Normark rod upgrade.

[john step]

I have just had the sliding reel fittings replaced on an old but favourite Normark. 12 foot match rod. It has a light action but recently the reel fittings have driven me nuts.

To say the service was speedy andn efficient is an understatement.
Phones Thursday. Took it in Friday. Picked it back up Saturday as he had a cancellation and did it overnight for me. A very reasonable price too.
Anyone living within driving distance of Grimsby and doesnt want to trust the post may care to bear this man in mind.

He does whippings, new rings, handles and mends poles. Worth making a note of his number.

Ron Wright, 077918633226

 

[Ray Roberts]

I did this a good few years ago to a couple of old favourites. It used to get right on my wick when reel became loose. I took a spool of insulation tape with me and taped the rings for a while but fitting decent seats kept the rods usable for a few years. I still use the sawn down butt of one to put new line on reels. It saves whacking the ceiling fan, lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[108831]

I had two rods done by John Hutchinson some years ago now,a Silstar heavy feeder rod which I also had low bells and bigger diameter rings as I used it for barbel fishing,long ago sold now,the other a tri-cast feeder rod I bought from the original small shop Les Crawley opened up in Park Street,Luton,before moving across and further down the road,the rod is a lovely chub rod,but it reel fittings were a constant pain,John did similar to this rod and it is now a pleasure to use...

 

[mikench]

It looks a very good job Pete. I contemplated having this done to a couple of Amorphous whisker rods but in truth the reel is rock solid and I like the old fashioned look and feel so didn't bother.

 

[108831]

I must say Mike,I just prefer the more modern fittings,not only that people are forced to put their reels in the right place.

 

[mikench]

I think I do too Alan but those on the Daiwa rods function in a perfectly acceptable manner and, as I only use them occasionally, i prefer to keep them original and thus the rods remain authentic.

 

[Keith M]

The sliding reel fittings are fine on my older Diawa Amorphous Whisker float rods and never cause reels to loosen their grip at all, plus when I’m using a pin I with them I do prefer to be able to change the reel position if it’s needed in certain conditions; and having these fittings on these rods is a good thing for me.

However on two of my older 11ft Avon’s which have sliding reel fittings I’ve had the reels fall off several times in the past, often when playing a fish; so now I use some bycycle inner tube to stop the reels falling off; and this works fine; but if I used these rods more often I wouldn’t mind getting these converted.

That reel fitting conversion looks great John.

Keith

 

[Steve King]

Thread revival alert!

One of my favourite float rods is a 13’ Normark match rod ( I’ve forgotten the model, but I think it’s a Titan), It is at least third hand!

At some point in its life, the reel fittings were changed to Roberts Reelfits. These work surprisingly well and hold the Abu 505 I often pair it with very securely.

 

[john step]

I have another Normark and like you Steve I do not know the model. I do know it was from the first batch of blanks that were used by various small time rod builders. Eventually after decades of use the top joint became worn and loose.

Anyway, Some years ago I bought what I thought in my naivety was a match rod replacement. It was a Daiwa SR something or other and after some outings it became obvious that although it said "match" on the label it was far more pokey.
Its now my go to tench float rod.

This was before I had the dosh to contemplate an Acy. I read somewhere about coating male ferrules and did so with black polyurethane paint.
Result a perfectly useable 13 foot light action match rod again.

Its not as slim as my modern Acys but its a good robust rod to use when fishing some hard banks when I dont want to run the risk of bashing a £200 rod.

 

[Steve King]

I have a North Western Carbon Kevlar 11’ rod that is my favourite barbel rod for smallish rivers like the Kennet and the Teme. Unfortunately I broke the tip twice! The only option was to replace the tip.

I found a complete rod on eBay and the top section was very a loose fit on the original rod. The replacement rod from eBay had sliding reel fittings whereas my original rod has a Fuji screw fitting.

I used superglue to build up the male ferrule and then gave it a gentle sanding. It works fine to this day!