tincatinca

Hi Ian, I found it on the net quite some time ago and it apparently was made by a company called Claro Precision Engineering who just happen to be based in Knaresborough same as Chris Lythe. It appears they have done a few different reel prototypes in the past and if you look at the make up of the 1915 there are a lot of similarities. This is the company http://www.claro.co.uk/default.asp They are also tied up with this company in making prototypes. http://www.theflyreelcompany.co.uk/about.php http://www.engineering.lancs.ac.uk/news/?article_id=1790 It would certainly be cost effective to have a reel prototyped and iron out any issues before setting up for production runs.

That looks very much like one made by Casting in Wood. I had one which is the picture in my avatar which had gone through some form of ageing process as can be seen in the pictures below but in my opinion the build quality was not that good so I sold for a decent price as the Casting in Wood reels do have a collector following. I would love to see one of these come up though

Fabulous fish. Well done. Any curry will taste good now.

Like you Rich I am also not a fan of Sensor. I used Big Game extensively for specimen fishing up until a few years ago when I changed to Gold Label Pro Clear and have not looked back since. The main reasons that I like it so much is that it is very limp and supple, casts well ,good resistance to abrasion and breaks virtually on the nail. The only problem is that you cannot get it below 8 lb b.s. Another possible alternative is Gold Label Pro Gold which is nearly as good as the Pro Clear in terms of suppleness and can be obtained down to 6 lb b.s For lower bteaking strains I am still a die hard Maxima fan.

Yes, it used to be the front lamp off a bicycle but now with a dimable l.e.d light source, the battery life should not be an issue.

Easy solution especially if you want to see the bands on the float is to use a light beam across the water but obviously not entering the water. Used to be a common practice many years ago and one which I still on occassion use today. Fluorescent paint especially orange over a white background for the bands on the float works well as it also does on a quiver tip.

I played about with the Solar line clips some time ago and finished up with this to make them work effectively with both braid and line Not really what you want to have to do which is back to the size of the balls and the vee angles produced.. Although I have not checked them myself, I have had some good reports on the latest Fox modular system release clips which in fact work on the small ball principle

When you are talking balls Den the argument you are putting forward applies to larger dia balls due to the vee that is formed, however with small dia balls this has proved not to be an issue and neither has using light line. I spent a long time testing all manner of bobbin heads with both braid and nylon for run ability and line pick up and indeed made fully adjustable ones such as those in the ones in the picture below based on the excellent release ability of monkey climbers but have now abandoned them for the overall versatilty benefits that the Carp-Tech versions give. I could make a fool proof version but what for apart from proving that I could and which would be of no benefit to others without the equipment to be able to do it.. I have noticed in recent times that quite a few stockists are now selling off their stocks of Spring Loks at £8 each for all sizes. Why is that. Unlike yourself I have no vested commercial interests whatsoever in anything that I do and am quite happy to share ideas with anyone. As I have said before, the Fox MK11 swingers with the gate latch release mechanism take some beating if a short arm is sufficient for your needs. For now I am quite happy with I have got to but may at some time have a further little play at an improved monkey climber system.

Excellent Ian,looked at the local river on the way home and thought yes its going down then it started to hammer it down.I need to look at the maggots in the fridge. They have been there patiently waiting for several weeks.

Cane rod, centrepin, red topped float, misty morning, estate lake, lilly pads, red worm and Tench

Now that's coming from an expert

For anyone interested in how the Carp-Tech bobbin heads work , I will add little explanation and the reasons why I believe that they are very good. The first picture shows a bobbin head stripped down whilst the second picture shows 3 bobbin heads fully assembled with the middle bobbin showing the ball bearings in their operating position. Going back to the first picture, 2 ball bearings are inserted into the bobbin head followed by a piece of silicon rubber which acts as a spring material. This is followed by a grub screw which compresses the silicone against the ball bearings which in in turn can be finely adjusted to suit whatever line is used and also how the bobbin is weighted. The bobbins are normally supplied with a cord attached which has 4 sliding weights but if you dont like these the hole at the bottom of the bobbin heads has an m5 thread which is common with most manufacturesr bobbins so for example, chains and different weights could be attached. I have utilised a different cord which I sourced from a power kite supplier from which I have made several set ups ranging from short 6" to 4 foot and over drops. The key benefit for me with this arrangement is the ability to slide the weights along the cord to whatever position I require. With a long drop bobbin I have 4 weights available to use in any combination wheras with a short drop it is more likely to be 2. As previously shown, the bobbin heads are also used on swingers but for most people I would think that a hanging bobbin arrangement would be more common. I have added a close up of a bobbin arrangement on a pod and as can be seen, the weights can be easily moved along the cord. The same can easily be applied to a single bank stick set up The only downside is that as the bobbin heads are injection moulded, the grub screw can feel a little slack but this is easily overcome by adding a few turns of p.t.f.e. tape which tightens up the whole assembly and only needs to be done once. The upside is the sheer versatility of what can be achieved with them and finally the stock pile as I cannot see them being available for much longer.

Haven't been around for a while as I have been inundated with various projects which has meant that fishing has taken a back seat for over a year now in which time I have managed 4 trips 3 of which being to Wingham. I have in the past spent a considerable amount of time playin about with different forms of bite indication i.e bobbins, monkey climbers and swingers. My personal preference is for the swingers as they will do everything that the others will do with the big advantage of being windproof. The downside is that they are not as portable so weight can be a deciding factor on the day. When I have had a bit of time to spare over the last few months I have concentrated on weight reduction and getting rid of the stainless elements. Also I have built everything around Carp-Tech bobbin heads first shown to me by KIm, one of the Wingham bailiffs and obtained from a boot fair. They are both light with adjustable spring loading and can be adapted to virtually any type of presentation. Excellent for converting to long drop bobbins with sliding weights. Unfortunately probably due to the lack of street cred they never took off with the company no longer in existance although you can still pick a few up off e-bay.at around £9.00 for a set of three. Anyway I have now put together a pod system which can be adapted for most of my static fishing along with several different lengths of swinger arms to suit the target on the day. I have attached acouple of pictures showing one set up with bobbins and the other with swingers which are easily changed as equired

I used to have one some time ago but did not get on with it as I thought it was too heavy and I also did not like the general design. It is indeed virtually identical to the early Dave Swallow reel that I also looked at but much preffered the Adcock Stanton. I am am pretty certain that Rod Hutchinson had some form of involvement with them at one stage. A few pics of the reel I used to have

Hi Rob, Have you considered using a thermal bed chair cover instead of a bag. I have not used a bag for several years now as I find the cover to be much better. I use a Gardener one which has retaining clips down both sides and the bottom for attaching to the bed chair which covers both options of which way round you sleep. The outer is both breathable and shower proof with a fleece lining. In colder weather I use it with an extra fleece blanket. Very warm and comfortable and no zips to get stuck. There are several on the market with the Trakker versions being popular but personally I prefer the Gardner version. A few to look at below. http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313.TR3.TRC0&_nkw=bedchair+cover&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Firstly apologies for the delay in writing a report but unfortunately it is the first opportunity that I have had since I returned home. Having checked with Steve that it was OK to set up before the fish in I arrived at the lake around 2pm on Thursday afternoon. I had been allocated a swim called the left hand Christmas Tree which I had fished once previously but felt had a lot of potential which I will go into a bit later. After Terry kindly pulled my trailer round to the swim and with all sorts of changeable weather forecast over the weekend, the first job was to put the bivvy up. I decided to use my bivvy overwrap for the first time which proved to be a right mare to put up but when finally set up it was like having a bungalow by the side of the water. Having finally managed to get the bivvy set up, the next job was to spend a bit of time with the marker rod and develop a plan. The swim in question sits on the entrance to the bottom bay and between the edge of the swim and the far bank there is lots of variation in depths. Right in front the near shelf drops down to around 12 feet and further out you can find lots of variation in depths between 6 and 12 feet with a few gravel patches patches. The water in front of me was fairly clear and weed free and to my immediate right was an overhanging tree with the branches covering the bottom of the near bank drop off. Having found what I thought was a suitable area but not where I had previously fished I decided to bait up an area and fish two rods on it and further bait up just on the edge of the overhanging tree line for fishing the float. One new little toy that I have obtained is a couple of Nashy ball makers see link below These come in two sizes which give a 20mm and 40mm ball. The beauty of these is that you do not need to spod and once you have got your mix right you can catapult very accurately over a fair distance. Having already prepared a dry mix at home consisting of micro pellet, hemp, ground up 10mm Ritchworth air dried frozen Tuttis, and fine milled vitalin, lake water was added along with a liberal dose of molasses until the right consistency was reached. The next few minutes was taken up making 40mm balls which were then catapulted around the marker float. The close in swim was then baited with both baited areas being left till the following day. During the night I got up to look at the area a couple of times to see if there were any signs of activity nothing. On the far out baited spot, the plan was to fish maggot feeder on the two rods during daylight and a 10mm boilie snowman during the night with the float rod being alternated between worm, maggot and corn. At first light on Friday the maggot feeder rods were cast to the baited area and corn was fished on the float rod.to around 10am when I pulled in the rods and wandered over to the club house to give a hand in setting up the barbecue area. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of effort that is put in every year by the bailiffs, the Broombridge clan and everyone directly connected with the management and running of Wingham that has produced in my opinion a fishery that is second to none. Having returned to the swim late afternoon, Steve arrived and must have left gold dust on my chair because shortly after he left one of the alarms on one of the maggot feeder rods burst into life resulting in a male Tench which hovered on the 7lb mark on the scales. Yes I thought, cracked it but nothing further to dark when the maggot feeder rods were replaced with the rods carrying the snowman rigs. After an uneventful night, it was down to the Clubhouse helping Rusty on the way to put up his bivvy. Everone was arriving for the fish in and that wonderful Korum model and Tench Fishers stalwart Steve Cambell was greeting everyone with Bacon and Sausage sarnis whilst at the same time doing a cracking job of trying to get sales for the latest Tench Fishers book. This is where the organisation of the fish ins comes into its own with all the bailiffs working their socks off to get everyone and their equipment to their swims. Returning to the swim it was back on the maggot feeder rigs and around the tree switching between the slider float rod with worm and maggot feeder on the a polaris set up. I had been continuing to feed two swims off the tree and had noticed activity on a couple of occasions with bubbling and bits coming up from the bottom. I had got the polaris rod with the maggot halfway along the the tree when the float dipped and the rod bent over. As soon as I felt the jag jag on the end I knew it was which turned out to be a decent sized Eel of the small mouthed variety, perfectly hooked in the bottom lip and weighing I would guesstimate around the 3lb mark. This was a bit unexpected as the time was around 1pm in the afternoon. After de-sliming myself and the landing net then returning it to the water it was off to the club house for the first barbecue. Unfortunately the remainder of the fish in produced no further fish but as always with Wingham the place is just awesome both for scenery and wild life where catching fish is a bonus coupled with the added pleasure of some excellent all round company and camaraderie. I would also like to congratulate errrm on his fantastic Tench. What an achievement. I am really green with envy. In conclusion whilst I feel the weather played a significant part in the end results I am sure everyone got bitten by the Wingham bug and enjoyed the event. It has been said before, but I really appreciate the effort that is put into making the fish in possible. From Steve, Glyn Terry, Sam, Budgie, KIm and everyone who works tirelessly throughout the year. Peggy and her helper TJ who put on a fantastic barbecue. Stevie Cambell whose generosity provides the welcoming bacon and sausage butties. Steve and his colleagues have produced a truly wonderful environment as well as a unique fishery and I feel very privileged to be a member.

All this talk about baitz iz all very well but what about the rodz, reelz, bobbinz, alarmz, and bivviz not to mention hookz, netz, linez and bedz

Don't need to with a suitable swinger

I have used and been a fan of centrepins since I started fishing as a young lad in the fifties but I do not understand why a Paul Witcher reel commands such a high price when to me personally the design is fundamentally flawed with the groove for the latch being on the inside of the pin and which to my mind weakens the whole assembly. I certainly would not like to accidentally drop one. Having said that, I would certainly consider paying out for an original double spoked Aerial. With regard to Dales question, there can be very few commodities like perceived top end centrepins which in recent years have given pleasure and satisfaction to the owner and have also increased substantially in value.

Chris, The bivvy is permanently left at Wingham and you are welcome to use it. I should be there but if I am not around at the time ask Glyn

Thanks very much for the links Steve. Just what I was looking for. The Olivers link looks very interesting as the rods I am refurbing have a fast taper and shives with different sized bores will make the job a lot easier. I will probably be able to get away with having to make just a couple of taper mandrels and knock together a simple handle press.

Just to clarify, I am not looking how to do it but trying to find out who stocks and supplies a suitable range of grade A or AA cork shives. Thanks for the link John, it is one that I did not know of. Virtually all the the companies that I have contacted supply anything that requires small bore corks for fly rods and spinning rods but not larger sizes. Once I know that I can get suitable cork shives I will measure the taper on the handles and make a set of tapered sanding sticks.

I have just part stripped down 2 old Kevin Maddocks KM2 rods which were originally built on Sportex blanks by Simpsons of Turnford. At some time in the past, the original reel fittings must have broken and were replaced by being bonded to the original handles with what appears to be a liberal use of epoxy. Anyway, I have decided to strip off the old handles completely and replace with fuji reel seats and cork so the question is where can good cork shives be obtained in todays world. I can find plenty for fly rods but very little in larger bore sizes so any suggestions would be appreciated.

For anyone interested in the development of rod building over the past few decades and what drove the changes in materials used, the archives of Agutters is well worth a read particularly for lovers of cane. See attached link and scroll to the bottom to continue . http://www.norman-agutters.com/archives.htm

Possibly could try here Steve http://www.norman-agutters.com/misc.htm