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 wobbly steps, ORCA has grown into an adventurous adolescent. As ORCA passed our tenth anniversary in 2000, we have reached our identity. ORCA’s membership currently remains between 800 and 1000 dedicated members.
The original four page newsletter has now grown into a 32-36 page magazine, The Reel News. The first ORCA Convention was held in Pennsylvania in June, 1999. This event was a fully rounded Convention rather than just a tackle show. In 1998 ORCA was the first tackle collector’s club to jump into the electronic age, with its own Web Site, and electronic data to help out our members who are on line.
ORCA is headed toward maturity with a full head of steam. 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 application, click here.