In 1989 Mike Nogay, a dedicated reel collector from West Virginia, decided that it was time for reel collectors to have their own organization. He thought up the name, had the club logo designed, and had ORCA incorporated as a non-profit, educational corporation in the state of West Virginia.
On October 9, 1990 a letter was mailed out to reel collectors that had expressed an interest in the formation of such a club. Finally, in January 1991 the first Newsletter of the Old Reel Collectors Association, Inc. was mailed to the original 36 charter members.
From those first steps, ORCA has grown into a mature organization. ORCA has celebrated our 30th anniversary in 2021.
The original four page newsletter has now grown into a 36 page magazine, The Reel News. The first ORCA Convention was held in Pennsylvania in June, 1999. Since then, we have held annual conventions that are renowned for reel and tackle collectors world-wide.
ORCA is dedicated to our mission of educating and supporting the fishing reel history and collecting community. We are now leading the field in collectible fishing tackle information. We’d love to have to you as part of our group. For a membership, click here.