![]() In 1974, their son, Bill Shedd, came onboard and remains today as the company’s president.īy 1978, the Shedds had built a 24,000 sq ft industrial building to house the business. At the time the company operated out of a 2400 square-foot rented building, and its product line consisted of two styles of roller tips and two styles of roller guides. Milt and his wife, Peggie, eventually bought AFTCO in 1973. Not surprisingly, he quickly became interested in buying the company. He had used AFTCO gear and was familiar with the quality and reputation of its products. Milt was an accomplished saltwater angler and Chairman of SeaWorld Inc, which he co-founded in 1964. As fate would have it, her accountant was the same one used by Milt Shedd. When Axelson passed away in 1973, his wife sold the business. He promptly threw out his existing inventory of rollers, even though they were the best on the market at the time, because he knew the revised design was better.ĭue his uncompromising approach, plus his knowledge of manufacturing, and his attention to detail, the AFTCO name began to build its reputation for quality in the international big-game fishing community. One day Axleson discovered that a slight change in the angle of the vee in the roller would improve its ability to turn. AFTCO still takes an updated version of this machine to tackle shows to demonstrate the line wear superiority of roller guides versus ring guides. It was said that even the floor in the production area was painted, and that it was kept clean enough to eat off.Īn early example of Axelson’s focus on perfection was the testing machine he developed that would allow line to continually run over his roller guides to test for wear and ease of turning. The first AFTCO roller guide was sold on October 28, 1958.įrom the beginning, nothing less than perfection was tolerated. Once the basic design and development had been completed, he moved his roller guide operation to a small manufacturing facility in Newport Beach. His effort was more of a labour of love than a business venture. It was here that Axelson toiled, sparing no expense in developing what he considered to be the ultimate roller guide. However, in the basement of Axelson’s home on a double bayfront lot on posh Lido Island, in Newport Beach, was one of the best-equipped machine shops in Orange County. ![]() Axelson was a big-game fisherman, who was dissatisfied with the performance of roller guides and roller tips on the market at the time.Īs a master machinist, and owner of the Axelson Mfg Company, he had the equipment and know-how to develop and improve the current technology.Īxleson Mfg employed over 1000 people and manufactured equipment ranging from machine tools, to tooling for the oil industry and aircraft landing gear. ![]() In the first part of BlueWater’s series on the brands that built sportsfishing, Rick Gaffney profiles one of the world’s most readily recognized manufacturers of gamefishing hardware and accessories…….įorty-five years in the business have made the letters AFTCO and the highly recognisable AFTCO logo, symbols of quality to the world’s sportsfishing community.ĪFTCO Mfg Co Inc was started by J C Axelson in the basement of his oceanfront California home in 1957. West Marine offers a variety of conventional and flying gaffs by manufacturers such as Blacktip, AFTCO, Cuda, Danco, Sea Striker, and Bubba Blade.AFTCO has come a long way from humble beginnings. After setting the hook, the “gaff person” jerks the hook free of the pole and the line (which remains attached to the hook) is made fast to a cleat. The procedure for using a flying gaff involves bringing the fish (frequently a large marlin or other billfish) alongside the boat at which point the hook is set into the fish. Flying gaffs consist of a very sharp detachable hook (usually made of stainless steel) that is affixed to the end of a pole which can be aluminum, fiberglass or carbon fiber. The hook is usually made of stainless steel, has a very sharp point and often a barb.įor very large fish, a different type of gaff, called a flying gaff is used. The pole can be made out of aluminum, fiberglass or carbon fiber. In its simplest form, a fishing gaff is a pole with a sharp hook attached to the end that is used to grab and pull a fish out of the water and into the boat. When it comes to boating fish that are too large for a net, gaff hooks become necessary.
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