Supreme Rods - Tony Miles

[Martin56]

1 hour ago, Peter Waller said:

I can understand why folk collect old reels but not so sure about using them when modern ones, some centre pins excluded, are so much better! After very many years languishing in my tackle cupboard  my once much loved Intrepid Standard came out for an airing. It had served me well, sixty plus years ago! In truth it worked today just as well as it ever did but why did I bother? Nostalgia perhaps, but in practical terms all I was doing was in hampering myself so why do it? My old reel has gone back where it belongs, in the cupboard. My old rod back in its bag, maybe I'll put it on E-Bay. 

Hi Peter, I'm still using 2 very old but still very nice to fish with Grice & Young Pins - I have them both on set up rods & use them every week on a commercial.

Not everyone's cup of tea admittedly but (for me) I like being pulled all over the peg with big fish AND also a great pleasure with the smaller ones.

It's nice when one has all day & no real pressure to get one in the net!!

[chesters1]

13 hours ago, Peter Waller said:

I can understand why folk collect old reels but not so sure about using them when modern ones, some centre pins excluded, are so much better! After very many years languishing in my tackle cupboard  my once much loved Intrepid Standard came out for an airing. It had served me well, sixty plus years ago! In truth it worked today just as well as it ever did but why did I bother? Nostalgia perhaps, but in practical terms all I was doing was in hampering myself so why do it? My old reel has gone back where it belongs, in the cupboard. My old rod back in its bag, maybe I'll put it on E-Bay. 

Why do it? Stupidity ? A need to find your roots as you grow older ? Promise me you wont keep using the intrepid or mental illness creeps into the scenario lol

There was only one decent intrepid made intrepid the Super Twin its problem was it was 30 years to late! The far older Supreme and Elite were good (infact the Elite world beating for a second or so then it didnt improve and sunk into obscurity) but based on reels of the time that were not!

I remember as a kid using an intrepid my uncle gave me and getting tangles and having to cut line and retie it which caused problems ,i put it down to cheap reels ,20 years ago i had an "old" day and went down the pond with a hardy altex and a Appollo taperflash ,in this case a very expensive (even now) reel and a nice (even now compared to cane of the same price)rod an hour later i was home with knots in the line ,it wasnt cheap reels it was poor technology !

Edited November 25, 2020 by chesters1

[Phone]

Chesters1,

You are fortunate, in your examples the tangles were the result of manufacturing shortcomings.

In my case 99%or greater was operator error regardless of reel price.

Phone

[chesters1]

I have seen the opposite , I regularly  saw an angler in his 90's wife untangling his new reel, not because it was badly made but because the old boy didnt realise modern reels turn far more easily than old ones  !

[Peter Waller]

One good thing about old tackle is the sometimes ridiculously high prices it gets on E-Bay! 

Granted that some old stuff has stood the test of time but those items are relatively few and far between. My ABU Severan Centre Drag reels being an example. 

[chesters1]

Yes some have a following even bloody intrepids have started getting collectors ,i advised an ebay seller not to take any buy it now offers and let his seastreak run (carbon not plastic) and he got £100 for it ,he thanked me saying if someone had offered him £30 he would have grabbed it lol

I wish i had i gave my only one to intrepids main designer for his collection !

Old abus especialy severans ,the mitchell 800 range and the rare old reels from small makers are collected, some even are ok on the bank aswell even today

[garyt]

On 3/10/2014 at 1:59 AM, philocalist said:

I'm not entirely convinced of the accuracy here, as much of it is from memory, BUT;

 

Sharpes (still) have a factory not too far from Aberdeen - I was in there for a looky-see maybe 5 years or so back, as much out of curiosity as anything else, as the premises materialised out of no-where, en-route cross-country to Aberdeen (I think from the general area of Aviemore?)

They do indeed make split can rods there, and are (quite rightly) very proud of their products, being primarily known for the manufacture of fly rods - not certain whether or not it's still the case, but they enjoyed Royal patronage too, having none other than Prince Charles as an avid fan and user!

 

This is where it gets a bit 'wooly' - the 'Scottie' brand was evidently initially theirs, though some sort of jiggery-pokery within the company involved part of the business heading south (to London, I believe?), along with the 'Scottie' brand name (which took a subsequent nose-dive - the 'new' Scotties were definitely perceived as being inferior to the originals within the ranks of their followers - primarily fly-fishermen).

 

I'm a fan of Tony Miles, and familiar with the book you refer to - I'd therefore hazard a guess that the rods he refers to are indeed built on 'original' Scottie blanks, a spec supplied by Tony Miles, and then marketed by Weaver & Son.

 

Somewhere prior to the 'Scottie' name travelling south, Sharpes diversified their range and began manufacturing a small range of very much sought-after coarse rods; I suspect their biggest hurdles in that respect were likely the fact of an almost total absence of local customers (as no-one up there goes after coarse fish, and if they do it's certainly not with high-class cane), and competition (further south) from a much bigger name within the same rarifies market: Hardys of Alnwick, who at that time were sat very firmly right at the top of the pile of rod and reel manufacture, and particularly with respect to split cane.

In any event, the Scottie branded coarse rods had a relatively short manufacturing life, and manufacure centered once more around fly rods (and also split cane spinning rods).

Trying to buy a Scottie cane spinning rod now at a decent price is crazy - they WERE available used, at give-away prices up until a few years ago ... now the carpies have cottoned on to exactly how good these rods were / are (being manufactured primarily for the persuit of salmon), and they are currently bought by them for daft prices, bastardised with a new set of rings and one of their many current trends, being put into service as 'stalking' rods for margin carp!

Just seen this, I might be able to help if there is still an interest. I designed it