-Pfoot reel foot replacement for older Medalist reel feet with screws which allowed for use on more modern rods. Uses 4 screws for attachment. Reels with riveted feet could accept the 1-Pfoot if the rivets lined up with the holes on the 1-Pfoot and the rivets were removed to accept the screws. After the 1-Pfoot was discontinued, Shakespeare introduced a Chinese reel foot replacement. Current models include the 1492, 1492 1/2, 1494, 1494 1/2, 1495, 1495 1/2 and the 1498, but also include the 1500's with 'Rim-Control.'

References:

Antique Fly Reels

Classic and Antique Fly-Fishing Tackle - A Guide for Collectors & Anglers

~ Richard Komar

An Angler's Guide To The Classic Pflueger Medalist

Part One - 1930 to 1958

Article and Photographs by Joe Cornwall

I've been a Pflueger Medalist fly reel fan for as long as I've been able to hold a fly rod. A Medalist was my first fly reel, purchased for me by my grandfather all those many years ago. It was a 1494DA and I still have it. Since those early days I've gone on to fish Medalists in fresh water and salt and in every size from the petite 1492 to the hefty 1498. Along the way I've learned a lot about the personality of this iconic piece of gear. It's a simple design, capable of performance far beyond that which its modest parts would suggest.

As popular as the Medalist is for fishermen and collectors alike, one would think that getting accurate and detailed information about servicing and maintaining this reel would be an easy click away. Over the years I've found that there is some great information on the Internet about this and other classic reels, but there isn't one place where it's all been brought together. Until now. In this series of articles we'll explore the history and evolution of the Pflueger Medalist. We'll look at variations in construction from the earliest models to the present. We'll compare and contrast the in-hand performance of vintage and contemporary versions and examine line-size applications and capacity. We'll see what makes them tick and we'll explore, in detail, what needs to be done to convert a reel from right-hand-wind to left-hand-wind and to keep it running for years to come.

Pflueger Medalist 1595 Rc Fly Fishing Reel Set Up

Pflueger has a long and interesting history. In 1881, Earnest Pflueger established the Enterprise Manufacturing Company in Akron, Ohio, with the goal of producing and distributing hooks, lures and fishing tackle. Earnest enlisted the help of his brothers Joe, William and and Charles and, over the next several decades, the family founded a strong business, primarily as a manufacturer of fishing hooks. By 1916 Earnest A. Pflueger, son of the founding Pflueger, would take over the family business, rename it, and build it into the dominant and diversified American fishing tackle company which it would remain for the next half century.

The Pflueger company applied for a patent for a fly reel design in October 1928 and was granted the patent in September of 1930. The patent was filed by Charles Pflueger and was for ornamental decoration of a fly reel design — the iconic round line guard and other elements. The Medalist name made its debut in the Pflueger 1931 catalog, but it would be a few more years before the reel would take on the characteristics that would come to define the recognized Medalist with adjustable drag topology. It wasn't until 1938 that the adjustable drag was added. Prior to the award of this patent, the earliest Medalists featured a click-pawl drag and a 'cage' spool arbor. These early reels are prized collector items and sell for amounts that really preclude their consideration as ordinary fishing reels.

Pflueger Medalist 1595 Rc Fly Fishing Reel Case

These early reels were available in three sizes; small, medium and large. We now know them as the 1492, 1494 and 1496 respectively. All featured the now classic round line guard and were designed as right-hand-wind reels. Several generations ago almost all fishing reels were right-hand-wind; it wasn't until the spinning reel exploded on the scene after World War II that using the left hand to crank the handle became fashionable. Because there were left handed anglers in the market, there was a series of reels made that were left-hand-wind. Of course these sold in minute quantities, proportional to the percentage of lefty's in the general population. These reels were known as the 1392, 1394 and 1396 and are currently so rare (and expensive when they do come to market) that they are of no concern to the angler or casual collector. There also was a series of Medalists that were, for lack of a better term, 'ambidextrous' They didn't have the round line guard at all. They were the 1592, 1594 and 1596. In an interesting aside, the 15xx model numbers would be revisited in the 1990's when Pflueger released a modification of the Medalist design that featured a palming rim on the spool. The new reels are essentially drag-enabled 14xx series reels with a different (and completely interchangeable) spool and bear no functional relationship to these very early click-and-pawl designs.

Pflueger 1494 Medalist

Of the click-pawl reels, only the tiny 1492 and its wide-body brother the 1492½ remain in circulation in sufficient numbers to be readily available. They are also currently manufactured and available as new. There are a number of minor variances to all the Pflueger Medalist reels that were excellently documented by Richard Komar in his article Pflueger Medalist Reels - A History. Komar's article is a great resource to help identify the age of a particular Medalist permutation. Let's start this adventure by taking a closer look at a couple of the variations in the click-pawl line-up.