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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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Cane’d on the Wye and a juicy plum!

13 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by The tuesday swim in Barbel

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Tags

410, allcocks, barbel, cane, carp, fishing, mitchell, pellets, reel, river, rod, split, superb, wye

Sometimes the summer slips by too soon or just never seems to really heat up, this year it seems to be a case of both. So when a fellow piscator friend of mine invited me for three days on the Wye, I grabbed the opportunity for a late summer session.

I’m lucky, as the spot on the Wye near Hereford belongs to my friend’s parents. I spent a week there last year so I knew what to expect and more importantly I knew this stretch of the Wye.

A Georgian house sits one hundred meters back from the river, where a large sloping garden meanders down through an orchard and then through some over-grown shrubbery to the river bank. This makes fishing very comfortable, a cast or two for a few hours then back up to the house for diner, a glass of wine (or two) and then returning to the river, grabbing a few plums along the way and back to our quarry, barbel.

My approach to fishing is simple, anything held in the hand is traditional  the rest i.e the terminal end is completely modern, for me it makes sense.

Rods were held high using very long bank sticks, bites are so severe that the bend in the rod or a ‘churner’ from the reel is enough to tell you a fish is hooked, at night Starlites were attached to the rod tip. No bite alarms, simple.

Traditionalist look away now! The terminal end consists of PVA bags, hair rigs, pellets, boillies, braided hook links and chemically edged wide gape hooks when presenting a bait. The general technique on the Wye was to use two small 8mm pellets, hair rigged with a PVA mesh bag attached containing 4mm pellets, this was cast out on most occasions.

Traditionalist, you can look back now!

Rod and reel consisted of an Allcocks Carp Superb and a Mitchel 410. Cane rods fit well in a natural environment and performs just how I need them to, soft on the strike but as the cane loads with pressure it comes to a stop and then becomes a powerful tool to land bigger fish, this is certainly true on the Wye and the barbel.

Fishing for three days undisturbed, allows you to approach the whole experience in a different light, as you have time on your side.

Firstly, building up a swim can be done methodically adding ground bait in certain areas, resting them for half a day. The theory is that smaller fish arrive instantly and hoover up the smaller ‘cloud’ of ground bait, the activlty from the smaller fish attract the larger fish which move in and start feeding on the bigger offerings in the ground bait mix. At this point after allowing the swim to ‘rest’ another bombardment of ground bait is delivered along with a hook bait. This baiting technique leaves the barbel competing for food and then it’s just a case of waiting…

Also, a three day session can allow you to really get to know the river as the day progresses, observing patterns with the fauna, a peregrine hovers at dusk over the opposite bank for small mammals or possibly a chance sighting of a fish. Salmon were leaping at night although at times it was hard to distinguish between salmon or a carp, either way the splashes created were immense. On one occasion we saw a salmon leap in the late afternoon, it’s silver and pink flanks defining it’s status.Understanding the feeding patterns of the barbel was our priority and it seemed on this trip the evenings were most productive. At night we had some success with the barbel but generally it did tail off and the chub moved in. Fishing during the day was slower but still resulted in a few barbel including one I had on the last morning, I had a hunch to get up and have a final go and literally on the last cast caught a lovely seven pound specimen, a nice ending to the trip.

Three days resulted in some great fish all in pristine condition and all hard fighting, no rods were lost although it was close on a few occasions. The Wye is a great river to fish, in summer it generally glides past but as the autumn rains start it can quickly become quite a brown torrent of fast flowing water, my return to the Wye will hopefully be in October when the river becomes a little more angry…

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