Faint praise

[mikench]

As one does when bored, I have been looking at older Tackle, rods and reels on eBay. I usually then search on Google for any views, reviews or opinions on said Tackle even if it is years old.

It wiles away an hour or so and improves ones historical knowledge of Angling.

I have seen some stuff selling for either silly sums or at least far more than I was prepared to pay. After all nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

I digress. I viewed an old Daiwa connoisseur Whisker Kevlar 11'4" rod at a silly price( it didn't sell) and in a google search, a poster on Maggotdrowners described it as the best rod for skimmers and bream ever made. If that's all it's best for I'll give it a miss.

 

[nottskev]

That was an accidental like, Mike, that happened as I spilled my tea and lurched to press Reply . Pre-carp and overstocked swimming pools, roach and bream were the bread and butter of much fishing, and the target species for most match anglers.

Tactics and tackle were taken to the height of sophistication. A person who encounters bream only as disappointments that hook themselves on meaty gear aimed at winding in a wide-spectrum commercial-type catch, probably doesn't appreciate the expertise and delicacy that was needed to catch them. Thanks to the competition for food created by heavy stocking, these fish in many waters are relatively, less fussy, less inhibited and tolerate heavier gear and clunkier methods. If catching 20lb of skimmers and bream on waggler or pole from a canal was a qualification for posting, there's be fewer posts slagging them off as easy.

Far from being "faint praise", that comment tells you that rods like this were class leaders in light tackle the days before commercials upped the "coarse" in coarse fishing.

 

[nottskev]

 

[sam vimes]

Prices on eBay are very strange at the moment. Modern gear isn't selling particularly well. Certain old gear is going ballistic. There are an awful lot of folks with nothing else to do than scour eBay whilst under the influence (at least of a bad case of nostalgia).

Being a fantastic skimmer/bream rod isn't faint praise. It's simply a matter of time altering perspectives in a big way. These days, few would want or need such a rod. The rise of commercial fisheries has all but killed the need for such a tool. Twenty plus years back, few matchmen would have been without a good bream/skimmer leger rod. They were often matchwinners on many venues. Canal float rods, spliced tip trotting rods, proper wands/picker rods etc have all suffered in a similar vein. Time marches on and things change.

 

[mikench]

Well i stand corrected. I still won't be bidding for it.

 

[nottskev]

Times change, and nobody will argue against that, and I certainly agree the market reflects the demands of a new commercial mainstream. I'd add though that some anglers seek out waters where the fishing and species are matched to the type of gear Mike mentioned. I didn't end up equipped with loads of comparable rods due to drink or nostalgia - just my taste in fishing. Just because that Daiwa is a great bream rod, it doesn't mean it's not excellent for other purposes. I was using the one in the pic when I used to travel down 80 miles to fish the Derwent above Derby. I once caught 26 chub, more than half over 4lb, in a morning with it, with liquidised bread in a little feeder. Since I moved down here, I've never had more than half a dozen at a time off this river. Things certainly do change.

 

[sam vimes]

I didn't end up equipped with loads of comparable rods due to drink or nostalgia - just my taste in fishing.

Whoa, back up a little. I never suggested anything of the sort. If my comment could be taken as some kind of slur against you, or others with a similar outlook, it would apply equally to myself.

I was merely saying that current eBay prices might suggest that people having a lot of time on their hands is being reflected in some unusually high prices for older rods. The very reason I have noticed is because I value such gear and keep an eye on it. Whilst I have little interest in any leger rod, I also have virtually no interest in modern commie fishing. Prices for 90s Daiwa rods, good, bad, and indifferent, are currently running at about twice the price (and more) than they were achieving prior to lockdown.

 

[trotter2]

Been watching a few bits and pieces on ebay lately and totally agree prices are going a bit silly. Keep off it and do some gardening I say.

 

[nottskev]

Whoa, back up a little. I never suggested anything of the sort. If my comment could be taken as some kind of slur against you, or others with a similar outlook, it would apply equally to myself.

Back up? No worries Chris. I didn't take your post that way at all. The drunk/nostalgic bit just gave me a lead-in to add something to your original post. Adding to it, not bristling at it or contradicting it. I'm well aware we like a lot of similar stuff - indeed, I've benefited from it. And you may well be right that the price of .... what to call it....modern classics?..... is driven up in the way you say.

 

[John Keane]

As one does when bored, I have been looking at older Tackle, rods and reels on eBay. I usually then search on Google for any views, reviews or opinions on said Tackle even if it is years old.

It wiles away an hour or so and improves ones historical knowledge of Angling.

I have seen some stuff selling for either silly sums or at least far more than I was prepared to pay. After all nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

I digress. I viewed an old Daiwa connoisseur Whisker Kevlar 11'4" rod at a silly price( it didn't sell) and in a google search, a poster on Maggotdrowners described it as the best rod for skimmers and bream ever made. If that's all it's best for I'll give it a miss.

Hope you forwarded the link to S-Kippy, sounds right up his alley?

 

[S-Kippy]

Hope you forwarded the link to S-Kippy, sounds right up his alley?

I find the whole idea of a skimmer rod faintly disturbing.

I was mooching around the bay the other day and very nearly had an old Flocast reel....for no reason other than it looked nice and had a certain " of its time" look about it. Fortunately common sense prevailed.

 

[silvers]

Time does indeed move on, but like an analogue clock it also goes round in circles ... there is still a group of a match anglers who won’t go on your typical commercials. Most of us still have these types of rod from that era.
Mine is the cheaper Daiwa range (Tom Pickering Whisker match winner).
I now also have a pair of the “classic” amorphous Stillwater 11-13, which is a better rod than the match winner.

 

[mikench]

I bought the Amorphous whisker Harrier Match Stillwater 11-13´ feeder( the light one) and find it very agreeable to use . My second heaviest carp at 19lb was caught on it at the longer length.

My point was that any rod must be capable of hooking and landing a skimmer whereas not many would necessarily cope with a large barbel or carp or have the sensitivity for roach. Maybe I’m wrong but having caught many a skimmer in my limited time as an angler and lacking great skill, I had assumed they were not too picky.

I’m sure the rod I mentioned is excellent but not too different from the AWL 1113SW variant I have. Am I wrong?

 

[sam vimes]

It's not a question of being capable of landing skimmers, it's a matter of being able to cast the requisite distances, whilst retaining sensitivity to see tiny bites, all the while being soft enough to land notoriously soft mouthed fish often on light lines with small hooks. If such things didn't matter, we could all buy the most powerful rod we could find and, in theory, land anything we might hook.

Some might take this kind of approach in their choice of rods, but if we all did, just about every light (actioned) rod you can think of would not have existed.

 

[steve2]

Looking at ebay I think a lot of people are getting bored and bidding on things they don't really want.
I assume that rod is being sold by a tackle dealer judging by the monthly payment plan.

 

[mikench]

I'm sure he is a dealer. It's previously been listed at £150. It's overpriced.

 

[sam vimes]

Looking at ebay I think a lot of people are getting bored and bidding on things they don't really want.

I doubt that they spend good money on things they don't really want. However, here's a belting example of lockdown inflation. It's certainly in good nick but, prior to lockdown, I doubt it would have got much beyond £120.

 

[mikench]

That's an incredible price to pay. I don't know the rod but somebody has paid far too much imho.

I couldn't remember what day it was much less the Daiwa rod number (AWL 1113SW ) I had and had to go into the garage to have a look. I felt like a member of AA in a winery or a beer cellar rooting through my rods to find the hardcase I keep it in knowing I could only look and touch but not use. Frustrating doesn't even come close.

 

[sam vimes]

I assume that rod is being sold by a tackle dealer judging by the monthly payment plan.

The seller is a dealer. However, I see no payment plan option when I view. I suspect that might be an eBay thing rather than a seller thing.

I'm sure he is a dealer. It's previously been listed at £150. It's overpriced.

I wouldn't pay it, it's a feeder rod. However, it's a relatively rare rod, in excellent condition. Compared to some of the crazy prices things are going for recently, it's not too badly priced, particularly for a dealer.

 

[silvers]

I bought the Amorphous whisker Harrier Match Stillwater 11-13´ feeder( the light one) and find it very agreeable to use . My second heaviest carp at 19lb was caught on it at the longer length.

My point was that any rod must be capable of hooking and landing a skimmer whereas not many would necessarily cope with a large barbel or carp or have the sensitivity for roach. Maybe I’m wrong but having caught many a skimmer in my limited time as an angler and lacking great skill, I had assumed they were not too picky.

I’m sure the rod I mentioned is excellent but not too different from the AWL 1113SW variant I have. Am I wrong?

Mike,

Having now looked at the rod on eBay ... the look of the blank is exactly the same as the harrier whisker of about 1988, so I suspect it’s a rebrand of that - and predates the amorphous (just).
Some people say that each successive daiwa feeder rod through the 90s was just a rebrand ... others day that they were different. I have three different models ( a heavy, the Stillwater and the 11.4) so can’t comment directly.
All of them will catch plenty of fish.
The AWL1113sw that you have was the most coveted for bream fishing in my area.