You"re first tackle

[Steve King]

First rod was a 7' solid fibreglass thing with chrome eyes (of an amazing diameter) and an Intrepid Tru_spin reel loaded with 9lb line!!!

The next rod was a 11' built cane horror (yes purists it was bad - some East European effort that was heavy and had truly awful action) - this and a pathetic centrepin really impressed my mates (not!!!)

 

[vasmasta]

bamboo rod
goose quill float
there was no real or anything and prob huge hook and fat line

that was when i was 6 years old lol

 

[stillwater blue]

I started off with a bamboo cane with a multi coloured net on one end and a red bucket to put my catch in so I could admire them for a few minutes. I caught a fair few tiddlers with that set up I can tell you.

I then moved up in world as I bought a bright yellow whip from a French supermarket whilst on holiday, I caught less tiddlers with the whip than with the net but I didn't care as I was 'proper fishing'.

The vey same whip was also used to introduce me to the wonders of sea fishing when it came on holiday with me to malta. Using a drennan loafer to suspend chunks of snails collected from the rock I caught lots of black tiddlers. Unfortunately I also caught a serious case of diarrhea, the snails where blamed and my foray into sea fishing was over.

 

[David Dalton]

Mine was a seven foot Shakespeare rod and reel set that was a special offer on the back of a serial packet. From that I graduated to a thirteen foot fibreglass Shakespeare Strike. How I caught anything on that beanpole God knows, but I did!

 

[bigfish74]

It was around 86-87ish when i was 11 seems so long ago now lol
I had a 7 ft telescopic spinning rod and i think it was a dam reel self cocking floats and some hooks but that set me off on my lofelong passion
Nowadays when its cold wet or even snowing and im on the banks i think how mad am i but in the early days i never thought like that
After looking through the ppsts here its amazing how many times woolworths springs up on other forums as well

Andy

 

[Chris Hammond ( RSPB ACA PAC}]

My very first set of gear was an Allcocks Split Cane rod, a cheap unamed FS reel and a tobbacco tin replete with a few perch bobs a tub of split shot and a packet of hooks big enough to hang a side of beef on. This starter kit was a present from my errant father when I was about seven years old.

...it was something like two years before some old bloke spotted me fishing for roach and showed me how the line went behind the bail arm. Talk about a revelation, I'd been winding the line back by hand prior to that.

 

[guest61]

Mine was a seven foot Shakespeare rod and reel set that was a special offer on the back of a serial packet. From that I graduated to a thirteen foot fibreglass Shakespeare Strike. How I caught anything on that beanpole God knows, but I did!

Was this the 13ft Shakespeare Strike 1847 with composite cork handle in blue with the B-25 action? Whilst this wasn't my first rod, it was my first real friend. I caught a lot of fish with this rod and had many happy times doing so.

My first outfit was a 6ft solid fibre glass rod of unknown provenance coupled to an Intrepid 'Black Prince' plus a tin of bits - included in this tin was a Salmon fly which was a thing of magic and mystery - not much use in the Canal.

 

[David Dalton]

Was this the 13ft Shakespeare Strike 1847 with composite cork handle in blue with the B-25 action?

I think it probably was; it had a composite cork handle, but I think the colour was black rather than blue. It was the cheapest full size float rod that Shakespeare made at the time. I would probably have bought it around '79/'80 - from Woolco in Bournemouth if I remember rightly!

 

[derwentbob]

My first kit was a birthday+christmas present so I carefully selected my full ten pounds worth and I got - A little Ryobi fixed spool reel, a shakespeare 7' solid glass spinning rod, a spool of 5lb Bayer Perlon, six size 16 hooks to 3lb nylon, a small dispenser with AAA, BB, 4 & 6 shot, some float rubbers, a disgorger and a coat hanger wire rod rest. The shop owner threw in a couple of home made balsa & cane wagglers for me as it was my birthday (I still have them!).

Even with that lot it was several months before I actually caught a fish...

 

[sam vimes]

A 10' Edgar Sealey Black Arrow 2 in a delightful shade of bile coupled with an Abu 505. Both inherited from the old man who'd been given them by a colleague that was under the misaprehension that he fished. I still have both but only the Abu occasionally sees any time on the bank.

 

[tiinker]

Iremember buying my first fixed spool reel in 1959 bought with odd job money and paperound a Intrepid Monarch gold with a maroon spool price 19/9d nineteen shillings and nine old pence 1d under a £1 and I had to take it back to the shop to find out how to put the line on it I had only used a centre pin till then I was 12 and had been fishing five years.

 

[Titus]

My first fish were caught with my hands, i learned to tickle trout from around age 7, My first tackle was a kind of wire snare on a stick which would be slipped over the head of the fish just past the gills and then yanked out.
My first proper tackle was a Woolworths starter kit. For years I managed to carry everything I owned in a gas mask bag.

 

[The Sogster]

My first tackle was a 7' spinning rod and fixed spool set from Woolworths, I was also lucky enough to be given a East Anglia Rod Co match rod around 1976 - I was still using it 20 years later.