Where does older tackle rank ?

[Angrybear]

With more than a little inspiration from the 525 mag2/4 threads, and as a returning oldie with little main tackle less than 15-20 years old I thought I had to ask the question, How much can still 'cut it' or is most of it way outclassed ?
I'd assumed my Kompressor's (2x lite, 1x sport) to still be up at the top, while my Moonrakers (MR-X/Z S130M's) might still be better than many newer offerings, (I expect the Conoflex Cod 6 is a bit past it now) paired up with 1st gen 6500 C3 CT mag elites, or original 525 mag's.
or a Normark 'Ed Schliffke rock hopper' 11' bass plugger, not sure that's been out more than once.

Or is it that simple home truth, that if a bamboo & bent pin works then it's good enough !

 

[Trampster]

Or is it that simple home truth, that if a bamboo & bent pin works then it's good enough !

That is an interesting point. I subscribe to the idea that if you've got a rod & reel that will put a bait where you want it, then that's good enough. Quality bait and presentation I've been told is the most important thing.

For shore/bait fishing, I've got 4 rods. Because I don't, and now can't fish often, I don't subscribe to the idea of buying expensive gear like Zziplex, Conoflex, Century etc.

Father bought me a 12ft Edgar Sealy glass fibre beachcaster 50 years ago - I've still got it and keep threatening to strip it & refurbish it - it might happen one day, but I doubt I'll get around to it whilst I've got other rods to use.

I bought a new 12ft beach rod from a shop in West bay about 25 years ago - the guy in the shop said I could have a new reel with it for another £10, so I agreed. Reel is a level wind multiplier, so showed the extent of his knowledge!

Decided to buy myself a new rod in 2018, and wangled a 15ft Vertix conti beachcaster from a store on eBay for the bargain price of £57 - RRP was £299, but Grauvell had gone bust and they were selling off old stock by auction. I've also now got another similar rod from one of the guys on here that suffered a mishap. The tip dug in the shingle and the top 6ins snapped off. A bit of Carbon fibre tube and some epoxy and it's as good as new.

The only other new rod I've ever bought was an Abu Garcia Tormentor lure rod 3 years ago. Pleased as punch with that at under £40.

I can't justify spending much on Tackle, and nearly all of my reels I have I've bought 2nd hand from eBay or Gumtree.
I can't get on with multipliers, and when offered a once used Penn Surfblaster II for £30, that will do me!

 

[Mike hemming]

I have rods that are 20plus years old and they do a perfect job and to be honest I don’t think there’s anything on the market to replace them, I have two Abu 6500 that must be 30 years old and they cast a dream and again nothing on the market that’s better than them, as the old saying goes buy cheap buy twice, I have a old diawa beach caster 12”6 and it’s beautiful it’s a bit soft compared to modern rods but it’s still more than capable of decent casting distance

 

[Shirleycodlin]

The newest beach casters I own are a pair of zziplex primo synchro's.
I think I bought them in 2012.
The newest reels I use are penn fathom 12s which were bought pretty much as soon as they were released.
Most of my other gear is getting on for 20 years old.
Some 30+ and some older still.
All joking aside, I still catch my fair share of fish.
Tackle is tackle.
If it was quality when purchased, it's still quality now.
It's watercraft that counts.

The truth is, watercraft doesn't make tackle companies money.
The "latest" fad does.

 

[stan m]

Watercraft and some experience is vastly more important than expensive "the latest must haves" If the rods caught fish 30 years ago they will still catch them today, evolution aint changed the fish in 30 years. Obvious example would be the fly fishing twats who "must have" the latest super dooper fly rod costing £1200 (cost to manufacturer normally vastly less even allowing for R & D) One I know for a fact, super dooper yankee fly rod, £1100. From trade price list if taken in batches of 50, $82.00 per rod.

Couple on here do it I know and good luck to them, collecting the must haves and owning dozens of rods is a hobby in itself (some might say illness). My boat rod, only one, is 30 year old Conoflex, will still handle porbeagle, big butts, common skate etc (just me that can`t) One single salmon fly rod on a Bloke blank, retail would have been around £350.00 Single trout type fly rod, 10ft, 6/7# also on a Bloke blank, at least 25 years old and has landed 3 world records.

At the end of the day the fish only see the flashy bit at the end and if you can`t cast then a flashy super rod aint helping, lessons might.

Got a pike rod and a waggler rod, pike is a Daiwa, about 20 years old and waggler is a Shakespeare. Got a half built spinner I started before covid on a second hand blank from fleabay, (Carbotec).

Nothing wrong with old tackle unless of course you are a tart, whether you can fish or not is another matter.

(frightened to mention it, I`ve also got a telescopic I use for bait fishing in FV)

I could have been a tart and had loads of rods I never use but not that daft

Part of the stock in workshop before retiring

 

[The Third Earl]

In have a good selection of older rods, my oldest beach rod is an Abu 484, the original not the gen 2, it has a chromed brass screw lock ferrule, and a thick cork butt , it will cast as far as I ever need to put a bait and has accounted for any number of fish, including Bass to about 7 lbs or so , is it up to the job ? Of course it is ! I use a vintage Mitchell Surf fixed spool with it , looks like a vintage setup.. It is a vintage setup but in real terms performs for me as well as any carbon rod would do.

I also have a SIlstar Travers X Tournement Beach rod, rebuilt several times and you would not recognise it as what it is. A friend who is a very accomplished caster loves it , says it performs like a Zippy ! I would not know that but yes, it catches fish . I use an original Penn 525 multi with it , no mags, just blocks and heavy oil,

Moving on, I also have an original Afaw Tourney Match , and an original Afaw Tourney rock, they seem a bit heavy compared to other similar rods, but work as they should do , no magic about them but they are more modern that the first two. I use Shimmy Ultegra 1400 XSD fixed spools with them and they cast well enough and have enough backbone to put a bait further than the first two if needed.

Lastly I have a couple of Conti Rods, one a Vercelli Spyra Nero , and the other a cheaper Sunset . I must admit I do turn to them for standard beach work as they are very light and a pleasure to use with the ULtegras.

I also have a half dozen or so various beach rods of different types that I picked up for my sons or grandchildren to use which do get occasional outings .They are coupled with some cheaper fixed spools which work well enough for winding in Flatties, Doggies and Whitings .

I also have some Slosh 20/30’s, a couple of Abu 7000’s, a few Abu 6500 CT multis that I converted myself years and years ago , amd a couple of Original USA Penn 535”s for rock work,everything gets strapped to one of the above rods depending what mood I am in .


In all not much of the above is very new, or very desireable, but the essence of what I am saying is that they all work !

If I was returning to sea fishing I would just go with the gear I have, get the feel for it all over again, and enjoy myself. The beach these days is getting like the fresh water Carpers, must haves in every aspect of rods, reels, tripods etc. If ypu want to follow the herd that is fine, but at least give yourself time to sort out what works for you and what doesnt . Hundreds of anglers must have spent thousands of pounds on new gear they either cannot get the best out of, or plainly do not need.

Good luck .

Dave

 

[Casker]

I might be keeping a list of the vintage gear this thread is revealing as I know of a "vintage shop" that has a good turn-over of used fishing gear !

 

[Mike]

You'd be surprised at how few new rods and reels are actually sold in the trade in the beach and boat sector. Lure has gone a bit like carp, in that everybody wants something new every other day. But shore/boat is pretty stable, which tells a story that not many people are replacing older tackle and that it is perfectly fine for the job.

If I ever went back into retail, I wouldn't even bother with rods and reels, I'd just sell terminal tackle, line, luggage etc.

The match guys spend and replace, but they also sell a lot as well to fund it, which is why there are bargains to be had in the for sale sections on forums and groups on FB.

My current rods are the Tronixpro Competition Blackouts. If I didn't work in the trade, I'd probably still be fishing with the two Zziplex NG1s that my dad gave me when I was 14. Alloy butts n'all, they still get a wiggle now and again!

A good friend of mine is an excellent coarse match angler and if he wasn't sponsored (pretty much every decent coarse match angler is) he's openly admitted to me, he'd still be fishing with his Microlites and Carbotecs!

I bought a Hardy Prefect Stillwater when I was 15, one of the last ones that were made in Alnwick, and I fish with it every season alongside a Cadence CSM 10ft 5wt. The Perfect is still a sublime piece of kit 26 years later.

Naturally, materials change, actions change, manufacturing processes change and things do get lighter and crisper - it won't result in more fish though.

 

[Ollieollie]

Very rare i buy a rod new! I don’t own anything mega expensive

 

[Mushty]

I have a century formula tip tornado I bought new around 1994? So 30yrs old it’s my go to Bass surf rod …I love it and it will put a 4oz weight and 2 big worm baits 100yds easily.
The trick is having a tidy rig and knowing where to put it!

 

[Topwater]

It's the last bit of any tackle that does the catching

 

[Angrybear]

Very encouraging to hear people aren't all tackle tarts, guess I'm lucky that while in the RAF I had the cash to buy some quality tackle that I never sold, same with boats my favourite rod is a 'blue' Penn Tidecutter 12-20, or conoflex Patriot 50 IGFA for big stuff, with a conoflex Vampire 2 uptide (built by Alba rods), but I've also got a lot of Normark Blue fox kit probably deemed a bit thick & clumsy by some of the ultra thin stuff I saw in a shop recently, Reels Charter specials, TLD20, 7000's, & 535's oh & a 6001 lefty that I love on a 6lb Ron Thompson 1 piece. but again all of it's 15+ years old

 

[Topwater]

The fish don't know or care. Quality tackle lasts. Stan M on here built that uptider

 

[Shirleycodlin]

Wonder how old my zziplex 2500ptx rods are. When did they cease to be made?
My F1s have got to be 20 years old now!

 

[Mr Fish]

I rarely buy new rods and most of my beachcasters are probably 10-20 years old, but I consider them fairly ‘modern’ rods in terms of decent tip, bite detection, finish etc etc.

I’ve got some older stuff like a Moonraker and I find it very clunky in comparison.
It does seem to me there was a line somewhere where rods generally went from making do with what was there to fairly nice to fish with. Reels too, to an extent.
That said 30 years ago I wasn’t able to buy high end stuff and what I did get had to fit the budget, new or second hand.

Also agree that watercraft, as a term to cover all the variables such as where, when, tides, conditions, bait, is far far more important than what rod you’ve got.
But I do find my ‘semi modern’ stuff is far nicer to fish with than the clunky old stuff I still own.

 

[Trampster]

I rarely buy new rods and most of my beachcasters are probably 10-20 years old, but I consider them fairly ‘modern’ rods in terms of decent tip, bite detection, finish etc etc.

I’ve got some older stuff like a Moonraker and I find it very clunky in comparison.
It does seem to me there was a line somewhere where rods generally went from making do with what was there to fairly nice to fish with. Reels too, to an extent.
That said 30 years ago I wasn’t able to buy high end stuff and what I did get had to fit the budget, new or second hand.

Also agree that watercraft, as a term to cover all the variables such as where, when, tides, conditions, bait, is far far more important than what rod you’ve got.
But I do find my ‘semi modern’ stuff is far nicer to fish with than the clunky old stuff I still own.

Agree. In a moment of madness, I bought a Mitchell 15ft Surf rod 2nd hand around the start of lockdown. Didn't take me long to regret it. The butt was about 45mm in diameter and whilst the tip wasn't bad, it was like fishing with a telegraph pole. Took a while but I've sold it on again now.

 

[Beach]

That is an interesting point. I subscribe to the idea that if you've got a rod & reel that will put a bait where you want it, then that's good enough. Quality bait and presentation I've been told is the most important thing.

For shore/bait fishing, I've got 4 rods. Because I don't, and now can't fish often, I don't subscribe to the idea of buying expensive gear like Zziplex, Conoflex, Century etc.

Father bought me a 12ft Edgar Sealy glass fibre beachcaster 50 years ago - I've still got it and keep threatening to strip it & refurbish it - it might happen one day, but I doubt I'll get around to it whilst I've got other rods to use.

I bought a new 12ft beach rod from a shop in West bay about 25 years ago - the guy in the shop said I could have a new reel with it for another £10, so I agreed. Reel is a level wind multiplier, so showed the extent of his knowledge!

Decided to buy myself a new rod in 2018, and wangled a 15ft Vertix conti beachcaster from a store on eBay for the bargain price of £57 - RRP was £299, but Grauvell had gone bust and they were selling off old stock by auction. I've also now got another similar rod from one of the guys on here that suffered a mishap. The tip dug in the shingle and the top 6ins snapped off. A bit of Carbon fibre tube and some epoxy and it's as good as new.

The only other new rod I've ever bought was an Abu Garcia Tormentor lure rod 3 years ago. Pleased as punch with that at under £40.

I can't justify spending much on Tackle, and nearly all of my reels I have I've bought 2nd hand from eBay or Gumtree.
I can't get on with multipliers, and when offered a once used Penn Surfblaster II for £30, that will do me!

I brought a couple of TFGear 11ft 2-5oz and a couple of 6500 size multies 1 with a level wind and 1 without as the supplier was going over to carp stuff. More than happy with the rods and performance of my kit, caught loads of fish with them. Also have a couple of Abu 9ft speed lock rods up to 2oz matched to the 5000 reels. I also found in the cupboard a 1970's (I think) Intrepid Pirate Multi, still casts just fine with new mono 18lb and a 6ft - 8ft trace the reel is like new.

Update: Just found an abu Atlantic 464 in the back of the shed, also a couple of Abu Zoom rods with speed lock handles 1 casts up to 2oz the other around 1.5 oz. they still have the wire eyes etc.

 

[wingnut55]

I have the original reel i started fishing with, Mitchel Garcia 600, reel is in mint condition and 60 years old now.

Ian.

 

[Trampster]

Whilst I don't need any more rods, another Vertix 4.5 metre rod has just popped up for sale at an excellent price.
Seller doesn't want to post it. Just looked on Parcel2go at the postage costs - £38.00 - twice the price of the rod.
Won't be having that one then.

 

[tdxs133pm]

another Vertix 4.5 metre rod has just popped up for sale at an excellent price.

£17.50 is a good price.Looks in good nick.