Thomas Turner
Trade Member
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2017
- Messages
- 15,495
- Reaction score
- 81
OLD SCHOOL
Maybe it’s due to my early fascination with canal fishing that I don’t like being cluttered up with loads of gear, wherever I fish. I’ve used seat boxes with drawers and trays for as far back as I can remember, preferring having all my essential terminal tackle close to hand. The Fox bait table next to me has seen several decades worth of hard use, although I do have a clamp on side tray for rare occasions where it can’t cope with the terrain. I normally park my carryall behind my seat box, so it’s easy to get at spare catapults, bait boxes, a flask, or anything else I keep in it. Other than that, I don’t tend to have loads of accessories festooning my fishing position. I like having room to operate in.
NEW SOLUTIONS
This is a mate’s amazing fishing station, brilliant for positioning out in shallow margins, an area where my basic seat box and footplate struggles in comparison. This is a huge midlands reservoir, similar in appearance to the big Irish Loughs I used to love fishing over a decade ago. I tackled those with an old aluminium platform, which is a bit rickety and dated now. Instead of sitting on a box when attacking big waters, I often stood in waders and used my platform like a giant bait table. The latter has extra-long legs fitted and has served me well enough. I still bring it into play occasionally.
WORKS OF ART
At a recent valuation day with Thomas Turner, I noted fishing floats are now collectable items. I couldn’t resist buying these big bodied wagglers, while getting some bait in the middle of nowhere over in the Emerald Isle. It was more like a cowshed than a tackle shop, with trays of maggots and casters strewn all over the floor. I noticed some dusty old packets of hooks and a couple of buckets displaying these wonderfully camouflaged floats. They’re still in my tackle box and have been used many times. They are superbly hand crafted by someone who knew what they were doing.
A MODERN CLASSIC
Having owned and worked in tackle shops over many years, every now and then something special turns up that I add to my fishing kit. This Trev Tomlin Whopper Dropper catapult is one such item and to its credit, I still use it in combination with my big bodied waggler and slider floats. I don’t think any modern groundbait catapults have surpassed this design, with its sturdy frame, wide gape prongs and the inset plastic cup in the pouch. It’s brilliant when you want to feed soft balls of groundbait, which break up and cloud the water when float fishing shallow still waters at long range. The only thing that’s changed is the once red elastics have now been replaced with green ones.
TRADITIONAL STUFF
It might take a long time for some of my favourite tackle, such as seat boxes, bait tables, wagglers and catapults to become collectables, but quite a few of the rods I’ve used during my angling career are now much sought after. A Hardy Match Maker was the first fibreglass float rod I remember using and I spotted one in their museum up in Alnwick. I then moved onto a Shakespeare International model, before Normark and carbon changed everything. That was followed by some iconic Drennan and Daiwa float and feeder rods. Trotting rivers is probably the most traditional way of fishing, something I love to do, as seen here running a stick float through on the tidal River Trent.
PROPER INNOVATION
This Shimano Baitrunner is from the first batch ever released. It was given to me during the big launch at the Belfry Golf Club in 1987. It was a major game changer for many, particularly carp anglers, who eagerly embraced the free spool concept. That feature also worked well for early method feeder fishing, although my reel has been more versatile than that. I’ve used it for pike, light sea and heavy feeder fishing. It’s a bit battered now but still runs as smoothly as ever. Rumour has it that early Bait Runners were superior. Could these be the next collectables in antique reels?
NEW WAYS
Trends in angling change all the time and a big new way of fishing is to travel light with a drop shot lure rod, something I see going on quite a lot around the fens and the Fossdyke Canal in my part of the world. Apart from covering many miles of countryside, this roaming approach is ideal for tackling waterways in busy city centres, where trying to park a seat box and fish with a long pole would be virtually impossible. Many short drop shot rods are featherweight and look great. Anglers using them catch some whopping perch and zander. Collector’s items? Not yet but maybe one day.
HIGH PERFORMANCE
The latest major selling point for coarse fishing rods is higher performance. Angers are casting a lot further with float and feeder tackle. Drennan Acolytes are popular with float anglers because they are incredibly light, especially at longer lengths. They look good too, slightly oldy worldly in my opinion and could become collector’s items eventually. Daiwa currently top the long-range feeder fishing field with their super powerful SLR quivertip rods. We used to think that 60 metres was a long way to chuck a feeder, but with modern window and rocket designs, you can add 50% more to that.
THE CARBON FACTOR
Cane and fibreglass rods might still be cherished by many, but for me fishing has been made a more pleasurable experience since carbon came along. I’ve witnessed how this material performs on force testing equipment in the big factories that produce it. Not that I need any extra proof regarding its superior performance. Bonus fish like this torpedo of a carp, taken on light silver fish tackle, take less long to land than in the old days using fibreglass. I remember an epic battle with an old glass float rod, taking nearly three hours to land a double figure river carp. This beauty only took 15 minutes on a modern high modulus 13ft float model, which casts more crisply and has much better feel factor.
NOT BINNING IT
Some cherished fishing gear is hard to get rid of, even when broken. This iconic green handled fibreglass Shakespeare landing net handle eventually got trashed by a bankside walker, but I rescued the butt part, turning it into a quivertip storage tube. I have quite a few old items of fishing tackle still knocking around. Some very early floats I made for shallow stream fishing when I was a kid. An old pair of Styl pincers, which I now use to nip modern Stotz weights onto line. Some gear sadly didn’t make it though, like my cherished Ryobi Mastermatch reels, which eventually fell to pieces.
COMPETITION FISHING
Match fishing shaped me into the angler I am today. After progressing through the flourishing club scene in London back in the sixties and early seventies, I tried my first Open. I got battered by the local expert on a River Lea event, but the experience changed me forever. The winner showed me what to do afterwards and I will never forget that kindness. A few years later I was fishing alongside the likes of Bob Nudd and Wayne Swinscoe with Essex County, even fishing in the company of greats like Ivan Marks and Kevin Ashurst. I still get a big buzz, even on my local club sweepstakes.
THE PERFECT CAST
I do have a laugh on some of my local venues, seeing the latest shenanigans with spods, bait boats, even solar panels to charge up sonar and other electronic devices. Fair play to those who want to take their fishing that seriously, because in some ways I have probably been just as bad. I spent years learning to cast a waggler tight against far bank cover on canals and rivers, brushing the overhanging leaves as the tackle landed, trying to entice bites from super shy chub and other big fish. I almost knew a bite was coming when the end tackle landed in the right spot. There will always be that extra cast of the day, searching for perfection with the best tackle I can find for the job in hand.
The post TACKLE THAT SHAPES YOU appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...
Maybe it’s due to my early fascination with canal fishing that I don’t like being cluttered up with loads of gear, wherever I fish. I’ve used seat boxes with drawers and trays for as far back as I can remember, preferring having all my essential terminal tackle close to hand. The Fox bait table next to me has seen several decades worth of hard use, although I do have a clamp on side tray for rare occasions where it can’t cope with the terrain. I normally park my carryall behind my seat box, so it’s easy to get at spare catapults, bait boxes, a flask, or anything else I keep in it. Other than that, I don’t tend to have loads of accessories festooning my fishing position. I like having room to operate in.
NEW SOLUTIONS
This is a mate’s amazing fishing station, brilliant for positioning out in shallow margins, an area where my basic seat box and footplate struggles in comparison. This is a huge midlands reservoir, similar in appearance to the big Irish Loughs I used to love fishing over a decade ago. I tackled those with an old aluminium platform, which is a bit rickety and dated now. Instead of sitting on a box when attacking big waters, I often stood in waders and used my platform like a giant bait table. The latter has extra-long legs fitted and has served me well enough. I still bring it into play occasionally.
WORKS OF ART
At a recent valuation day with Thomas Turner, I noted fishing floats are now collectable items. I couldn’t resist buying these big bodied wagglers, while getting some bait in the middle of nowhere over in the Emerald Isle. It was more like a cowshed than a tackle shop, with trays of maggots and casters strewn all over the floor. I noticed some dusty old packets of hooks and a couple of buckets displaying these wonderfully camouflaged floats. They’re still in my tackle box and have been used many times. They are superbly hand crafted by someone who knew what they were doing.
A MODERN CLASSIC
Having owned and worked in tackle shops over many years, every now and then something special turns up that I add to my fishing kit. This Trev Tomlin Whopper Dropper catapult is one such item and to its credit, I still use it in combination with my big bodied waggler and slider floats. I don’t think any modern groundbait catapults have surpassed this design, with its sturdy frame, wide gape prongs and the inset plastic cup in the pouch. It’s brilliant when you want to feed soft balls of groundbait, which break up and cloud the water when float fishing shallow still waters at long range. The only thing that’s changed is the once red elastics have now been replaced with green ones.
TRADITIONAL STUFF
It might take a long time for some of my favourite tackle, such as seat boxes, bait tables, wagglers and catapults to become collectables, but quite a few of the rods I’ve used during my angling career are now much sought after. A Hardy Match Maker was the first fibreglass float rod I remember using and I spotted one in their museum up in Alnwick. I then moved onto a Shakespeare International model, before Normark and carbon changed everything. That was followed by some iconic Drennan and Daiwa float and feeder rods. Trotting rivers is probably the most traditional way of fishing, something I love to do, as seen here running a stick float through on the tidal River Trent.
PROPER INNOVATION
This Shimano Baitrunner is from the first batch ever released. It was given to me during the big launch at the Belfry Golf Club in 1987. It was a major game changer for many, particularly carp anglers, who eagerly embraced the free spool concept. That feature also worked well for early method feeder fishing, although my reel has been more versatile than that. I’ve used it for pike, light sea and heavy feeder fishing. It’s a bit battered now but still runs as smoothly as ever. Rumour has it that early Bait Runners were superior. Could these be the next collectables in antique reels?
NEW WAYS
Trends in angling change all the time and a big new way of fishing is to travel light with a drop shot lure rod, something I see going on quite a lot around the fens and the Fossdyke Canal in my part of the world. Apart from covering many miles of countryside, this roaming approach is ideal for tackling waterways in busy city centres, where trying to park a seat box and fish with a long pole would be virtually impossible. Many short drop shot rods are featherweight and look great. Anglers using them catch some whopping perch and zander. Collector’s items? Not yet but maybe one day.
HIGH PERFORMANCE
The latest major selling point for coarse fishing rods is higher performance. Angers are casting a lot further with float and feeder tackle. Drennan Acolytes are popular with float anglers because they are incredibly light, especially at longer lengths. They look good too, slightly oldy worldly in my opinion and could become collector’s items eventually. Daiwa currently top the long-range feeder fishing field with their super powerful SLR quivertip rods. We used to think that 60 metres was a long way to chuck a feeder, but with modern window and rocket designs, you can add 50% more to that.
THE CARBON FACTOR
Cane and fibreglass rods might still be cherished by many, but for me fishing has been made a more pleasurable experience since carbon came along. I’ve witnessed how this material performs on force testing equipment in the big factories that produce it. Not that I need any extra proof regarding its superior performance. Bonus fish like this torpedo of a carp, taken on light silver fish tackle, take less long to land than in the old days using fibreglass. I remember an epic battle with an old glass float rod, taking nearly three hours to land a double figure river carp. This beauty only took 15 minutes on a modern high modulus 13ft float model, which casts more crisply and has much better feel factor.
NOT BINNING IT
Some cherished fishing gear is hard to get rid of, even when broken. This iconic green handled fibreglass Shakespeare landing net handle eventually got trashed by a bankside walker, but I rescued the butt part, turning it into a quivertip storage tube. I have quite a few old items of fishing tackle still knocking around. Some very early floats I made for shallow stream fishing when I was a kid. An old pair of Styl pincers, which I now use to nip modern Stotz weights onto line. Some gear sadly didn’t make it though, like my cherished Ryobi Mastermatch reels, which eventually fell to pieces.
COMPETITION FISHING
Match fishing shaped me into the angler I am today. After progressing through the flourishing club scene in London back in the sixties and early seventies, I tried my first Open. I got battered by the local expert on a River Lea event, but the experience changed me forever. The winner showed me what to do afterwards and I will never forget that kindness. A few years later I was fishing alongside the likes of Bob Nudd and Wayne Swinscoe with Essex County, even fishing in the company of greats like Ivan Marks and Kevin Ashurst. I still get a big buzz, even on my local club sweepstakes.
THE PERFECT CAST
I do have a laugh on some of my local venues, seeing the latest shenanigans with spods, bait boats, even solar panels to charge up sonar and other electronic devices. Fair play to those who want to take their fishing that seriously, because in some ways I have probably been just as bad. I spent years learning to cast a waggler tight against far bank cover on canals and rivers, brushing the overhanging leaves as the tackle landed, trying to entice bites from super shy chub and other big fish. I almost knew a bite was coming when the end tackle landed in the right spot. There will always be that extra cast of the day, searching for perfection with the best tackle I can find for the job in hand.
The post TACKLE THAT SHAPES YOU appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...