Could I have your opinions please?

[Dick Dastardly]

"Why do your need 30 pairs of shoes when youve only got two feet! Now get back in the kitchen!"

 

Whats up with you guys are you fishermen or mice!!

 

<Im going now before Emma sees this!>

[paul4]

Nah I'm positive Fred Crouch's have a smooth back plate. Can anyone else verify whether Fred crouch pins have crinkle or smooth back plates ? ....................not that it really matters

 

Hi all

 

The early replicas, which were "allowed" to be called "match aerials" have crinkly backplates - this was obviously achieved by a casting process using a special alloy. I have a couple of these and have used one most of the time for the last 30 years (ish). Incidentally the main difference is the flat bladed ratchet knob as opposed to the original's circular tri-bladed knob.

 

The current Fred Crouch reels are NOT allowed to be called "match aerials" and they do NOT have crinkly backs. I have several of these and use them currently. Again, flat bladed ratchet knob.

 

I believe, and will check this, that there were "intermediate" reels with non-crinkly backplates due to the "tools" wearing out or being damaged.

 

paul4

 

 

OOps sorry - I just noticed there were three pages of this thread, I just answered a post on page 1.

Edited October 31, 2008 by paul4

[ayjay]

I started writing this at lunchtime but got dragged out into the garden to do useful stuff, just got back and read Paul4s post but thought I'd stick this on anyway:-

 

 

 

My latest thoughts after reading a few snippets both here and dotted around the net are mostly pure conjecture but I think it works.

 

Fred Crouch acquired the rights to produce a copy of the Allcocks Match Aerial and along with that he also acquired the necessary tooling and some unused bits of unmade reels.

 

He made the first reels using at least some of the original bits and sold them himself before becoming involved with Pete Henwood of Specialist tackle at a later date. I assume a crinkly back is more expensive to produce than a flat back and so the crinkly back was dropped when he had to produce the parts himself.

 

(I can certainly remember enough to know that they were advertised for sale independently before becoming available through Specialist Tackle).

[paul4]

I started writing this at lunchtime but got dragged out into the garden to do useful stuff, just got back and read Paul4s post but thought I'd stick this on anyway:-

 

 

 

My latest thoughts after reading a few snippets both here and dotted around the net are mostly pure conjecture but I think it works.

 

Fred Crouch acquired the rights to produce a copy of the Allcocks Match Aerial and along with that he also acquired the necessary tooling and some unused bits of unmade reels.

 

He made the first reels using at least some of the original bits and sold them himself before becoming involved with Pete Henwood of Specialist tackle at a later date. I assume a crinkly back is more expensive to produce than a flat back and so the crinkly back was dropped when he had to produce the parts himself.

 

(I can certainly remember enough to know that they were advertised for sale independently before becoming available through Specialist Tackle).

 

I think it's a bit more complicated than that ayjay, but you have the gist. Fred was not the only one who made the originals, but he was part of a group who did. There was a guy to do with specialist tackle who made Trotting Special c'pins and there was some connection - I'll ask.

 

The Searcher centrepin is similar, and that was sold by Specialist Tackle.

 

Complicated innit?

 

paul4

[paul4]

I did e-mail Paul Whiteing with a few questions prior to ordering because he does use them mostly for Barbelling. His view was that they are just as competent when trotting. It didn't strike me as sales pitch.

 

Thanks Rusty. There's certainly no sales pitch - I'm not a salesman, nor a "dealer". I'm just a centrepin user, some might say fanatic, I live near Fred and the other guys, and I'm helping selling some as their original outlet (Xstreambaits) no longer exists.

 

Plugging though I'm not ashamed of. My article "Centrepins and using them, especially for Barbel fishing" has just been updated. If anyone has anything they could add to the article, either a paragraph or a separate article similar to the 3 other that alrteady exist, please contact me. There's nothing financial about this, it's was just an attempt to get all the info about centrepins that I emailed and wrote on message boards, repeatedly and repetitively, in one place.

 

Only just getting used the AN format :-) but not smiley faces yet

 

thanks

 

paul4

[chavender]

paul ,you'll get used to the format mate ,good to see you on here .

[tincatinca]

Thanks Rusty. There's certainly no sales pitch - I'm not a salesman, nor a "dealer". I'm just a centrepin user, some might say fanatic, I live near Fred and the other guys, and I'm helping selling some as their original outlet (Xstreambaits) no longer exists.

 

Plugging though I'm not ashamed of. My article "Centrepins and using them, especially for Barbel fishing" has just been updated. If anyone has anything they could add to the article, either a paragraph or a separate article similar to the 3 other that alrteady exist, please contact me. There's nothing financial about this, it's was just an attempt to get all the info about centrepins that I emailed and wrote on message boards, repeatedly and repetitively, in one place.

 

Only just getting used the AN format :-) but not smiley faces yet

 

thanks

 

paul

 

Thank you for what is the best write up on centrepins that I have seen. Anyone whether experiencd or not will benefit from reading your article. I can cetainly equate to many of the problems you have experienced and have been given food for thought as to how to rsolve them. Great stuff

[paul4]

Thank you for what is the best write up on centrepins that I have seen. Anyone whether experiencd or not will benefit from reading your article. I can cetainly equate to many of the problems you have experienced and have been given food for thought as to how to rsolve them. Great stuff

 

Thank you

 

paul4

[ayjay]

For my own interest as much as anything else I searched this out, pic taken from Coarse Angler Mag March 1981.

 

It also reminded me how much better fishing magazines were in those days.

 

[Guest tigger]

Thank you for what is the best write up on centrepins that I have seen. Anyone whether experiencd or not will benefit from reading your article. I can cetainly equate to many of the problems you have experienced and have been given food for thought as to how to rsolve them. Great stuff

 

 

 

 

It's funny I was reading that write up the other day and put it on my favourites so I could just pop back and read it again. Great write up, well done paul4.

 

 

paul4 do you have any info on the origional Allcocks match aerial...........what year they where first manufactured and the year they stopped being manufactured ? Also is there any way you can tell what year a reel was made ?

Edited October 31, 2008 by tigger