| 17 May 2011
(Click Image To Enlarge) Snook Reel Collector's Item: #1 Abel Fly Reel - Snook Edition inspired by James Prosek
A limited edition 2011 Abel 7/8N large arbor fly reel in a design inspired by artist and conservationist James Prosek is the latest collectors item to be offered to investors in Fly Fishing. The limited edition Snook Reels will benefit the Florida-based Snook & Gamefish Foundation, announced Don R. Swanson, president of the tackle manufacturer.
One hundred of the individually hand painted, anodized and laser engraved snook design reels will be produced. Reels will be accompanied by a signed and numbered 11x14-inch gicleè print of a snook by Prosek. The print number will correspond to the reel number.
Reel number one and gicleè print number one have been donated to the Snook & Gamefish Foundation by Abel for the organization’s fundraising auction which is now online and will culminate in the June 8th, "Casting for a Cause" Charity night at West Marine.
Fly-fishermen and collectors can now bid on this item Click Here
The American-made Abel Super 7/8N is machined from cold finished 6061-T651 aerospace grade aluminum. Reels are then precision machined (not die cast) on C.N.C. lathes and mills. The reel holds a 7-weight line with 225 yards of 20-pound backing or an 8-weight line and 200 yards of backing. It weighs 6.8 ounces.
Click on Reel for link to Bid in Silent Auction
The snook reel is the tenth collaboration of Abel and Prosek to benefit conservation causes. “This series of Abel/Prosek reels has become the most collectable fishing tackle in recent memory,” said Swanson.
The late William R. Mote, an inventor and industrialist, established the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota Florida in 1967. Since then, the laboratory has become known for its research and contributions to marine conservation. Mr. Mote's love and concern for the snook led him to establish the first successful culture program in 1996, and subsequently to authorize the establishment of the Snook Foundation in 1998.
“His vision for the foundation was for it to serve as a platform for anglers and conservationists to preserve, protect and enhance snook and game fish populations,” said Rick Roberts, executive director.
(Click Image To Enlarge) Giclee Print #1 by James Prosek comes with the #1 limited edition 2011 Abel 7/8 N large arbor fly reel. “For countless ages, man has taken from the sea. Now it is time for us to give back to this precious source of all our planet's life," wrote Mr. Mote, at the time of his founding the foundation.
Occurring in shallow coastal waters, estuaries, and lagoons, snook often enter fresh water and can frequently be found lurking in the threatened mangrove forests from Florida to Brazil. According to Roberts, “Snook are considered an ‘umbrella species’ as their life cycle stages and habitat requirements are connected with those of 280 other species of game and forage fish.” The foundation has been instrumental in conducting studies of habitat, reproduction and other facets of the environmentally threatened fish’s life cycle.
Prosek, a graduate of Yale University, has authored and/or illustrated Trout an Illustrated History; Trout of the World; Joe and Me; Fly-Fishing the 41st Parallel; Early Love and Brook Trout; Bird, Butterfly, Eel; and his latest, Eels An Exploration, From New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World's Most Amazing and Mysterious Fish has been called the James Audubon of fish art.
His snook gicleè print is an individually produced high resolution reproduction. The collectors’ edition Super 7/8 Large Arbor snook finish reel is priced at $1,095.
