KEVIN PERKINS


Kevin Perkins is one of those anglers who sees the funny side of everything, and there are plenty of funny goings-on in fishing. But not everybody is able to convey the funny and often quirky nature of fishing. But Kevin can. He’s the Alternative Angler who sees that side of things that most of us miss because we’re too busy going about the serious business of catching fish and often missing the satire and laughs along the way.

Never mind smelling the flowers, don’t forget to take time out to see the satirical side of fishing life and grab a laugh along the way as well. So here’s a regular column from Kevin Perkins to remind us that life is for laughing at, or taking the p*** out of, whenever we can.

DO IT YOURSELF?

In this high tech, no time to lose, fast paced world, is the centuries old art of tackle making about to disappear forever?

In my younger days all manner of everyday items would be looked at from a fishing perspective. Things would be found that ‘may come in useful’ later and would be squirreled away. This is very dangerous, because every now and then you would have a clear out and several of these ‘completely useless, don’t know why I kept that’ items will be slung away.

You can be assured that within a week of doing this, one of those bits of junk will suddenly have become invaluable. Now, in a frantic rush you go through every box, bin, bag, shelf, cupboard, that you have in the shed/garage. You even go through that drawer full of ‘bits’ in the kitchen (we’ve all got one, haven’t we?) but it will be to no avail. You will find similar things, but definitely not the one you want. Until about two weeks later, when doing something entirely unconnected, you will come across it. Or is it just me that always happens to?


DIY – is it dead?
Last year, I was walking round a local lake and came across literally dozens of discarded goose feathers. I now have a carrier bag full, which will be very handy should I ever want some long range reverse quill floats (Well, you never know, do you?)

Now, why would you be even contemplating looking for ‘bits’? Are you, or do you know anyone who makes tackle anymore? I am not talking about end rigs, spinning traces, or tying flies. Could you build a rod from scratch, even whip on a ring? Make a wooden float box, or even a float to go in it? How about such things as bite alarms, swing/spring tips, rod rests, spinners, the list goes on and on. (No doubt some smart arse will delight in telling me that they produce their own centre pin reels on a lathe they have in the workshop at the bottom of the garden!)

Perhaps it is all down to perception and that all-important image that some of us have to maintain. Do the following two statements strike a chord?

Home Made = cheap and nasty
Custom Built = well made and expensive.

Yet they can be one and the same thing. I used to get fed up if anyone made derogatory comments (laughed!) at an item of tackle I had made. After a while I learned that the best thing to do was simply to tell them that it was a ‘prototype’ and their derision soon turned to interest. That interest would be aroused in case I might just be ‘onto something’ and I would then be pumped for information as to what the object did, what was I trying to achieve with it, etc, etc.

Not being able to buy what you wanted was seen as a challenge, we have been able to buy ‘rig bins’ for ages, but I prefer to store my wire traces flat. It was a simple matter to make a long thin wooden box, which is ideal for the job, and can be easily slipped into a tackle box.

In addition, I have enjoyed building rods in the past, having to glue on individual corks and carefully sanding them down to fit the reel housings. Trying out different combinations of ring spacing, perhaps even trimming an inch off the butt or tip to alter the action. Taking care that all the whippings were tightly wound with no gaps, and finished of with a very thin coat of matt varnish. But I wasn’t alone in doing things like this. Several of my fishing colleagues were doing the very same thing, but how many anglers today would attempt a fairly simple repair on a broken rod? Even fitting a new tip ring wouldn’t be worth the effort to most.

Now, I’m not saying that I am perfect, and my work is flawless – far from it! I have made floats that didn’t, spinners and spoons that stubbornly refused to do anything that was asked of them, and rod rests that have collapsed without warning. I fondly remember a ‘prototype’ bite alarm which had a small opening in the top of the case for the mechanism, but no corresponding aperture in the bottom to let water out. On my first pike fishing trip with my new toy, water got in, and finding no means of escape, it promptly froze, rendering the alarm useless. Some might call that a design flaw, I claim it was the wrong type of water!

So, does everything these days have to ‘come off the shelf’ or are there still a few of us out there who enjoy doing it themselves?

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