tincatinca

Interesting your comment re not being a floater. When I first started using it I used to wait and of course it finished up under the water and could be a pain to get back up to the surface but as it empties its load straight away, I then started to retrieve it as soon as it hit the water and this seemed to work quite well. The only real problem I found was launching it where you had to develop a nice lobbing action instead of a punching one. Clipped it a few times though on the launch and got well showered.

Blinkin heck Dave, you must have been well paid as an apprentice. When I started my apprenticeship in 1961, my take home pay was just over £2 and half of that was taken by my old dear. I think at that time I was using a hand me down Ambidex half bail arm, a flickem and possibly an Intrepid elite. The first Mitchell 300 came a bit later via Kensitas coupons. When I started working away on site then I had the money to buy ABUs which were a huge improvement. Mind you, the one thing I don't regret giving up is cane and greenheart. I reckon my old cane Pike rod would have made a good vaulting pole for a dwarf and the greenheart would have been good for bench presses in the gym or a pole for a tightrope walker. I must admit to having a couple of decent ones in my late teens one being a match rod whole cane butt and middle with a spliced split cane top which was made by a rod maker who used to live about 6 doors down the road and the other being if I remember correctly an Aspindale Aero wizard. What a godsend when glass and later carbon was introduced.

Mitchells, are they the ones with the half bail arm . I got rid of my 300s and 410s a while ago but apart from the cheapo materials used in them they were good in their day. For longevity though the Abu Cardinals take some beating

In my mind the quality of Shimano reels has dropped considerably. I still have several of the original 3500 and 4500 sea-spin type baitrunners which I still sometimes use for medium range and also some 5010 GTs, 5000GTEs and 6000/8000 GTEs which I mostly use and which to me were the last of the good built in Japan baitrunner reels. As Anderoo as suggested, it perhaps be better looking at some good second hand reels rather than new, certainly as far as Shimano are concerned.

I bought the original when it first came out and whilst to my mind it is better than a spod due to the fact that you can load it with virtually anything, I have always thought that a smaller version would be very usefull. I will certainly be getting a couple when they become available.

For anyone who spods, the soon to be released mini spomb looks interesting. Scroll down the page on the link to get an idea of the size. I think this would be excellent for maggots and a dry mix. http://spomb.com/Spomb/Home.html

As previously stated. (I do not think that there is such a thing as the ideal alarm as different people place importance on different things) With regard to Dens very valid point on what if the receiver goes down, (which could apply to anything electronic) then I do when session fishing carry a back up set of alarms along with a range of spare batteries.

That sums it up in a nutshell plus the bonus of an excellent group of people.

l Yes, I still use back up with the plastic even after witnessing that Anderoo gentleman or should I say bounder emptying a swim of just another 8 lb-er

If you are looking for an alarm that is ultra reliable in any weather conditions, has a degree of sensitivity control and can have its volume turned down to silent when utilised with a remote then I do not think the GF alarms can be beaten. I first started using them many years ago after my Delkims failed miserably due to water ingress from rain. The only problems that I have found with them which has happened over the last couple of years or so is that due to the small roller, I have had an occassional line skip when fishing with the rods set high at the back, also whilst very good with leads and a sounder box they are not so good with a remote receiver and dongles. In more recent times after discussion with a certain tackle tart bailiff at Wingham, I have aquired some of the Gardner ATTS alarms complete with 2 and 4 magnet rollers which I have found to be excellent as the heads have a large roller, are silent, fully waterproof and are extremely compact. Just out of interest, I got them complete with the remote receiver second hand off a genuine fishing tackle shop on e-bay for £210 which is a considerable saving on new. I will say though that if a remote system had been available for the GF alarms which faithfully reproduced the the frequency of the beeps then I would most likely have gone down that route. I do not think that there is such a thing as the ideal alarm as different people place inportance on different things but for me the the key things are is that they are weather proof, consistantly register movement, accommodate different rod angles on the rests and can be turned down silent on the heads. The picture below shows just how compact the ATTS heads are.

Could be power. Daiwa used to have xp on some of their rods which stood for extra power.

So that is what is in your unbelievably heavy bait bag. No wonder your fish weigh so heavy and you look so knackered after carrying it around.

On the subject of reels which Anderoo has comented on, it is about the quality of the materials used. I look at some of the so called top end reels costing several hundred pounds then I look at the older ABU reels with very few bearings but parts made from quality stainless and marine bronze on their main driving parts. I know which one will be still going strong in twenty years time. The older reels such as the Mitchells and Chesters old Intrepids used a lot of Mazak alloy in there working parts which by comparison is a very cheap and low cost material and whilst quite revolutionary in their time, were not built to last like some of the ABUs.

Over several decades, I have owned numerous rods made from tank arials, combinations of cane, fibreglass and carbon which have been obtained new off the shelf, second hand, built by myself and also built for me. In general I have found that the higher end rods to be better but at the same time they have been carefully selected based on a good deal of research and the opinions of a wide range of users as opposed to the hype that goes along with product descriptions. What I have finished up with has suited me at the time for what I wanted to do but would not neccessarily suit others. I also possess and have previously owned some much lower priced rods which for the money are superb a typical example being three Shakespeare Aerial match rods in different lengths and actions. When the question is whether the higher price is worth it then it is down to the user as to what they believe will be the benefit that they will get from it which may not just be about what it will do. The reality is that there are lower cost rods that will do the job extremely well and there are also higher cost rods which are definately not worth the extra cost. There has always been badge engineering but never so great as it is today with the amount of products that come out of the same manufacturing bases with different names. The key question when obtaining a rod is what do you want it for and what do you want it to do, then once you have answered that do a bit of research.

I think that you have got a bit of a snip there. I have several different types of rod from the amorphous whisker range and to me they are excellent rods. It is a personal thing but I do prefer my amorphous whisker waggler rod to the Normark Titan that I have recently aquired although that is a nice rod as well however at £25 I know which I would buy every time.

The thing with e-bay is you need to know the tackle market and exactly what you are looking for. It is surprising what you can pick up especially with older tackle which is not recognised by many newer anglers. Yes there are some good deals about but everthing new is made to a price and in many cases a good oldun can be better than a newun. One of the areas I think that this is very relevant is Shimano where to me the quality has dropped considerably both in rods and reels. The other side of the coin is that you can also get some new and excellent items at a very good price but unless you are sure about what you are buying it can be a minefield as there is an awful lot of badge engineering however, the retailer gives you the opportunity to view things in the flesh and have a play before you buy. Whilst I do use and support my local retailer for a lot of my requirements, I will look further afield for many other items as the retailer may not stock what I am looking for and on some occassions will finish up making it myself.

Yes, how to throw the terracotta army a long way What a numpty, this post should have gone to Dales

Fortunately Ian, there is more going out than is coming in. Anyhow, compared to you I am a beginner

Provided you are not looking to fish at range due to the not so good line lay then you should have no problems with the reel as they have a superb clutch and are capable of handling any Carp that you are likely to hook into. They work extremely well with a through actioned rod and I often use them in conjuntion with rods between 1.5lb tc and 2.25lb tc which balance well with the reel. If you have a relatively clear swim, this type of combination coupled with a good quality line of around 10lb bs is capable of handling big fish and also an enjoyable experience. If the waters you are fishing are snaggy or have bars in the proximity of where you are fishing then you may need to have a re think but in answer to the main point of your question then the reel is fine.

One of the things that I did not have was a heavy feeder rod, which I decided was a must have for a different approach to my big Tench and elusive Bream fishing next season coupled with a few trips planned for a bit of Barbel fishing. Having done a bit of research, I decided to obtain something that was well tried and trusted in the form of a Daiwa amorphous whisker heavy feeder combo. Periodically looking at e-bay, one example really caught my eye and was subsequently obtained. The rod arrived this morning and to say that I was delighted is an under statement. Not only was there a 11/13 foot combination but also a further extension to take it to 15foot, a spare handle along with an avon top, additional sections and a vast array of tips. Effectively you can make up two complete rods in a vast array of combinations 11, 13 and 15 foot. for both feeder and heavy float fishing and to have paid just over £100 for it is to me an absolute bargain as the tips alone would have cost more than that. All I have to do now is catch something. .

Its mates have arrived now, 2 for the feeders and 1 for the float.

Budgie, if you can provide me with the details or a sample, I will happily have a go at making one for you. Need to know dimensions and material if possible.

Yes, though I am under orders to dispose a fair bit of it. She has been up in the loft and found a few things that she should't have

Ah, I will be keeping my Cardinals so will hve the choice of either

Depends what distance you are fishing at. For close in I would agree with the simple approach but at distance a long antenna float with a site bob such as a wind beater in the right conditions can be be set up pretty sensitive to show lifts.