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Do it yourself?


gozzer

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in my time I've made quite a fair bit of tackle, floats, bite indicators, spinners, plugs and so on.

 

One of my best inventions/mods was THIS ONE

 

Most of my tackle making days are now behind me, although I still collect feathers and the like, especially if they are large ones. When you could walk around the marina lake at Billing Aqudrome I could always bank on picking up a few swn flight feathers that had been preened out, along with loads of Canadian Goose quills too.

 

Of course a lot of my spinners were made while I had access to metal forming equipment in the workshops at Express Lifts where I worked and I knocked up masses of blanks and had quite a few wooden bodies turned.

Over the years though they've been used, given away, lost etc so they never got replaced.

 

Plus also I've made my own rods from blanks, and refurbished several of my older rods, one a 10' greenheart has had to be retired a couple of years ago cus there's nothing left I can do for it.

 

Ahhh that would be nice after a win on the lottery, a nice big workshop kitted out with wood and metal working tools.

If the hat's missing

I've gone fishing

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I remember discussing that bite indicator with you Bluey, it's almost the same as the ones I used to make. :thumbs:

 

Mind you, we are the same 'vintage' aren't we? :D

 

John.

Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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Its a shame that more people dont still repair/service/make/design their own gear anymore.Firstly I think this is because ()as allready mentioned) too many people are doing it for them.

 

When I first got in to catfishing abroad it reminded me very much of the older days of carp fishing in the fact that tackle was simply not available for it.You either made it yourself ,got a mate to make it who could or go without! Sacks and landing nets (not to mention a bit later, baits! being good examples.The early days of the Saonne and Ebro seeing me make and design tackle from rods to landing nets and weigh slings to specialist stretchers for moving the cats in.

 

Not only did I enjoy this (both for the carp and more so the cats where I was at the fore front) but feel it gave me a lot better understanding of the tackle I was using.

 

It has been sugested that people either arent interested anymore in DIY or that they simply dont know how.Well judging from the response(ie "hits") that my series of "Tackle Workshop" articles on Fishing Magic had I cant see the first being true.The fact that the internet shows you all and that there are many many good books/DVD's etc on the subject also makes the second reason hard to swallow.

 

True there are not so many people who can show you how (even most tackle shops dont bother with much more than glueing on a tip ring or elasticating a pole tip!) but I feel the real reason is the combination of todays "throw away" culture and the availability of such cheap good tackle.

And thats my "non indicative opinion"!

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I was kind of hoping that one or two of the 'older' generation of AN members might have joined in on the thread. They could have told of the things they had made/adapted,

 

Have done, several times - examples coming up when I can find the pics

 

Home made (well waterside-made really) rod rests. Bucket holds tackle and bait - only other piece of equipment is an unhooking mat. and I'm sitting on it.

 

idlebackpostyt7.jpg

 

 

Home made floats - Canada goose quills - take 2 to 3 SSG

 

goosequillsii0.jpg

goosequillsii0.dccf7f2ac1.jpg

 

Homemade rod and reel (made by a primary school kid under my tuition) - It replicates one I made myself at age 9 - there was a war on, so if you wanted to fish, you made your own gear.

 

yggdrasilthetenchslayerej5.jpg

 

I also tie my own flies (or get Snatcher to tie some for me) using (some) feathers/fur/hair from creatures I shot myself.

 

Also, have somewhere a series of pics I took showing how to mend a break in split cane (separate the fibres out with dressmakers pins - then glue them back one by one - inside fibres first)

 

Have built both greenheart and split cane rods from scratch Whipping on rings, intermediates, fitting brass ferrules, butt caps, shoulder ferrules, cork handles - splitting my own cane,

done all that!

Edited by Vagabond

 

 

RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

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but Dave remember you are the Grandfather of "old father time"...

No seriously nver made my own rods or anything but as akid with no money or anyone interested in fishing used to make and improvise stuff all the time. used to spiral slivers of lead around the line to weight homemade floats because I couldn't get or afford split shot used to make leger weights from stones tied up with string, used to re whip on eyes with sewing cotton, don't think I bought a pint of maggots until i was 17 used to breed my own and before that bait was dug up in the garden or scrounged from the kitchen.

But have to admit time now dictates my fishing habits and its the internet or the tackle shop for me now.

Did however dig some lug last weekend, first time in ages and boy were they some big buggers, must do it more often.

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I suppose I do make a fair bit of stuff, but only 'minor' things - lures and bobbins mainly. I don't do too much lure fishing (mainly because for the last few years there hasn't been the weather for it) but my most successful lure is a simple silver spoon I made in my dad's garage about 15 years ago.

 

Bobbins I always make myself from bits and pieces because I can't find shop-bought ones which are light enough.

 

I'd put improvisation in another category, like using buckets for rod rests or making a quick rod rest out of a branch.

 

I make all my own rigs/traces/elasticate my pole/etc. but that's different again.

 

I have in the past taken off tip rings and replaced them with ones with a screw-in hole for quiver/swing tips - but there's no way I'd do that now because my rods now cost a lot kore than they used to! I'd be terrified of cocking it up.

 

I've tried making floats from Norfolk reeds but they weren't very good. Good fun making them though :)

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music

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Mind you, we are the same 'vintage' aren't we? :D

 

John.

 

If you were born in the late 40's early 50's then yes we are. :)

 

My main reason for making my own tackle was one of a serious shortage of money, a fact that has dogged me for most of my life. But I remember going in on saturday mornings to the main machine shop and turning out brass screwed bushes to put on the ends of steel rods to make banksticks. Most of them now have gone.

I still have a huge landing net which I made to land pike with, rather than using that babaric gaff. couldn't use it now though as the net is of the knotted type material which is no longer (not that it ever was) fish friendly. But I keep it for sentimental reasons. Plus also I'm told by the missus that I'm a bit of a hoarder. :rolleyes:

If the hat's missing

I've gone fishing

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I was REALLY lucky then!! We actually got TAUGHT at school how to make tackle!! Our old science teacher (Mr Preston) was a keen angler if not much good (God rest!) But he was certainly enthusiastic!! And of course necessity was the order of the day!! Used to make my own tackle then as now and not too bad at it if I say so myself!!

In fact the EASIEST and BEST floats I ever made are from Rye Grass stems!! Simply find a stem that you can push another over, blob of paint on the top and away you go!! You would be surprised just HOW durable and buoyant these floats are!!!

Edited by Chris Goddard

Chris Goddard


It is to be observed that 'angling' is the name given to fishing by people who can't fish.

If GOD had NOT meant us to go fishing, WHY did he give us arms then??


(If you can't help out someone in need then don't bother my old Dad always said! My grandma put it a LITTLE more, well different! It's like peeing yourself in a black pair of pants she said! It gives you a LOVELY warm feeling but no-one really notices!))

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One mateiral I've always wanted to use to make a float out of was Norfolk Reed. I remember seeing some on a John Wilson Go Fishing progamme and rather liked them and wanted to try using that material. So far I've not been able to get any reeds despite having an old school chum who's a qualified thatcher (roof thatcher that is ;) )

If the hat's missing

I've gone fishing

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There are many materials you can make floats out of that commercial companies won't use. This is because a lot of materials which are naturally waterproof (reeds for example) don't paint well and of course shop bought floats have to look pretty, even if the paint adds nothing to the function.

I often use bits of peacock quill just as they are cut, without even sealing the ends. If there is a better material for float making, I've never seen it; but it's expensive so commercial manufacturers prefer plastic tubes.

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