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I enjoy reading posts on fly fishing gear. Rods and reels are getting lighter, with cutting edge materials. Modern high tech equipment can get pricey.

I was researching a vintage TV fishing personality, Gadabout Gaddis. I found some youtube videos of him fly fishing on his TV show ("Fishing USA") from the late 1960's .

This video made me chuckle as his equipment would be poo-pooed today. Looks like he is using a pretty thick diameter fiberglass flyrod (white color, no less), and a Pflueger Medalist(?) reel (1494? 1495?). Surprise, surprise, he is catching fish on a "heavy, slow action" rod, and a "low tech" heavy reel. There May be a life lesson in there someplace. His gear was likely "cutting edge" back in 1969, but it just goes to show "it's not the arrow, but the archer."

He is fishing the Kennebec River, above the Wyman dam (north of Bingham /Solon /Moscow, Maine) called "Wyman Lake.". It's about an hour north of me. Note the pulp wood floating, as part of the paper mill log drives (log drives ended a couple years after this filming to clean up the rivers.).

I was researching Gadabout Gaddis, as I bought his 14 foot aluminum jon boat 20 years ago, from a family who took care of him in his later years in Solon, ME. It is a very heavy duty "DuraTech" brand jon boat. It still is fishing the Kennebec River today.

I got a kick out of the "old school" equipment (by today's standards), he was using-with success. Grab you parent's or grandparent's flyrod and reel, dust them off and go catch some fish.


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I used to watch him every weekend in the '60s. He was on just before American Sportsman. I was about 10 or 12.

I recall he narrated the shows since they were shot with home movie equip of the day, and had no sound. Great memories. I need to go and search YouTube.

Last edited by eaglemountainman; 06/25/22.

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I have all manner of gear from a 7 ft 2 wt up to a 10 wt 16 ft graphite Spey. Got po-poed on a recent guided trip as I carried a 9 wt glass Fennwick with a Pflueger 1494 1/2 attached. There were a couple Winston rod/reels along). I beached the only steelhead.

Still enjoy the old gear and can't bring myself to sell any. Too many memories attached.

Last edited by 1minute; 06/25/22.

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I'm old and still use some of the gear, like Fennwick glass and Pflueger Medalist, that I got when I was a teenager 'cause I'm only a casual fly sisherman. Expecting to rectify that when we retire in southwestern CO. The Animus, Delores, Los Pinos, Piedra, and San Juan Rivers are calling to me.

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Pretty cool. That white colored fly rod got me wondering Shakespear Wonderod? Probably not, but it would be interesting knowing what the rod was being a fan of old glass. Back when I was about 17 I used to dream of having a life lke that, albeit the emphasis was more on the flying than the fishing. These days its the other way around. Thanks for posting!


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I used to watch his show every week with fishing buddy. We used to dream of using a flyrod for bass.

Thanks for posting the video. Looks like Gadabout's flyrod was a Shakespeare Wonder rod quick taper. Most likely the 8' 6" model. Those wonder rods used Shakespeare's patented Howald process. How's that for trivia? You can see the shakespeare label on the lower portion of his rod in the video.

IIRC when I turned 11 I bought a 8' 6" standard taper Shakespeare wonder rod (yes it was white). Used HCH weight forward floating line and a Pfluger reel. Began catching sunfish in Black Creek at Churchville park's dam near NY State Route 33.

Len and I learned not to blow up our flies and eventually made some our own. Well actually just one. An ant pattern without the hackle. We could wrap heavy black sewing thread on shank to make two humps. Then used Mom's clear nail polish to seal it. Sometimes we use some red nail polish on eye area. We would twitch it just under the surface. It never wore out and caught sunfish, small crappie and smallmouth bass!

Eventually we evolved to catching bass and sunfish on poppers in Honeoye and Conesus lakes.

Go forward to 1997. Best bass popper action of my life. Gadabout would have loved to have been there. I will admit I had upgraded my flyfishing equipment to a basic package from Orvis called the Rocky Mt. It was a 6 weight 9' using weight forward line. Still have the wonder rod but don't use it anymore.

Wife and I boat camped way up Lake Powell from Wahweap bay near the dam to well past Rainbow bridge. One day we went up the San Juan River. It opened up into a huge bay. We continued upstream to the second bay. Water was high, submerging rocks and brush. Smallmouths were in the shallows slashing at the popper. I caught well over 100 that morning. It will be a long time when the lake gets high enough to go that far up the San Juan.

I have fished for trout on the Madison many summers but nothing was quite like that popper action on the San Juan.

Last edited by Azshooter; 06/26/22.
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I was an outdoor writer many years ago and was fishing an invitational writer trip in Florida. Gaddis put on a cookout for us near Palatka, and was a fun guy to talk to. Has some great stories. That was @73.

And that old equipment worked just fine. I was a bass magazine editor about then & Fenwick sent me 4 rods made out a of a super new material called carbon graphite for evaluation. I broke 3 of them, 2 on fish. I sent the pieces back and told em to forget that stuff & stick with fiberglass. 🙄

Thank god they ignored me 😎


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Originally Posted by brayhaven
I was a bass magazine editor about then & Fenwick sent me 4 rods made out a of a super new material called carbon graphite for evaluation. I broke 3 of them, 2 on fish. I sent the pieces back and told em to forget that stuff & stick with fiberglass. 🙄

Thank god they ignored me 😎

grin Some of those early carbon rods were a bit fragile for sure.


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When I came back from Viet Nam in 1969, my 1st Sergeant claimed that Gadabout Gaddis was his brother and told many stories about him. Truth or not, never found out otherwise. The stories were funny, though.

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Originally Posted by samthedog
When I came back from Viet Nam in 1969, my 1st Sergeant claimed that Gadabout Gaddis was his brother and told many stories about him. Truth or not, never found out otherwise. The stories were funny, though.

He was probably legit. First sergeants never lie. 😎.
Welcome home. I came back in 69 as well.
Couldn’t wait to go fishing & hunting.


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