LAST CAST “New wins over old every time”
WITH THE entire angling population housebound of late, it’s no surprise that sheds, garages and spare rooms are getting a tidy-up.
In my case, this job is long overdue. Some corners of the shed have reached the standard that Channel 5 documentary makers dream of.
Once you get over the initial feeling of dread, it’s quite enjoyable finding ancient gear and random surprises. Anglers are sentimental creatures, and along with old rods and tangled rigs, memories come back.
Looking at my own collection, for every gem there is something that makes you marvel at how crude fishing gear was.Aside from the nostalgic value of old tackle, part of you wonders how the hell we ever caught anything. In my case there’s an ancient fibreglass whip, along with a reel that sounds so much like a coffee grinder they could have called it the Barista. It wasn’t much smoother in 1985, to be fair, when its mechanical croak only added to the excitement when my dad hooked anything big enough to trouble it. You were probably more likely to end up with a cappuccino than a barbel in the net!
Every other angler’s garage will have a cane rod stowed away somewhere, either for sentimental reasons, or because we fancy it’ll be worth a fortune on eBay in the year 2035.
I wonder if we would be better off consigning these antiques to the wall of a pub, then, or is there still any value in using retro fishing gear? The surprising truth is that a quite large numbers of traditional anglers still insist on using cane, in particular. I am not one of them.
I have tried to love retro rods and reels. Friends who use them tend to be those with a refreshingly laid-back, romantic attitude to life. But along with the cherished memories, ancient rods and reels also remind me of how clumsy and plagued with tangles the angling of my childhood was.
There’s a damn good reason rods are no longer made of fibreglass or cane. They performed pretty badly in comparison to carbon. Cane is a point in case and yes, I’ve tried it several times. As with ancient sports cars, enthusiasts will tell you that they just don’t make ‘em like that any more. I agree. They’re elegant and beautifully crafted. They also heave over pleasantly when you hook a fish but boy, is cane heavy and sloppy! Similarly with reels from this era, I’ve seen plates of spaghetti with better line lay.
Will I ever go fishing again with my first fibreglass pole or Dad’s noisy reel? Who knows?
While you couldn’t give them away, they’re infused with too much fondness for me to get rid of. I want my tackle to be a help, not a handicap so I’ll be sticking to 21st Century carbon.
“Large numbers of traditional anglers still insist on using cane”