967
A superb Otto Zwarg Saguenay Model 300 salmon fly reel in 3/0 size. RHW. 3 5/8" diameter with a 1 7/16" spool width and a weight of 11.75 ounces. Single action retrieve. Serial number I81 indicating a 1954 manufacture date, made in St. Petersburg seven years after the move from Brooklyn. This reel is a true specimen and is in like new original condition. The rims, sideplates, handle, drag adjuster and even the inside of the spool all appear to basically be unused. Even the screw heads, which typically show a little bit of use from the occasional servicing or opening, appear to have been largely untouched. The very edges of the foot have some slight wear and are the only sign that this reel has been put on a rod. Nice smooth drag which is perfect throughout the seven positions. As head of reel making for Vom Hofe, Zwarg worked with the world class fisherman who followed him when he was granted the right to make the Vom Hofe style reels under his own name. If you weigh Vom Hofe and Zwarg reels of the same size, you will find the Zwargs are slightly heavier, owing to Zwarg's use of heavier internal gearing and braking. This reel also comes in what appears to be the original leather case with the intials "LTS" impressed in the top. Zwargs in this kind of condition are as rare as they come.