Old Tackle

J

John Ledger (ACA)

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Remember the old reels Omnia, Intrepid, Ambidex,Mitchel Otomatic(spelt with an O)
Allcocks Flick Em Rapidex etc plus the old rods that Samson would have struggled to hold The Black Mamba(think it was Millwards)Spanish Reed rods and baskets that placed a permanent pattern on your backside. Keepnets soaked in linseed oil
Avondales Kennett Perfection The Wallis Wizard etc
We never had a Don Demon or a Rother Rocket as both our rivers where polluted
Then we had the clothing with the old Barbours and Belstaff coats.
Whats your memories of the past
 
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Lord Paul

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John old boy

Being the dedicated carp angler that I am tackle from the past means last years rod and reels, any clothes that aren't camouflage, a green bivvy (needs to be camo these days), any rig that was invented last week is old hat. Transport needs to be a furniture removal van ,painted in greens and browns. For a seat then if I've used it twice it's out of date and I'm off to buy the new, latest Foxkordanash recliner with extra lumber support and a realtree throw over cover and cushion.


Tally Ho (sorry that's so last year) Tootle pip
 
J

John McLaren

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My memories are of an Intrepid Standard fixed spool reel, a tank aerial rod that at 12ft drooped more than a cheap 16mtr pole so I cut it back to 10ft. My first decent rod was an Edgar Sealey Glastrike which sadly went when I was burgled a few years ago.

I still have a wicker basket, a 6ft solid glass spinning rod and an Intrepid reel which has lost its nameplate but is grey with a red end to the crank handle.

I also remember that smell of linseed oil that was characteristic of tackle shops at the time.
 
J

John Ledger (ACA)

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Bought a Barbour jacket for ?6 19 shillings and sixpence that lasted 20years,todays Barbours last about 5years.
Mk 4 Avon cost me about ten quid.
Still have some Billy Clarke hooks tied to nylon dating back to fifties still unnused in packet.
My stickfloats where porcupines
 
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Gav Barbus

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I used to have an old wicker box john ,dont even know were my dad got it from probably a skip knowing him but it used to collapse on me at least twice a season usually throwing me straight in the reservoir alright on a baking day but not so good in winter.
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA)

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Ah! the smell of linseed oil combined with the NH3 reek of maggots; wonderful memories!

Today, even the maggots don't smell, or perhaps I am losing the sense.

One of my greatest achievements in those days was rodmaking. I loved it. I used to get spanish reed and bored out bamboo poles from Ernest Stamfords in Sheffield. And I used to get split cane blanks from Harry Handley's in Rotherham, built to my own designs. I've forgotten how many match/float/carp/pike rods I made for other people in those days.

My dear old friend John Weston started making his own split cane, and a bloody good job he made of it too. He filled the roof of his parents house with top class tonkin because the thought that one day the Chinese would stop supplying it.

They were great days and I often pity the young anglers of today who will never experience these sorts of things.
 
J

John McLaren

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I think that the reason you don't notice the smell of maggots so much these days is that most tackle shops have refrigerated storage/display units and less ammonia is given off at lower temperatures.

On top of that the smells from some modern baits probably mask the whiff of maggot - personally I don't notice it (I've become immune I guess) but my wife complains about the fishy smell every time I leave halibut pellets in the kitchen.

I never had a proper fishing jacket until the mid-70s when I bought a waxed cotton one from Sportsmail. It was considerably cheaper than a Barbour and excellent quality - I only threw it out last year but had stopped wearing it a good few years back when I got a Sundridge suit.

Before the waxed jacket I used to wear an old duffle coat in winter with a pvc postman's raincoat(handed down by my uncle) over it in the wet - can't say I miss those days!!!
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA)

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I had several Barbour Jackets, including a Solway Zipper I took to SA with me.

They were horrible things that used to stink and sweat in summer and go all stiff on you in winter.
 
B

BAZ (Angel of the North)

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I had a couple of spanish reed rods and a centrepin. I painted the rods Dulux Black, and have no idea on what the make of reel was. Learning to cast with a centrepin seemed like the natural thing to do. Three fingers of looped line and side cast it out.

That is where I first learned about side casting. It was the best way to get your bait out. I can still remember somebody saying to me when the fixed spools came out. You need to learn how to cast over your head, it's much better.
Not allways it aint, side casting still comes in handy.
 
Peter Jacobs

Peter Jacobs

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John,

Do I remember them?
I still bl00dy well use 'em my friend!

I do think that there is a misconception though about the weight of some split cane rods.

My Wallis Wizard weighs in at about 4 ounces heavier than an equivalent Avon type rod of the modern era.

Now, I would agree with you about the Avondale though, mine is very heavy, but I cannot comment on the Kennet Perfection though, as every time a decent one comes up in auction it fetches 'silly' money, and that is before any restoration work.

I have two Mk IV Avons, one the original that I bought when I were just a lad, the other a fully refurbished beauty dressed in my favourite 'grass' green silk. Those rods are as good to use today as the day they went on sale, IMHO.

I think that one of the most evocative aromas was the tackle shop smell of the 60's and 70's - today it is more like going into a fruiterers or a supermarket.

Oh for those kinder and more gentle days
 
E

ED (The ORIGINAL and REAL one)

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A lot of tackle shops 'doubled' as something else
Near to me was;
a tackle shop/pet shop
a tackle shop/ garden supplies shop
a tackle shop/toy and games shop

The tackle shop part of these shops were all tucked away in the back room
 
E

ED (The ORIGINAL and REAL one)

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Speaking of Old Tackle ---what about Ron .....
 
B

BAZ (Angel of the North)

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I think that one of the most evocative aromas was the tackle shop smell of the 60's and 70's - today it is more like going into a fruiterers or a supermarket.

More like a Whoers handbag Peter. Ask Monk, he'll tell you.
 
Neneman Nick

Neneman Nick

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I started off on an intrepid black prince reel and a sealey,solid glass rod which had a white blank and blue whippings and blue handle.I would love to get hold of the said items again and fish the swims on the ise i visited as a boy....cherished memories.

I do have a fully refurbished lindop rapide rod and a millbro one as well with red whippings and what looks like a gold coloured foil under the whippings as well.Every so often i will use one with one of the many old style floats i own...porcupine quills,goose quill,duckers,perch bobs,crowquill avons,harcorcks or celluloid floats.
 
Graham Whatmore

Graham Whatmore

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One smell that is as vivid in my mind today as it was all those years ago is the smell of a wicker creel. Those creels had a smell all their very own and I was still using mine in the late 60's.

Celluloid floats in white with red tops that would have been visible on the moon is another memory jerker along with coffin leads and packets of 12 X hooks (or whatever they were) made by Partridge. Wooden centrepins is another that brings back memeries of frustration because you could never get out far enough.
 
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Smokedodger

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Same for me, Intrepid Black Prince,12ft Edgar Sealey glass rod,whicker basket,tin bait boxes & porcupine quills.Used to walk about 2 miles to me local tackle shop, "Pails", I think it was,in Station Road, Wood Green. Oh! what a lovely smell when you walked in. Then moved on later to Mitchell 300's and hollow glass rods, still using the Mitchell's in fact.
 
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