The Martin model MG10

Prowanab · Post by **Prowanab** » 09/12/07 02:44

I have been reading some 1988 Trout magazines, I was looking at this reel. Does anyone have one and is it as good as it looks?

Getting there is the reason for wanting to go.

bulldog1935 · Post by **bulldog1935** » 09/12/07 02:52

MG-10 and MM-11 (dual pawl) are my favorite Martin multipliers. I fish a sinking line for white bass during their spring runs. You need long casts and they will usually follow all the way to your feet before they take the fly. Then you have 80' of line to put on the spool before the fish is on the reel. It takes about 4 seconds with the multiplier.

The reel weighs 5.5 oz., but by the time you get 150+ yds of backing on it, it weighs a bit more.

here's the MM-11 check - sorry I hadn't cleaned off the factory grease

whrlpool · Post by **whrlpool** » 09/12/07 04:31

Yes. When it comes to USA made, adjustable click-pawl fly reels, the Martin MG series is about as good as it gets, and that holds for the multiplier MG 10. I love the MG 10 wherever there's a chance fish will charge towards you, as in one swift eddy that I fish often. The click sings just as it does on the conventional 1 to 1 MG7 or the ultralight MG3. They are sturdy and elegant in design. The MG 10 and its even more robust disc drag cousin the MG 72 have a relatively high gear ratio (3 to 1, as I recall) that gives very rapid line recovery, and would easily out-retrieve the largest arbor reel going. Yet you still have the compact design of a more traditional fly reel. As with any multiplier, the downside is slightly higher cranking effort, so some multiplier fans like other makes with gear ratios about 2 to 1. I have two in that neighborhood, but the MG 10 is by far my favorite. And darn that bulldog, he had to put in a photo of an MG 11. I don't have one, and there's one on Ebay right now, but at a higher than usual starting price of about $45. Actually the reel is well worth that, but I don't think I'll go for it, having paid way less for my MG 10s. For more info, see the 3rd page of discussion below titled "Got a new reel lately." And for even more on multipliers in general and the Martins in particular, check out the fiberglass flyrodders board where bulldog is moderator of the reels discussions.

A unique feature of the Martin multipliers is that the gearing is mounted on the crank side on a removable plate. Thus, the backplate is essentially identical to the one on the same-size conventional models such as the MG 7. The backplate is shown in the photo below, and to its left, the more typical multiplier design with gearing on the back plate and handle/shaft that locks the spool and engages the gear. Well, what the heck, so you can compare, I'll throw in other photos of this British multiplier, sold under many brand names. The MG 10 is far better quality, but for somebody who just wants to try a multiplier, there's a beat up one like this under the Cortland brand on Ebay right now for $13.00 (180158409207).

Prowanab · Post by **Prowanab** » 09/12/07 06:45

Whats the auction number for the MG11, I ran a search and did not find it? Thanks for the info, looks like I have to get myself one for sure.

bulldog1935 · Post by **bulldog1935** » 09/12/07 07:11

I think you're in luck, whrlpool - I can't find it either. Must be well-hidden.

IMO, it's worth 3 times that starting price, if it's a NIB reel.

whrlpool · Post by **whrlpool** » 09/12/07 10:59

I guess I misread and then referred to the dual pawl model as MG 11, and now I see that it was MM 11. Anyway, gentlemen, check your in boxes. I never did know why Martin used "MG" to begin with, but maybe "MM" was derived from Martin Multiplier.

wb4tjh · Post by **wb4tjh** » 09/14/07 03:03

I have an MG-10 that I have owned for the past 20++ years. It's a finely made, smooth winding reel. Right now, it's out in the garage put away in some box of old gear. I have been meaning to get out there and find it and bring it inside back to where it belongs in my tackle bag. I especially like it for full sinking lines.

Prowanab · Post by **Prowanab** » 09/14/07 09:42

That Martin on Ebay got one bid, it looked nice. I am going into the hospital Monday and will off work for about 2 months. So I guess I will have to wait and see what happens, before I start looking for another one.

kimk · Post by **kimk** » 09/15/07 02:12

I recently picked up on of those "British Made" multipliers, marketed by Gladding. Any idea who actually made them? Just curious.
Thanks
AgMD

lestrout1 · Post by **lestrout1** » 09/15/07 03:44

kimk - J W Young (no relation) made a lot of *dex lines, and the Speedex was a multiplier that I've picked up under other brand names like Shakespeare. I think even the Big O at one time had these. It was interesting that sometimes the number inside the casting was often the same, regardless of the nameplate. tl les

bulldog1935 · Post by **bulldog1935** » 09/15/07 04:16

The Gladding reel is the same reel as the Leeda, and are also the same reel as the Orvis Magnalite. I believe these were made by BFR.

whrlpool · Post by **whrlpool** » 09/15/07 04:27

Same outfit that made the Cortland Rimfly and the Orvis Battenkill and the Gladding this and the Leeda that. I think it was KP Morrit, and possibly that was a part of or became part of BFR.

Well, there went the Martin MM11 for about $60 with shipping, a not bad deal. Maybe one of the readers here purchased it.

kimk · Post by **kimk** » 09/15/07 10:20

Thanks, It looks like a nice reel, not a fine one , but nice. The plastic prawls look new but I wonder how they will do over time.
AgMD

bulldog1935 · Post by **bulldog1935** » 09/15/07 13:51

should have snaged the MM-11 - that was a steal - IMO, the reel is worth $130.

whrlpool · Post by **whrlpool** » 09/19/07 13:49

Yup, I guess I should have snagged it, too, and then we'd have bid each other up around a hundred. Well, I hope whoever got it enjoys it. I chatted with a guy fishing an LL Bean multiplier made by Martin today, part of the Angler series from, as I recall the '80s. It had a solid backplate rather than ventilated as in the MG reels, and the crank-and-gears plate was ventilated, but less so than the MG handle plate. Size and mechanics identical to the MG 10. So that's another one that might crop up as a decent buy someplace. On another note, I am waivering as to bidding or not on an hours-to-close auction for an Orvis Battenkill multiplier with the handle-side gearbox about the size of an Austin-Healy transmission . A nifty reel--although this one looks a little beat up--that I've seen thanks to bulldog's photos, Young made, right?

BlackHillsBill · Post by **BlackHillsBill** » 09/23/07 04:29

Do any of you remember when Dave Whitlock said the Martin multipliers worked especially well and were among his favorites? That's when I got one (with three extra spools--I trusted Dave that much) and, for a time, was happy as a lark using almost exclusively my Martin. However, when it tumbled out of the back of my pickup camper (which had a faulty compartment latch) and took the extra spools and all four lines with it, I traded for a fifth wheel and also started to diversify with reels as I bought more. I still miss that Martin, though, and think of it with great affection.

eric baylis · Post by **eric baylis** » 09/23/07 11:11

bull dog 1935, i still have a pretty fair supply of repair parts for the leeda gear fly in stock, also the rim fly, and dragon fly, still a number of gear fly models
in use in atlantic canada,so some may show up. hope its ok to add this, if not my apologies. ericsreelshop@ns.aliantzinc.ca
much thanks eric.

BigVinyard · Post by **BigVinyard** » 12/10/08 09:57

I have two Martin MG-10 reels. One of them was my fathers. He used it exclusively for his last 15 years of fishing. I calculate that he fished with his MG-10 at least 900 days, fishing Monday thru Friday from mid-April thru mid-June of each year. It functions flawlessly, as does my own, although they are both scarred and worn.

WatercolorMan · Post by **WatercolorMan** » 12/11/08 00:34

Scarred and worn, shows what equipment you love the best. Not a bad thing.

Of all the multipliers I have had I kept the CFO V, its a smooth 1.67 to 1

CalicoJack · Post by **CalicoJack** » 01/27/17 18:28

Gents & Ladies,
One on eBay currently for starting bid of $45.00. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Martin-MG-10-Fl ... SwImRYhLWV

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