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Tag Archives: classic

Don’t dismiss them carp!

08 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by The tuesday swim in Carp, General

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Tags

55, cardinal, carp, catchers, chris, classic, climbers, hunters, kevin, maddocks, magazine, mohan, monkey, old, peter, school, society, wildie, yates

It’s easy to do when the current carp scene is so unappealing, all good things come to an end? Well not really they just get displaced and a little harder to find, just like special carp waters. When I started to get serious about fishing I got caught by the carp bug, this was just about the same time you could buy a shelf-life pack of boilies, and monkey climbers were all the rage. In truth my success was moderate but I did fish quite difficult waters, (commercial fisheries had yet to plague the country) and I did catch some good carp. Once I came within quarter of a pound of breaking the carp record set in 1952 for Haywards Heath and District Angling Society, if I had broken the record I would have kept it quiet, but that is another story.

Sadly carp fishing is now dismissed by many anglers because of the ugly commercial side, the ‘purists’ turn their noses up and instead talk of the benefits of catching roach, perch, chub and crucians which is all very good, but it is easy to over-look what is still one of the most powerful and magical fish in the British Isles, the common and mirror carp. Puffed up footballs bursting with halibut pellets is not what I am talking about, more the longer, leaner specimens that still swim in mill ponds, lost souls that lurk in canals and rivers or the occasional ‘wildie’ that can still be found all over England and Wales.

So why am I harping on about carping in the middle of winter? Well while I was defrosting from a pike trip the other day I was drawn to my old 1980’s copies of Carp Catcher magazine,  to help aid the thawing process. Articles range from interviews with the old establishment such as ‘BB,’ to new ideas discussed like the hair rig from Kevin Maddocks.  Carp Catcher always had a pioneering spirit that set a  precedent in carp fishing but in a way it was also feeding the end of a magical time,  the modern carp scene was gaining popularity and the mystery was being made more transparent and accessible to lazy fishermen.

Those who contributed to Carp Catcher went on to create some of the biggest tackle manufacturers today but equally many did it purely for the love in a manner that was personal and relatively discrete. The editorial content was honest with a real sense of  problem solving and watercraft, rather than re-inventing the invented that is now all too apparent in todays angling publications. A more recent read that I have acquired is Carp Hunters a book produced by the Carp Society which has contributions from Julian Cundiff, Jim Gibbinson,  Andy Little, Ritchie McDonald, Tim Paisley and Chris Yates, again this captures a real spirit of carp fishing from anglers who approached their fishing in an individual manner. It may be this individuality that made this era such fun to follow? Although many consider the Walker years to be the golden age of carp fishing, I love to read about this latter period simply because I remember it and feel in some way part of that wonderful time in fishing when I was as a teenager and dreamt of owning matching rods and Cardinal 55’s.

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Reading these articles again has prematurely ignited a yearning to carp fish, normally this arrives in late spring when the waters warm and the carp appear for another season. So  until the sun burns longer I will have to sit on my hands and wait and dream about a place where wildies reside not so far from London and some lonely spots on the Lea. When I eventually make it out with my carp rod there will be no bivvies in sight and it will be personal, I will use the simplest of tackle and possibly I shall write the odd post here on TTS but often not, sometimes just a snap on my phone and a memory. Carp fishing never really changes.

 

Cult carp reels.

22 Thursday May 2014

Posted by The tuesday swim in Tackle

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

300, 66, abu, altex, cardinal, carp, classic, Cult, daiwa, Hardy, mitchell, reels, ss1600, ss2600

I think its time for a bit of tackle talk, its been a while and I quite enjoy it…

I’m constantly chopping and changing when it comes to my general carp set up, the rods stay pretty much the same, for jungle warfare I use my B James IV with six inches missing off the top (possibly my favourite rod), general carp fishing a standard B James Mark IV full length, and for slightly heaver fish or snaggy swims my Allcocks Carp Superb with its longer handle, this rod has a little more back bone in the butt although it sports a Mark IV taper.

When it comes to reels though I can never make my mind up. For margin work I always use a Speedia Wide drum with 12lbs line or an Allcocks C815 for lighter lines, say 8-10lbs. But when it comes to fixed spool reels I keep using different models and find they are not quite right for one reason or another. I have the problem that my basement is fast becoming a museum for old fishing tackle, I’m a user not a collector so I am trying to sell the ‘deadwood’ and use the ‘keepers’. Letting go of the ‘deadwood’ can be a hard process but I generally have never regretted selling any old tackle especially if it under performs.

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For a fixed spool reel you need something that pairs well with a cane rod (my rod material of choice), call me a bit of a tackle tart but it needs to look right and feel well balanced. The obvious choice is the Mitchell 300 but that scratchy clutch, no line roller, and general coffee grinder mechanics can leave you with a heart-in-the-mouth moment when a larger fish takes flight. The Hardy Altex has a beautiful smooth clutch and casts very well but I don’t trust that bail arm, maybe its because my particular example has let me down in the past, I keep thinking its going to let go just at a critical point.

So where do we go from here? I want a good retrieve, good size spool, excellent clutch, decent size handle, quality engineering, overall reliability and finally something that sits well on a cane rod. I think the answer comes from Sweden.

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Finally after some trial and error I have found my reel of choice for carp or indeed pike and barbel fishing, the Abu Cardinal 66. The clutch is so well set up that I can use it as a Baitrunner, slackening off the clutch and then with a quick twist engage the reel into a fighting fish mode. The engineering is superb with a metal spool, roller on the bail arm, ultra smooth gears, decent sized handle, tight springs on the bail arm that slam it shut with a clunk, its the right weight, and overall it is the right size, not too large or too small. The green and cream is a good looking reel that sit well on a cane rod, only draw back, getting spare spools, anyone?

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Looking forward I have a plan for the ultimate rod and reel set-up. I would stay with the Mark IV cane option but place something completely modern on it, a reel that showcases the best of new technology but already holds some form of cult status. I still want to experience the qualities of split cane but combine it with high octane engineering incorporating quality clutch control and line lay. The analogy could be that of placing a modern tuned and reliable engine with efficient brakes and cram it into a classic car. The reel I’m thinking of is the Daiwa SS2600 Tournament or its little brother the SS1600. Will it look strange? Possibly, but not as strange as the looks in the tackle shop when I rock up with a Mark IV and ask to place a SS2600 Tournament on it! Personally I can see this working, it could be a joyous set-up to use. Ok, tackle talk over and out.

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