If you have ever been fishing, you are undoubtedly familiar with fishing reels. As a necessary and frequently used piece of equipment, reels are likely to need replacing, which can be done easily. But if you want the same model of reel or need to get replacement parts, you might be wondering if there is a serial number you can look up.
Do fishing reels have serial numbers? The majority of fishing reels do have serial numbers. Most legitimately branded reels will be serialized during their production process, usually by method of engraving, stamping, or etching. However, not all fishing reels will have serial numbers, and the implementation of them often varies greatly by company.
Knowing where and how to find the serial number on a fishing reel can be quite important for multiple reasons. If you own a particularly expensive or unique reel, you may want to know its serial number for the sake of identification, finding replacement parts, filing a warranty, or when insuring it. Knowing the serial number is also useful in the case of authenticating antique reels.
How to Find the Serial Number on a Fishing Reel
The location of the serial number on any given reel can differ in both large or minute ways, but in most cases, the serial number can be found in an out of the way location somewhere on the exterior, or sometimes on the interior of the reel. Examples of this include Mitchell, 3-TAND, and Sage brand fishing reels.
- Mitchell fishing reels are considered highly desirable among those in the fishing community, especially their vintage reels, which have a dedicated following of their own. You can find the serial number on the foot of the mechanism for reels produced pre-1950 and stamped on the housing of reels made from 1950-1957.
- 3-TAND reels, another respected brand, makes their serial numbers a little tougher to find. On their T-series reels, the numbers are etched underneath the drag cap. The cap is located on the opposite side of the foot of the reel.
- Sage brand reels do not have serial numbers on specific models of their reels, such as 600, 1800, 2000, and 2200 series. But for those that do, the serial numbers can be found on the interior frame. The numbers will become visible after removing the spool from the fishing reel.
Which Reels Have Serial Numbers and Which Do Not?
While most fishing reels produced over the last handful of decades will almost always include a serial number, there are always outliers. In some cases, you may purchase an unbranded reel that has been mass-produced and left without a serial number in order to lower the cost of manufacturing.
In other cases, you will find that occasionally a manufacturer will simply decide to produce a series of reels without their serial numbers for any number of reasons. Finding a reel without its serial numbers is also more common among antique reels or reels, which have been made in limited quantity by a small privately-owned business.
A few examples of reels without serial numbers include:
- Sage Reels: As mentioned earlier, reels produced in 1600, 1800, 2000, and 2200 series do not have serial numbers, but all other models in the Sage catalog do.
- Mitchell Reels: While most Mitchel reels will have serial numbers, the initial three versions of their first reel, the model 300, which was dubbed “The Mitchell” do not include serial numbers.
- Hardy Reels: Hardy claims to put serial numbers on all of their reels, but in fact, there are a number of their reels that do not include a serial number. Most commonly, Hardy reels made in 1938 and prior are unlikely to have a number, as well as some models of reel produced between 2006 and 2009.
Fishing Reel Serial Numbers and Model Numbers
Fishing reel serial numbers are usually a combination of letters and numbers. Often, there is a type of code associated with each character in the serial number. For instance, the starting digits often reflect the year the reel was manufactured.
Other numbers may indicate:
- The year a reel design was introduced
- What month it was produced
- What week it was produced
- What series or model it is
Model Numbers
Your reel will also have a model number on it. While it’s different from the serial number, the two types of numbers will often be used together to identify your reel.
Model numbers are often much easier to find, as they are clearly displayed on highly visible areas of the reel, most commonly on the housing and/or on the spool.
Each manufacturer creates their model numbers differently, but it’s not unusual for the model number to correspond with the size of the reel. The diameter of the spool is often associated with a number in the thousands (1000, 2000, 2500, etc.). This number also links up with how much fishing line the spool can hold. This, in turn, also denotes how heavy the reel will be when loaded with line.
A model number can tell you quite a lot about the reel you’re holding. Check out this site about vintage Mitchell reels and their model numbers.
Reasons for Knowing Your Fishing Reel Serial Number
Briefly discussed earlier, there are quite a good number of reasons you might want to know your fishing reel serial numbers and consider writing them down to keep stored someplace safe. Here are a few examples expanded upon.
- Stolen property: The last thing you expect to be stolen during a break-in is your fishing reels, but if you are not already aware, some fishing reels can actually fetch a surprisingly high price and are simple enough to pawn off.
If you spend time on any fishing message boards, you’re bound to find a story like this one. If you know your serial numbers, however, there might be a chance to get your reels back.
- Replacement Parts: Nothing is infallible, and it is more than likely you will need to replace more than one part of your reel at some point if you use it frequently. If you know the serial number of your reel, the process for finding replacement parts can be streamlined. You don’t want to end up with the wrong part.
- Warranty: Similar to the reasoning for replacement parts, if your reel gets damaged or becomes nonfunctional, you may be entitled to a replacement reel or free repair. Often you will be required to fill out paperwork that requires you to know the serial number of your reel in order to identify its model and to be used as proof of purchase.
- Authentication: There are plenty of reasons to authenticate a reel, some fishing reels, for example, can be relatively expensive. When in the business of buying any high-value item, it is always worth knowing how to authenticate it. With fishing reels, an obvious way of determining authenticity can be through its serial number.
Identifying a Fake Reel
Although it is relatively uncommon to find fake reproductions of fishing reels being sold, the potential is there, and it does happen on occasion. Of course, the most common instances of this usually occur in the antique market in which some reels can fetch upwards of USD $800.
Premium professional model reels are also more likely to be faked, as well as reel brands that are popular and recognizable. You can identify a fake reel in numerous ways.
Some of the quickest and easiest include checking for proper build quality, determining whether the price seems too good to be true, making sure you are using a legitimate or otherwise reliable seller when purchasing, and of course, cross-referencing the serial number with other fishing reels in the same product range.