In Oct of 2009 my granddad in Oklahoma passed away and one of the items my grandma gave me was his old flyfishing reel. It is a pflueger and was probably made around 1940 still worked great and made for a perfect fit for my St. Croix 8' 4wt. So between getting married and school I really didnt have time to try this reel out till June of 2010 and we had been staying at the camper on the Watauga River and I got up around 7 am to try out my secret spot just down from the camper around a small island that almost always produces a few small rainbows. As got to my spot I rigged up a size 16 beaded pheasant tail and figured I would try a run I usually dont fish because of it being shallow but figured why not? So I feed out some line get into position and make my first cast with my new rod and my papa's old fly reel and wouldnt you know it I caught a brown trout about 11". I just couldnt believe this was happening on my first cast. After that I dont even remember if I caught anything and had to run back to tell every one what had happened.
