Yep. I watched that show every week. As soon as I saw the name I thought of the North River footage of him casting the eels. Great Show !

I remember this show as I was very young. It was pretty much the only show I knew of. I remember being AMAZED watching him catch big Bass on eels at night ( from a boat) I'm only 31 so do the math. I would stay up as a kid just to watch this show when the rest of the house was asleep. Awesome thread.:uhuh:

I actually met Gadabout Gaddis
 

when I was 7 years old dad took me to the sportsmans show and he was there and said hi to me. I remember he was wearing a cowboy hat.

That was 50 years ago

Watched the show years ago. One of the first shows for NE there was on TV. Remember he would always end the show with a "catch and release and God Bless America"

I know that spot in the N River well. There is a couple new McMansions and private docks on that bank now but the fish don't mind.

I remember him too. My dad also used to take me to the sportsman's show.
Ya, Gadabout Gaddis,"The Flying Fisherman" wore a straw cowboy hat.
Times were much simpler then. . . .

I remember that show! wasn't he using a little Newell 220 or 229? Funny what you remember.

I loved that show, too. Mike was a regular, local fisherman as a host. Something we can all relate to. I'm 40 and I still think about that North River striper episode. I lest a positive impression and changed how I fished for stripers.

Thanks Mike!

Yup, it was a little Newell 220F.

You're very welcome.

It's amazing how many people remember that episode.
It's also amazing that I didn't get Lyme disease from all the ticks that were feeding on me, even though I was wearing the waders.

It was so hot that day. it was like 85 degrees within a couple of hours after sunrise.
We were actually scheduled to do the shoot at another location, but I changed my mind at the last minute.
I'm glad I did.
Moog

I remember him well.

Probably a great reel then but that jerky drag sounded like crap.....would have been nice to have a more modern day shimano at the time......:uhuh:

That crappy sound was music to my ears!
They were going to put that reel on display at the Smithsonian, but they chose Archie Bunker's chair instead.

If that reel could only talk!!!!!
Moog

I hear what your saying but I have always hated when my reels start to jerk like that.....so in the winter put new HT100 in them if it was a penn or those smoothie drags......then I bought my first Shimano conventional a 15/30 StarTLD and the drag is still like butter after years. Nice and smoooooth. Just personal opinion on feel.

Ya, I know what you mean about the jerky drag. In all fairness, I must admit that I always run my drag a lot tighter than recommended, which will make a reel's drag react in a jerky way when the fish takes line.
All of my Newell's had the same distinct sound.
Maybe it was the guy that serviced them?

In the case of the North River Striper, if I backed off the drag, the fish would have taken a lot more line and made a long run. Nice and smooth.
However, the fish could only manage to take line in bursts. The drag was too tight for a sustained run.

I use Avet's now, and when I crank the drag down, the line still jerks out of the reel, unless it's a toad and the reel just screams.
It's the way I use the drag. I'm not afraid of breaking off a fish, so I give it a good amount of extra.

By the way, the Avet sounds a lot different than the Newell.
Smoooooth. . . .Music!
Thanks,
Moog