Wizard by Name

[Graham Marsden]

This is a dedicated thread for discussing article: Wizard by Name

[Peter Jacobs]

It was Tim who did the refurbishment on my own Super Wizard some years ago, but I kept the handle at its' original length, and today it is handsome in its' grass green whippings.

That rod has had Chub to five pound plus, roach over 2 pounds and Barbel of eight pounds.

Beautiful rods, simply beautiful.

[Jeff Woody]

From the article -
"Wizard moments have also included fishless days, when the rod has lived in tune, and in peace, with the dragonflies, the lilly pads, and this happy, expectant angler."

What a lovely sentiment. Nothing quite like quietness.

[Peter Jacobs]

Originally Posted by Jeff Woody

From the article -
"Wizard moments have also included fishless days, when the rod has lived in tune, and in peace, with the dragonflies, the lilly pads, and this happy, expectant angler."

What a lovely sentiment. Nothing quite like quietness.

Well I never; if you can appreciate that Jeff then you may not be the philistine you make out to be when it comes to 'proper' rods.

By comparison; a carbon rod in those same surroundings and moment of calm would be as out of place as a pork chop at a Bar Mitzvah dinner.


[insert U-No-Wot > > > > HERE]

[Jeff Woody]

How dared you to have thought so of me?

I've spent many happy hours sitting by a river quietly purring and the only other noises were bumble bees visiting nearby purple loosestrife, buntings in the opposite field, a skylark singing from 600 feet above me, and the odd moo from a cow in a farm half a mile away.

Until the dogwalkers come past chucking sticks into my swim and some nurd in an inflatable with a poxy 2 hp outboard screeming its head off comes past. Not to mention the rowers with the training launch and some idiot shouting instructions through a bullhorn and the 3 foot wave of water hitting the bank as yet another 45 foot Thames gin-palace goes past at 15 knots.

Oh for a British summer on the Thames.....

PS. My mate didn't have pork chops at his son's Bar Mitzvah, they had lobster!!!

[Mark Wintle]

It's funny but the only rods that I've ever used that had any 'wizardry' about them were both made of carbon. Whether the designers in each case imbued that little bit of magic into them is hard to say but I'd rather use either of them than the choice of a hundred cane rods. The first one was designed by my choice of the finest stick float ace of them all which is saying something, and the other seems to be acquiring its own brand of magic along the way. I don't think the material has any bearing at all.

Ah summer days on the Thames - my most pleasant memory is the day that with the temperature in the low 80s and waiting for my keepnet to dry off after an afternoon's session catching good roach on tares a group of 15 17/18 year old French female exchange students stripping off for a dip in the cooling river... Who needs soaring larks?

[Sean Meeghan]

Hmm... I've got some lovely carbon rods that are a pleasure to play fish on, but I do love my cane rods: my Constable Forty Fore (a recent acquisition) and my Wizard. As I write the Wizard is reclining on the guest chair in my office with a loose ferrule. I'm contemplating a refurb as it has some badly done 1970's rings on the top and middle section, but I don't know if I can bear to lose that lovely patina of age, the dark honey of the cane and the gentle wrinkles in the varnish.

[the indifferent crucian]

Sean, take a centre punch and put a mark in the very centre of the cane down in the ferrule. Follow it with a pin punch to spread the dry cane out and then fill the punch's hole with araldite rapid ( drip it off a cocktail stick) after masking the inside of the ferrule with paper...unless you have a very steady hand. You can also use the punch to push resin down between cane and ferrule if a large gap exists there.

This will usually sort the rod for good. Don't fish it loose, .... the cane will become distorted and 'bellowsed' and the ferrule will loosen at the butt end too. If that is already the case you might remove the whipping and push some araldite rapid down under the ferrule tangs. If it is a tangless ferrule, as on some Wizards and many other rods, you can 'push' resin under with a loop of cotton or silk, pushed in with a pin head-working around the rod. Follow with a tight temporary whip whilst it cures.

If it's the counter that is loose, sometimes called the male ferrule, you can do the same at the whipping end, but if it's inside that is loose you either drill the end out to fill with resin or take the counter off. If it has to come off look out for pins driven in from the side...they can be polished down and become almost invisible !!

If you decide that you must replace the ferrule and its counter, make sure you have a set before you attack the rod..they are quite hard to find, particularly the re-inforced ones fitted to the Wizard as standard.


This is an article by JOC that I have read before...I thought it a little cheeky to call the vendor of his rod a greasy oik for trying to charge too much for the rod and then gloat that he got him down to a tenth of the value on it. Seemed a little hypocritical to me....???

[Sean Meeghan]

Thanks IC. I was going to take the ferrule off and sort it that way. It's the female ferrule that's developed a slight knock, probably due to using it in sub-zero temperatures after keeping it in my nice warm office - caught some nice chub though!

I'll see if I can find a narrow punch and give it a go. It's the top ferrule thats gone so it's a bit tight to work on.

[Paul Williams 11]

Originally Posted by Peter Jacobs

Well I never; if you can appreciate that Jeff then you may not be the philistine you make out to be when it comes to 'proper' rods.

By comparison; a carbon rod in those same surroundings and moment of calm would be as out of place as a pork chop at a Bar Mitzvah dinner.


[insert U-No-Wot > > > > HERE]

My carbon rods are pretty silent when i am blanking............and when that lightning fast roach take comes out of the blue my glass qt just screams "strike whilst you have chance you old bathtub"!!

Only cane i want is the ones that my broad and runner beans grow up!!..........red flowereing runner beans that is, not Parisian white sh*t*