A depository for information on the history of fishing tackle.

James William Young

James William Young was born in Redditch in 1870. His father William Young joined the firm of Samuel Allcock in 1874 as a tin maker. In addition to making boxes and cans he also made the tin lining for packing cases.

Three months after his arrival he was the company’s principle reel maker. However because of his tinsmith duties he would often come into work at three o’clock in the morning to make the various tins, boxes and other items required of him before starting on the reels.

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In the 1907 catalogue the model 413 had changed sizes to fall in line with the rest of the reel models, as per the list in the first part of this article. This reel was a single action model and in later years would be called the Cascapedia, named after the North American River. This was also the name that Hardy Brothers would use for their ebonite multiplier introduced in the 1930’s. [Read more →]

I recently bought a quantity of reels at Angling Auctions for a friend. He was only interested in two of them and so we came to an agreement regarding the other four. Three were nothing special but one was intriguing.

Called the Expert it was made by the River Company in Gothenburg Sweden, this company was in turn owned by Malte Blohm.

The River Expert Reel

I started to play around with the reel and eventually decided to dismantle it. What I found was amazing and gradually I formed an opinion of how it worked. After cleaning and reassembling the reel I thought it was time to put some line on and try it out. [Read more →]

Some time ago  I wrote a piece about Tunny fishing and Mitchell-Henry. I have continued to research Big Game fishing and in the last eighteen months I have twice come across a reel that intrigued me.

The reel is a size 6/0, 4¼ inches diameter, and capable of holding 600 yards of line. This size is just about big enough to be called a big game reel.

Mitchel- Henry Reel

 
The first time was at the Moor Allen auction last February. I decided to leave a bid on it and check it out fully when I had won the item. [Read more →]

The final event of the year will take place as usual at the Abbey Sports Stadium Redditch on Sunday 22nd November. There will be plenty of table with lots of tackle for sale in a wide range of prices.

For further details of the fair contact John Andrews tel 07980 274 383 or email johnandrews@btinternet.com

This Saturday Mullocks autumn sale will take place at the Clive Pavilion Ludlow racecourse. There will be 800 lots of tackle with many fine and rare examples for those who have deep pockets.

As usual there will be tables traders there for Friday and Saturday. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

For more information follow this link.

Farlow Biliken Reel

Lot 68 a Farlow Biliken reel in fitted wooden case.

The 14th European Tackle Show will take place in Eindhoven Holland on Saturday 31st October with collectors and dealers from all over Europe attending.

I look forward to seeing many old friends and having a drink.

For further information and details click here!

I was so excited when I saw the catalogue that I had to arrange some extra money.

I will be setting out early to take a careful look at 3 items I will hopefully buy.

Here is the link to the online catalogue.

http://www.angling-auctions.co.uk/index.php

This article was written by Ted Evans for The Antique Tackle Observer and I thank him for the update.

The majority of this article was first published in issue 43 of the ‘Antique Tackle Observer’ during 2005, It was later published on the ‘Classic Rod Forum’ for the members of that website. Publication generated a number of queries asking if the article was definitive for the Lightweight / LRH Lightweight, my answer was no – the article sought only to chart the progress of the development of the reel from its introduction up until its final incarnation. This answer prompted the further the query, “ if this isn’t definitive what else is there”?

Hardy Lightweight 1st Model.

The reader is invited to read on and discover the dateline of 1939 does not mean there is a lack of variety, rarity, or interest to be found amongst later reels. We wish to show this is untrue and there is much to learn from – and appreciate in – Hardy’s post war output. [Read more →]

Saturday 11th July will see the summer auction of fishing tackle at Mullocks Auction at the Clive Pavilion Ludlow. This sale is normally characterised by the large quantity of good usable fishing tackle. This time we have some  classic reels with some high price tags to accompany them.

Hardy Bougle 1912 Model

Amongst which is the two Hardy Bougles, one of my favourite Hardy reels which I have had the pleasure of using in the past. 

Another fine reel is the Hardy Houghton in alloy, some people think that the Houghton was first sold as a brass faced 2 5/8 inch model only but this reel was originally all brass and later models being alloy. It’s the size which dictates the Houghton- 2 5/8 inch.

Hardy Houghton Reel.

 For further information and to view the online catalogue click here.