Centenary outing for the Allcocks 1915....

[Tigger]

I decided to nip out trotting today and I used the Allcocks 1915 aerial since this is it's 100'th year of existence ! The only good thing about the weather was that it wasn't raining, other than that there was a nasty bone chilling wind which made controlling the line of the trott quite interesting.
I bought the reel from Australia a few years ago so not only is it 100yr's old but it's also travelled round the world twice...at least LOL. It is a wierd feeling using a reel of such an old age and I always wonder how many people have owned it, where they've used it and what fish it's reeled in. Anyhow it still works perfectly well and is the smoothest and most free runnning reel of all my centrepins, amazing considering it's age. It's also one of the best reels for wallise casting and I never get the line snarled up when casting with it. One thing that is annoying is the black staining I get on my winding finger when I use the reel, i've no idea what it is but it seems to seep out of the metal during use and is worse in wet conditions and can get all over my fingers.
Despite the nasty biting wind I was lucky enough to catch about 15 chub up to about 3lb in weight.
I still haven't got round to buying some new batteries for the camera and could only get these pic's before the old batteries went dead lol...

 

 

 

[Rusty]

Great thread Ian and i think it's worth celebrating the fact that the reel is a 100 years old and still doing what it should be doing... the usual humbling catch return too. Well done!

[Chris Plumb]

Nice one!

 

C.

[BobH]

Fantastic report Tigger, just think it could still be in use in another 100 years !!

 

Bob

Edited January 15, 2015 by BobH

[Vagabond]

Nice report Tigger. I have an Aerial very like yours, but with black handles and I'm not sure of its date of manufacture. Must do some research on it and give it an outing on its 100th, although I suspect it is a slightly more recent reel than yours.

 

I used to use mine for catching carp on dog-biscuit, 'cos the noise of the check when a margin-hooked carp goes berserk winds up the buzzer-bolt-rig-and-boilie brigade. Before that I used to use it for spinninig for pike with "traditional" lures (like Kidney and Colorado spoons)

 

Very rarely have I used the Aerial for trotting, as I have an Avon Royal Supreme and an Okuma Sheffield for that purpose.

 

Here is a dog-biscuit carp I caught earlier - you need to click on it to see the reel detail

 

Edited January 15, 2015 by Vagabond

[Tigger]

Thank's for the commemts chap's .

 

Nice chunky carp Dave, I bet winding that in was fun ! Chavenders pretty clued up on the old Allcocks aerials and I reckon he'd be the one to ask about it's age and history etc. I haven't seen him around for a while now but he might be looki'n in.

[Vagabond]

Thanks Tigger. If Chavender or any other Aerial historian is interested, the drum is just below 3.5" diameter, drum width 7/8" and engraved on the back in three straight lines

 

The "Allcock Aerial"

 

S Allcock & C^o L^td Redditch

 

England

 

No logo, and no lineguard

 

I would guess the reel dates about 1920 to 1923

 

I picked it with half a dozen other reels, a bag of lures, pike floats, salmon flies, lots of odds and ends, and a bundle of split-bamboo and greenheart rods at a house clearance back in the 1960s - the whole lot cost a fiver, and included nets, gaffs and an artist's easel. (a new concept in fish welfare - instead of taking a photo, set up your easel and do a study in oils of your fish !) Couldn't face that, so sold the easel for a fiver !

[BobH]

Vagabond

 

Has the reel go any numbers under the spool inside the back plate ?

 

Bob

[Vagabond]

Can't see any

 

Has PATENT in upper case inscribed close to one handle, but no other markings that are visible

[lutra]

Nice one Ian

 

I was at Dave's yesterday and had a nosy at the one he's posted. Its amazing how well they have lasted. It runs perfectly and I could happily a gone trotting with it.

 

Sounds like the black on your fingers is just the soft alloy coming off. Another 100 years and it might all have gone.

Edited January 16, 2015 by lutra