Rods...Have they improved?

[azrael]

sounds to me that mr poldark knows what he is talking about

[Tigger]

But then, after all, I can compare stuff from 60 years ago

 

Den

 

 

Is that all ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

you look much older

[poledark]

Don't be silly Tigs, I haven't aged a bit..

 

 

Maybe a bit "stockier" maybe a bit more hair, maybe I've slowed down a bit and the nose hair needs trimming every week and I often lose track of the days in the week, but.......................................yeah, OK, maybe I do look a little bit more mature....................like an old cheese, but not so smelly

 

And did you notice the sandals........................

 

Den

Edited February 7, 2012 by poledark

[Tigger]

OK, maybe I do look a little bit more mature....................like an old cheese, but not so smelly

 

And did you notice the sandals........................

 

Den

 

 

LO, I know Den, you've still got the film star looks

[Dick Dastardly]

I think we need to be a bit careful here that we aren't talking cross purposes! Its what qualifies as "old" I think that could cause confusion. I'm comparing today's tackle to the late 80s/early 90's when I say old. As Den says there is nothing I can think of that's not better today than from the 60's! (I cant go back any further!).

 

But I do disagree slightly with what he says about modern "cheap reels".A modern cheap reel will not last more than a few seasons but a Mitchell 300 could last many decades....................but of course back in the day a Mitchell 300 wasn't a "cheap" reel.

 

But still talking about the recent time period. I admit I no nothing of material specifications, manufacturing tolerances or what ever but what I do know is I see far more knackered 5 year old Shimano reels on my bench every day than I do 20+ year old ones and I get far more of the older ones in for routine clean and services.

[Rusty]

Don't be silly Tigs, I haven't aged a bit..

 

 

Maybe a bit "stockier" maybe a bit more hair, maybe I've slowed down a bit and the nose hair needs trimming every week and I often lose track of the days in the week, but.......................................yeah, OK, maybe I do look a little bit more mature....................like an old cheese, but not so smelly

 

And did you notice the sandals........................

 

Den

 

Great pic Den. I like to face the water when I'm playing a fish though, that must've been a right lump.

[Dave H]

Great pic Den. I like to face the water when I'm playing a fish though, that must've been a right lump.

 

Looks like your trousers have had a fight with your ankles.

[poledark]

Great pic Den. I like to face the water when I'm playing a fish though, that must've been a right lump.

 

 

Had me chuckling there Rusty ,but just for the record, that rod was so stiff you could hang 6oz on it and it hardly bent, glass of course

 

 

Budgie, I have worn out a couple of 300's........and binned them. It wasn't the gearing that went wrong, it was the main handle shaft bearing (or lack of one) that went. Several winters spinning didn't help though.

 

Hawk, in those days I had a waistline to keep them up

 

Den

[Bartman]

Great pic Den. I like to face the water when I'm playing a fish though, that must've been a right lump.

 

He's just a little shy, that's all.

[BoldBear]

I have worn out a couple of 300's........and binned them. It wasn't the gearing that went wrong, it was the main handle shaft bearing (or lack of one) that went. Several winters spinning didn't help though.

 

Den

I have a drawer full of my old Mitchell and Abu reels and I'm confident that they will all still work fine given a quick clean and oil, however we would have loads of problems with them when we used to use them.

 

Faults we used to have with the old Mitchell reels (which we used to regard as being very good reels)

 

Surface bubbling/corrosion just below the paint

Bail arm springs weakening (however they were easy to replace)

Bail Arms distorting which would prevent bail arm from closing properly,

Lack of infinite backwind causing the usual 'backwind/clunk' and problems when you wanted to tighten up a little to a swingtip or using the lift method etc.

Clutch not always that reliable (but better than most other reels of the day).

Handles bending or breaking

Reel foots occasionally breaking off (if dropped on a hard surface)

 

Plus points with the Mitchell reels where that they were easy to strip down clean and oil, very easy to replace broken parts and generally more reliable than a lot of other reels of the day.

 

Faults that my mates and I had with the Abu reels (Abu Cardinal 55's etc.) were:

 

The spools were very narrow and not really conducive to long casting.

The plastic Spools occasionally shattered if line was loaded under too much pressure.

Everything else seemed to be an improvement on the Mitchells.

 

The modern Shimanos seem a world away from the old Mitchell and Abu fixed spool reels to use, and I would much rather use a modern Shimano than one of my old Mitchell's and Abu's even if the Shimano only lasted me 5 or 6 years.

 

However I have only bought one Shimano within the last year or two and I have heard people saying that the quality is falling rapidly over the last couple of years or so.

Edited February 21, 2012 by BoldBear