Lee Wulff Ultimate Reel (designed by Stanley Bogdan)

VFT6116


For sale here is a very scarce "Lee Wulff Ultimate" fly reel made in the late 1960s. Many notable fly fishing visionaries were involved in this limited edition run of 100 reels. Stan Bogdan designed the reel in collaboration with Lee Wulff, perhaps as far back as the late 50s. Lee Wulff was involved with Orvis at that time and upon leaving Orvis and joining forces with Norm Thompson, he convinced Thompson's partner, Peter Alport to fund the development of this reel. Farlow's of London or actually their subsidiary, Sharpe's of Aberdeen, was selected to manufacture the reels. The reels were then distributed by Norm Thompson.The reel incorporated the palmable rim or open frame concept which originated with the Nottingham reels of the 19th century. Of course, Orvis later brought this concept mainstream in 1972 with the introduction of the CFO model, of course designed by none other than Stan Bogdan.

According to Graydon Hilyard's marvelous book, Bogdan, Lee Wulff "asked Stan to design a reel capable of handling large fish, but without the bulk." Wulff went on to catch a 146 black marlin off the coast of Ecuador with the reel.

The reel is 3 1/2" in diameter with a 1 1/8" wide spool. It weighs 8 3/8 oz. Nice and strong fixed check, RH/LH convertible (currently setup for left hand retrieve), ventilated spool and frame, anodized finish, attractive rosewood handle. The reel accommodates an 8wt line with ample backing.

The reel is in near mint condition with only very minor handling marks. It also comes with an extremely well made and hand stitched leather case made by the reel's original owner, Harry Rufus Geron.

Shipping Information
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Other Terms
Unless otherwise noted, all items come with a 3-day inspection period during which they can be returned to us for a full refund (provided that they are in the same condition in which they left our shop). Return shipping is the responsibility of the buyer. If an item is returned, we will issue a refund within 10 days upon receipt. Refunds will be either administered by providing a check or, when possible, by canceling a credit card purchase.