fishplate42
Well-known member
I struggled to tie spade end hooks when I first took up fishing a couple of years ago. Being in my late (very) fifties then, my dexterity and eyesight were not what they used to be. I bought a Matchman tyer and a couple of others. With the help of some 'magnification' and good light I found that I could get by. Funnily enough I found that tying hooks on the bank became easier as I could see better!
I then started looking at some of the hook tying machines and they just seemed to be a jig to put my existing hand tyer in. Some raved about them and others dismissed them as being just gimmicks. Some people made their own and I was tempted, but there seemed very little advantage to me in doing so.
That is where I left it until a week or so ago when I heard about a machine that did not just use an existing tyer but was a completely new design. It sounded interesting and then I saw the price - HOW MUCH! That was it I was not going to by one of those...
A few days went buy and I started to hear other good things about it, again, I dismissed it. But then I thought about it some more and decided I could not in all honesty say I needed it but something kept my attention. I decided that I wanted it. So I forked out the money and bought it.
Have you ever let your heart rule your head?
I am not regretting I bought it, I think it is a great piece of kit and it does the job far quicker and much easier than I can achieve, by hand, even using a hand held tyer.
I do admit to liking nice tools and gadgets and I will get as much pleasure from owning and using the machine as I do from using the hook lengths. So maybe it is okay to own a piece of fishing kit for its own sake and not have to justify it.
Am I a lone nut-case, or do others like all the tackle, bait and rig making nearly as much as the fishing itself?
Ralph
I then started looking at some of the hook tying machines and they just seemed to be a jig to put my existing hand tyer in. Some raved about them and others dismissed them as being just gimmicks. Some people made their own and I was tempted, but there seemed very little advantage to me in doing so.
That is where I left it until a week or so ago when I heard about a machine that did not just use an existing tyer but was a completely new design. It sounded interesting and then I saw the price - HOW MUCH! That was it I was not going to by one of those...
A few days went buy and I started to hear other good things about it, again, I dismissed it. But then I thought about it some more and decided I could not in all honesty say I needed it but something kept my attention. I decided that I wanted it. So I forked out the money and bought it.
Have you ever let your heart rule your head?
I am not regretting I bought it, I think it is a great piece of kit and it does the job far quicker and much easier than I can achieve, by hand, even using a hand held tyer.
I do admit to liking nice tools and gadgets and I will get as much pleasure from owning and using the machine as I do from using the hook lengths. So maybe it is okay to own a piece of fishing kit for its own sake and not have to justify it.
Am I a lone nut-case, or do others like all the tackle, bait and rig making nearly as much as the fishing itself?
Ralph