On 2008-05-27, riverman wrote:

In that case, you're talking about a Great Lakes Whirlaway.

I fished with a similar one-piece rod/reel back in the early 50s when I was
just a wee lad. My grandmother borrowed it from a neighbor so I'd have a
rig to fish with. It was considerably more elegant, though.

The reel was a spin cast with an angular profile, front and back, like the
classic Zebco front cone and had a couple inches of grip handle protruding
from the rear to leverage against the body. It also had a double knob crank
and was also released for casting by reversing the crank half a turn. The
line came out through the formost part of the grip through a hole with an
indent for the thumb to pinch the line. It was a very sleek rod and worked
flawlessly. I would have very much liked to own one like it, but I was just
a pup and it appeared to be quite expensive. I never saw another like it.

Oh yeah, we fished a lake high up in the CO mountains and I caught diddly
almost all day while my family was reeling 'em in. Just before sundown, I
was reeling in for the last time when I thought I snagged. I tugged and
pulled and yanked to no avail. I was so mad and discouraged and about to
ask for help when the line gave a little. Was it really a snag? I pulled.
I reeled. More progress. I got excited. I continued on until I finally
landed the biggest dang fish I'd ever seen. It was almost half as big as I
was, literally, and twice as big as anyone else's biggest catch. It was one
the most memorable fishing trips of my life with the coolest rod/reel I've
ever seen.

nb