The BackCast Podcast episode 55 with guest Richard Alexander

John and Richard sit down with Richard Alexander.  Richard is a Salt Lake City native who has spent a good portion of his adult life collecting and fishing with vintage fly rods and fly reels. Over the years he has joined and participated with online fly-fishing forums buying and selling rods and reels. He began photographing each item as it passed through his hands, creating a rich photo library of the rare and historical items he had grown to love. To share his passion for vintage fly tackle and insight of antique rods and reels, he created the Antique Rod & Reel Library website www.antiquerodandreels.com . The website was designed to help anyone identify the items in their possession by comparing them to the rods and reels in the online library. Richard is always excited about sharing his knowledge and experiences with anyone interested in vintage fly tackle.

 

Over time, Richard began to identify a niche in today’s fly-fishing market. There was a reason people loved these old fishing items, and he would often hear them say, “They just don’t make them like they used to.” Richard sought to fix that. Combining his love for flyfishing and passion for the sport, as well as almost forty years of experience in engineering design, machining and manufacturing, the RC Alexander Imperial 125 was born. The Alexander Imperial 125 is a modern evolution of Heddon’s Imperial 125 that gives the fisherman the classic look and balance of the vintage reel but the robustness of today’s modern materials and machining tolerances. The Alexander Imperial 125 is machined from solid aircraft grade aluminum bar stock with internal components being made from todays lighter stronger alloys. One characteristic of the Alexander Imperial 125 is an agate line guide as found on the original 1924 version of the reel, along with the three-position check adjustment added to the post WWII reels. The Alexander Imperial 125 reel can be ordered in left- or right-hand retrieve and in several Cerakote colors shown on the website https://rcalexanderreels.com .