JohnA

I remember when these reels were released in a blaze of publicity & advertising. I was interested in buying one, but they were withdrawn almost immediately & I never got my hands on one. I knew someone in the Shakespeare Super Team at the time & I remember asking him why the reel was not longer available. I can't remember his exact reply, but he said that there were problems with the design of the reel.

Steve, You could well be right about the gyroscopic effect, but it seems strange that I don't feel any movement when I spin the reel with the handles pointing to the side, then rotate the reel so that the handles point upwards. Chavender, Many thanks for taking the trouble to privide such a detailed response. The only "fault" I found was inside the dome on the rear of the drum, where the remains of four metal strips protrude slightly from the inner wall. I don't think these are causing any problems though, as there is no sign of any wear on the dome on the backplate (where the centre shaft comes out of), which the dome on the drum fits over. Despite cleaning the reel as you suggested, using sewing machine oil on a lint-free cloth, the drum is still rocking slightly when pressure is applied to the rim. I am probably just being too picky, as the reel does run very freely. I suspect that the shaft & the bearings are not such a tight fit as on my Stanton & it is this "play" that I am feeling. If I get the chance, I will see if I can inspect a Sheffield in a local tackle shop & see if that has any movement in the drum, but they tend to sell out as soon as the shop gets them in.

I recently acquired an Okuma Sheffield & have so far been very pleased with how it has performed. However, I have noticed some slight movement in the drum & would like to know if this is a problem with my reel, or a “feature” of the Sheffield / Okuma centrepins in general. I do not see any wobble when the drum is spinning, but when I apply alternate light pressure on opposite edges of the drum (when it is stationary), it moves slightly, as if it is rocking on the bearings. Also, if I start the reel spinning with the handles pointing to the side, then rotate the reel so that the handles are pointing at the ground, I do feel a slight movement within the reel as if something is shifting internally, although the reel does continues to spin freely. From past experience with my Adcock Stanton, I know that individual centrepins do vary greatly. I was happy enough using my Stanton for several years, until I found out from a tackle review in IYCF that my reel should spin for about 70 seconds when batted, whereas mine had never spun for more than 30 seconds. I sent the reel back to Cliff Adcock & I don’t know what he did to it, but when it came back, it would spin for almost 3 minutes!! The adjustment made a world of difference, meaning that even light stick floats could be trotted through a swim, without me having to turn the drum with my thumb.

I took a look at both the Aventa Pro & the Sheffield over the weekend & was having trouble deciding between them. I much preferred the more subdued looks of the Pro & the fact that it was £30 cheaper, but found that the Sheffield was slightly more free spinning. I gave both the Sheffield & two different Pros, a very slight push to try & simulate the force of current pulling a float & the Sheffield span longer every time. Not a particularly scientific approach by me & I hope that at such a low spin speed, the “flywheel” effect did no come into play & the Sheffield did not spin longer because it has a heavier drum. So, for the sake of £30 extra, I decided to put up with the “bling” looks of the Sheffield for its (slightly) improved performance & I bought it. Another factor in my decision was that the tackle shop had just put the price of the Sheffield up to £130, but let me have it at the old price of £120. The tackle shop concerned is a well known shop that does a lot of internet trade, so I would guess that the standard retail price for the Sheffield, excepting Ebay, will soon be £130. I know Chavender mentioned that the Sheffield has slightly better bearings that the pro, but in the exploded diagram of both reels, the part number for the bearings is identical. I suspect that Okuma may have updated the internal workings of the Pro, as there have been a few external changes, with larger holes in the back of the drum (they are the same size as the Sheffield) & the addition wooden handles, instead of plastic ones. John

Does anyone one know if the black version of the Sheffield is available in the UK yet?

Thanks for all the replies, you have given me a few ideas to try. I did initially think about using breadflake for the larger roach, but given the masses of small roach, dace, chub & gudgeon present in the swim, I have my doubts as to whether the bait would remain on the hook for very long. I would also be wary about introducing any loose feed into the swim, after the reaction to a single pinch of loose fed maggots last weekend. I was going to have a crack at the roach this weekend, but the lure of a barbel fishing session is proving too strong. When I next return to the roach swim, I will let you know how I got on. John

I took my son for a river session at the weekend, to a venue where I thought he might get a few bites, so that I could initiate him in the art of trotting. The session did not quite turn out as planned, as my chosen venue was so full of fish, on each cast the float barely had time to settle before a bite was registered. Thus not much trotting was done, but my lad still had a great time catching roach, perch, dace, chub & gudgeon, finishing with a total of 4lb 2oz, in just under 2.5 hours. When we arrived at the swim I could see some quite large fish probably about 18” below the surface. There were two very black fish, with noticeably forked tails, which I took to be bream of 2-3lb. Alongside the bream were some light green coloured fish, which were slightly smaller than the bream, but still 1-2lb in size. I initially thought these “green” fish must be trout, but being as trout are not the brightest of fish & we were fishing maggot & failed to catch a single trout, I now suspect that the “green” fish were actually roach. I am used to spotting chub, barbel & carp, but don't usually see any other species on the venues I fish, hence my lack of certainty about what the "green" fish were. I now want to return to this swim & have a crack at what I believe are specimen roach, but could do with some tips on how to target them & avoid the masses of smaller fish. I thought about using either freelined cheese or bread paste on a size 12 or 10 hook, or possibly a couple of grains sweetcorn, or maybe even a single hair rigged pellet. Can you catch roach on a hair? Do they pick bait up with their lips, like chub, or do they suck the bait into their mouths, like barbel & carp? One point to mention is that after we had tackled up at the weekend & before we cast a line, I threw in a pinch of maggots, from a kneeling position, to see how the (still visible) fish reacted. Basically, they did not move to intercept the bait, nor did they scatter as if alarmed, they just slowly drifted back into the depths & we never saw them again. Incidentally, the swim is only about 4ft deep & I did put on a heavier float with the shot bulked, in an attempt to get through the smaller fish, but this only succeeded in getting us a gudgeon a chuck. Any advice appreciated. John

A rough calculation used to be used to establish the maximum breaking strain line a rod could handle, to ensure that the line snapped before the rod did. From memory I believe this calculation is (5 x the rods test curve)+1. So for a 1.75lb t/c rod, the maximum line strength that could be relied upon to break before the rod is 9.75lb b/s. This calculation would assume that the rod is used to play a fish in a normal manner. If the rod was pointed directly at the fish, there would obviously be no strain on the rod. If the rod was held behind the angler, with the line to the fish running parallel along the blank from tip to butt, the rod would snap under very little pressure.

Chris, What you didn't mention to Richard about Newbury AA is the geograhical restriction. Living at Didcot, Richard is a little outside the 10 mile radius of Newbury, which would mean he can only be an associate member. If memory serves me correctly, the NAA has a maximum of 70 associate members. Am I correct & how long is the waiting list at present?

I am fairly confident that the reel does have a drag system, as turning the knob on the handle in the direction of the "-" sign allows me to pull line off the reel without the handle turning, as the spool itself rotates. Also, I cannot see the reason why the reel would have an anti-reverse switch if it did not have a drag mechanism. Are you confusing the 120M with the 123, which as far as I remember, did not have a drag system?

I have a pair of Daiwa 120M closed faced reels that I used to use years ago when I fished matches. The 120M was a forerunner of the 123 & 125 & has an Abu style drag system that is adjusted via a knob on the reel handle. During my match fishing years, I never used the drag, always preferring to backwind, but I would now like to start using the drag, as I am thinking of teaching my son the joys of float fishing rivers & I don’t think that he would be capable of backwinding, or of trotting using his more modern open face reel. Years ago I did experiment with the drag, but never really sussed it out. The knob on the reel is turned to increase & decrease the drag, but the handle also moves backwards & forwards, even with the anti reverse switch on. I suspect that this may be a way of altering, or in fact activating the drag, as appears to be the case with Abu closed face reels. Having long since disposed of any manuals that came with my 120M’s, I am hoping that someone on this site is still using the same reel, or can recall the workings of the drag system.

I read with interest the posts about the Sundridge neoprene Wellingtons. I have used neoprene boot liners before & have found that they kept my feet warm for the first hour or so, but after this, my feet became extremely cold & clammy. I should point out that I am a barbel angler & where I fish at present, roaming does not seem to work well, so I adopt a sit & wait approach. Thus I do not move very much for hours on end & so require a very warm boot so I don’t lose the feeling in my feet! Talking of cold clammy feet, I used to use Den's plastic bag method to try & keep my feet warm as a kid when wearing wellies. I used to put one pair of socks on, followed by a carrier bag, followed by another pair of socks. I think this was a tip given out by the Angling Times. I must say it never worked for me & my feet used to ache with the cold, but I suppose we did have proper winters in those days. I would say that the Sundridge Hotfoot is still my current favourite to replace my Skeetex boots, but I have heard from a poster on another site that he has had two pairs of the Hotfoot boots that split at the heel of the boot itself (i.e. not the lining). I would also be interested if spare linings for the Hootfoot & Derriboots are available. With spare liners in mind, I have also been thinking about getting the Ron Thompson or Shakespeare boots, if these are compatible with Skeetex moonboot liners. These boots are both visually similar to the Skeetex boots.

About 20 years ago I bought a pair of Skeetex moonboots, which although on their third set of linings, are still going strong today. However, during those 20 years of use I have put up with the fact that they are not a particularly good fit & my toes get cold as there is not much room for them to move in the boots. When I bought the boots, I followed advice I had read in the Angling Times to get a snug fit. Anyway, the next size up in the Skeetex, was & still is, far too big for my feet, catering for feet of up to two sizes bigger than mine. I am now looking to replace my Skeetex boots, with similar thermal “Wellingtons” (i.e. NOT LACED FIELD BOOTS OR WALKING BOOTS). I have been considering either the Sundridge Hotfoot boots, or the Derriboots in either the Neptune or Pisces variants. I would appreciate any comments from people who have used these boots, or have any suggestions about alternatives.

Since starting fishing the Kennet last November, I have been very surprised at the fact I have yet to see any fish in the river, apart from fry & the dorsal fin of a large carp poking out from a very weed choked area. Also, there are never any splashes on the Kennet to indicate that fish are present. I have been used to fishing on the Teme, where the barbel & chub are visible & even in the depths of Winter, there are always encouraging splashes. I know that the high banks of the Teme probably aid fish spotting, but with the Kennet being relatively shallow & clear on the stretches I fish, I would have thought I would have seen something. I have so far been concentrating on the deeper holes & weedy areas of the Kennet, hoping that if I can’t see fish in the shallows, then this must be where they are hiding. I have managed one 5lb barbel this year, from two & a bit sessions & I have seen other barbel caught, so I know that the fish are there. All the fish I have seen caught have come from deeper areas, under trees etc. On the Teme it was normally my experience that if you had no bites within about twenty minutes of arriving in a swim, you were unlikely to catch any barbel & it was best to move on. On the Kennet it seems that once you have found a deeper swim, it is best to stick at it until something comes along (this is what the more experienced Kennet anglers appear to do).

John, Ray uses "Lewis Newplast" plasticine which should be available from craft shops. If you find a stockist in the Newbury area, I would be interested (don't buy it all!!). The Lewis Newplast plasticine has no detectable odour, whereas the normal kids plasticine has an oily/chemical type smell. I tend to use the Steve Stayner method of attaching the plasticine to my line which involves attaching a 1" length of cocktail stick to my line via means of a 1" length of silicon tube. I then pinch my plasticine to the cocktail stick. Regards, John