Wm Robertson of Glasgow Stork logo

I bought this little reel just to blog it.

A 3” alloy fly reel with the retailer’s oval stamp to backplate “William Robertson’s Fishing Tackle, Glasgow”. A shop I knew well on my regular walking tour of the Glasgow tackle shops as a lad. My very limited budget as an apprentice mechanic afforded me little spare money. So it was floats, hooks, occasional line and I think only twice a new Intrepid reel and Milbro glass fibre rod, with my ill-gotten school poker wins at lunch time on the pay day (not recommended).

My interest in this reel is to show the flying Stork with fish logo. I’ve had questions in the past about this logo but it rarely appears on reels, its normally cast packets and accessories featuring the design.

The reel is a J W Young of Redditch trade Pattern No5, fairly simple and robust. Starting life in 1925, it ran in this form into c. 1940-ish when it gained a check regulator.

Normally this would help date the period in which it was purchased from the shop.

Wrong, not with Scottish tackle shops!

I know from experience one shop in particular I used to visit had the same window display for over 10 years, fading and collecting dust until it looked disowned.

He still had in stock a Mitchell reel in the blue white card box from his original stock of the 1950s and this was in 1972!

It was a great venue to locate old rod rings, threads, bail springs, the stuff we all need but no one stocks. Sadly, no longer trading the internet rang the death bell on him years ago.