Gilmore Hoodler

One of my favorite wood lure brands is 'Gilmore'. Their lures, even in unused condition, look very shabby because of their old-fashioned paints. I recently got one named 'Hoodler'. How cool its face is with a lot of scars! I'd like to have a couple of more for my fishing in 2010.


This is a scan from a catalog in the early 1980s. I'd like to look for #07, 15 and other colors. Anyone who can offer to sell to me??

New Reel

Recently, I got a new reel. It is a NIB (new in box, dead stock) ABU Ambassadeur Record reel, which was sold only for the Japan market in 1985 (made in 1984).

The specification is almost the same as that of 4600C, but the body is black with so-called 'palming body'. The rims are decorated with beautiful decals. Its name was after the famous ABU reel, Record.

Left: ABU Record Ambassadeur 5000 (red) with a custom-built Phillipson rod
Right: ABU Record (84 palming) with a custom-built Fenwick Boron-X

Broken

When I used my spinning fishing reel during the latest trip, the handle shaft was suddenly broken. I got too upset, because I had to reel the line into the spook using my fingers. My lure (metal jig) had already got to the sea bottom, so it was a hard time for me to pick it up to the boat. I'm wondering why this trouble happened, metal fatigue or my increased muscle strength???