34 LAKE AND STREAM GAME FISHING 

 FLEGEL FATHERS A DINGER 



Of course, Old Man, you have heard of the 

 " Beetzel," that little old self-thumber, level-winder, 

 free spool wonder that does everything but spit on 

 the bait. This reel is the combined effort of George 

 Upton, of Warren, Ohio, and Ben Flegel, the father 

 of those little Flegel thumber flanges which make 

 the Redifor-Pflueger an antibacklasher. In the 

 Beetzel, Flegel, known from coast to coast as a won- 

 derful and skillful caster, has added a little twist to 

 the centrifugal thumbers that stop the spool of the 

 reel as soon as the bait stops. The line carrier on 

 this reel travels back and forth on a worm gear, the 

 top of the carrier being notched. The line is not 

 held in restraint when casting, as the carrier drops 

 out of position when the cast is made and is picked 

 up by the carrier when reeled in. 



In the free spool end of the reel there are no 

 levers or plugs to manipulate; you simply give the 

 reel handle about one-eighth of a turn backward and 

 there is no drag on the line except the spool itself. 

 The main gear and pinion are in mesh at all times, 

 whether the spool is in gear or not. This is due to 

 the make of the pinion gear which slides up and 

 down on the spool journal shaft and you avoid all 

 chances of stripping the gears, as will happen on 

 some free-spoolers when the gears are suddenly 

 thrown in and out of mesh. The reel is exception- 



