Thomas Turner
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THE GREYS FACTOR
During my days as Product Development Manager at Hardy and Greys, apart from the second coming of Marksman Supero rods, I was also involved in a massive launch of Greys Prodigy gear. This included everything from rods and reels, to floats and line. I got all those involved out on the bank for a day, at the Angel of the North Fishery near Newcastle. I’d much rather have new tackle photographed where it’s intended to end up, rather than boring studio catalogue shots over a white background. I needed to test some of the products anyway. The new Marksmans were just hitting the tackle shops. It was refreshing to get out of the office, after many months of intense meetings and long-haul trips to factories all over the globe. A day by the water soon flushes everything like that out of your system, especially when its rounded off by catching some decent fish.
Gareth Goldson
WINNING CUPS
I had an ace up my sleeve when Gareth Goldson joined the Hardy and Greys Academies. Having an angler of his calibre around was invaluable to me when it came to testing new tackle, whichever stable it was from. Gareth won the Drennan Cup and the Specimen Angler of the year trophies. Here he is seen with one of the first Greys Tackle Base Boxes, a modular system that came loaded with smaller rig bits boxes, including a rig board in the top end version. Despite having help like this, it wasn’t easy marketing coarse fishing gear with a company that had been concentrating on game fishing for so many years. Most of the reps were fly anglers and didn’t always totally get what tackle like this was all about.
FIRING LINE
While Marksman rods were selling themselves when I worked in Alnwick, anglers often ask me why there are not more out there. Second-hand ones are always snapped up fast. Part of the problem was the number of retail outlets allowed to sell Hardy gear, which was not that many. It’s a pretty exclusive club, bearing in mind some Hardy dealers only retail game stuff, which complicates matters even more. I found all that side frustrating and to a large extent the Greys Prodigy tackle I designed wasn’t getting the right marketing. The Prodigy catapult, seen in use here, was a brute of a weapon. It could outfire baits like pellets well beyond rival products, but I never saw that advantage mentioned anywhere.
WHAT SELLS
I quickly discovered some new products need explaining, while others sell themselves. The latter was the case with Grey’s rubber mesh landing nets. Apart from the coated mesh being less snag prone and not taking in water, the spreader blocks were double locked onto their aluminium frames. By testing gear like this at the same time as putting Marksman rods through their paces, I was able to make products better. The nets sold well for years, even outlasting the rods. The new 11ft 10inch Marksman Specialist Float Rod might have seemed a bit of an oddball design at this time, but a lot of thought went into it. Anglers were wanting two-piece blanks where possible, because they could be pre-tackled ready for instant use. A two-piece 12ft rod was a bit long to get in many rod holdalls, but by taking two inches off, the problem was solved. With a slightly shorter handle length, there was still the same amount of rod in front of it as most twelve footers gave you anyway.
FISHING ON
While working at Hardy I always tried to get over the message that fishing is fun, important in that it gets you out in the countryside. My business trips abroad sometimes gave the chance to wet a line, here in Germany on a lake full of match sized carp. I tried the paste approach I often use in the UK and it worked a treat. Just a bag of Super-G Green ground bait and I caught lively fish all day long. I was using borrowed gear from some of my German colleagues and it was interesting to find out they all loved Hardy Marksman rods too. This was a float model, getting a proper work-out. I never met any of the Hardy family, although I spotted one of them from a distance in the Alnwick workshop.
German carp
WHAT COMES NEXT
This German carp was one of many fish I enjoyed catching over there. I think coarse fishing is even more popular than it is here, with monthly magazines selling 100,000 copies when I visited. But it was in China where I discovered we are minnows in comparison, where there are over 14 million anglers! I also fished a few times during trips to the Far East. They have commercials but you are supposed to keep and buy everything you catch to take home and eat. A Chinese factory owner once challenged me to a contest on a lake that held golden carp. A similar paste approach to that which worked so well in Germany gave me a runaway victory. No Marksmans over there! We fished with long, soft tipped whips and very strange pole rigs, festooned with weird bits and pieces.
ANTIQUE TACKLE
This catalogue photo was taken of me using a prototype 12-foot Marksman feeder rod, which I still use to this day. During my angling career, I have had the pleasure of fishing with many classic rods, including Hardy Matchmaker and Shakespeare International float designs, along with early ground-breaking Drennan 12ft and 13ft Quivertip models, not forgetting various amazing Daiwa blanks. Many anglers might be surprised to know that the favourite rods they used back in the seventies, eighties and nineties are much sought after these days. Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques are always looking for rods from those classic years, not just much earlier models. You could have something sitting in a shed, or up in the attic that’s worth more than you think!
Beautiful big roach
SIZING UP
This beautiful big roach was caught on Waggler tackle, using a Hardy Marksman Supero 13ft Extreme Float Rod, one of the first samples ever made. I caught loads of quality red fins with that model, which I classed as a great all-rounder. It handled big river chub, large catches of stillwater bream, plus any carp and tench that barged their way into my float fishing. Waggler, slider or running river floats down a fast-flowing glide, that rod could handle it all. I used it to good effect in matches as well, even though it’s green finish raised a few strange looks from other competitors, with their bias towards blue and black match style products. I really didn’t care a jot about all that.
Unexpected filming on Innescarra Reservoir
ON FILM
These two guys turned up on the bank when I was miles from anywhere, lost on massive Innescarra Reservoir over in Ireland. They knew all about Hardy of course and wanted to film me setting up my stall and fishing. I never did get to see the video. It was a shame they couldn’t stay until the end because I absolutely bagged up that day. I was doing regular features for Angler’s Mail at the time, along with Gary Newman. I enjoyed one of my greatest match winning feats in the Emerald Isle, winning the Drennan Super League final, both team and individual wise. Apart from the prize money, I was presented with one of the first and now much-cherished Drennan 13ft IM8 Feeder rods.
A BIG SHOW
I was asked to fish in a big angling show over in Germany, using borrowed gear. There were ten thousand visitors in just one day. My old Essex Van Den Eynde teammate and several times world champion, Bob Nudd was there too. He has a big following on the continent, probably due to his association with Browning, which is massive over there. While Bob pole fished at one end of the line of guest anglers, I feeder fished at the other. Bob as usual caught all sorts, but it was much harder where I was. The German Feeder Champion dry netted next peg along, but thankfully, as you will see next, a bite out of the blue caught me a surprise monster to get out of trouble. The crowd loved it!
MILKING IT
I got a standing ovation from the large crowd after netting this big bream. It was the only fish I caught, probably due to all the disturbance because I was next to a jetty, where a sponsored predator angler was ferrying show goers out into the middle of the lake to have a quick dabble. Shame I went for something to eat after this, because one of my German work colleagues caught a sturgeon next cast using my tackle. I’ve never caught that species and probably never will now. After this escapade I ended up writing some features for a big German magazine called Fisch and Fang. Before the show ended, I went and had a good chat with Nuddy, who taught me so much during my Essex days. He is an angling mastermind when it comes to tactics. We won many big team events due to his vast knowledge.
IN MY BLOOD
I just can’t help it, due to my match fishing background, when I’m on fish I want to catch everything! The size doesn’t matter that much to me. I love it when sessions begin with small fish and then, gradually, the bigger ones move in to see what all the activity is about. This lot came to pole tactics and yes, at one stage Hardy were seriously considering moving in at the top end with a 16m super pole. I used the protype for many years, accidentally making it even better by experimentally switching around some of the sections. But sadly, the whole Hardy coarse fishing concept was shelved when Pure Fishing took the company over. I left soon afterwards but still have fond memories of my time up north, also still using some of the iconic gear I helped to get into production. I’ve moved onto Thomas Turner Classic Rod development now, which hopefully will be happening soon.
The post THE HARDY YEARS (Part 2) appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...
During my days as Product Development Manager at Hardy and Greys, apart from the second coming of Marksman Supero rods, I was also involved in a massive launch of Greys Prodigy gear. This included everything from rods and reels, to floats and line. I got all those involved out on the bank for a day, at the Angel of the North Fishery near Newcastle. I’d much rather have new tackle photographed where it’s intended to end up, rather than boring studio catalogue shots over a white background. I needed to test some of the products anyway. The new Marksmans were just hitting the tackle shops. It was refreshing to get out of the office, after many months of intense meetings and long-haul trips to factories all over the globe. A day by the water soon flushes everything like that out of your system, especially when its rounded off by catching some decent fish.
Gareth Goldson
WINNING CUPS
I had an ace up my sleeve when Gareth Goldson joined the Hardy and Greys Academies. Having an angler of his calibre around was invaluable to me when it came to testing new tackle, whichever stable it was from. Gareth won the Drennan Cup and the Specimen Angler of the year trophies. Here he is seen with one of the first Greys Tackle Base Boxes, a modular system that came loaded with smaller rig bits boxes, including a rig board in the top end version. Despite having help like this, it wasn’t easy marketing coarse fishing gear with a company that had been concentrating on game fishing for so many years. Most of the reps were fly anglers and didn’t always totally get what tackle like this was all about.
FIRING LINE
While Marksman rods were selling themselves when I worked in Alnwick, anglers often ask me why there are not more out there. Second-hand ones are always snapped up fast. Part of the problem was the number of retail outlets allowed to sell Hardy gear, which was not that many. It’s a pretty exclusive club, bearing in mind some Hardy dealers only retail game stuff, which complicates matters even more. I found all that side frustrating and to a large extent the Greys Prodigy tackle I designed wasn’t getting the right marketing. The Prodigy catapult, seen in use here, was a brute of a weapon. It could outfire baits like pellets well beyond rival products, but I never saw that advantage mentioned anywhere.
WHAT SELLS
I quickly discovered some new products need explaining, while others sell themselves. The latter was the case with Grey’s rubber mesh landing nets. Apart from the coated mesh being less snag prone and not taking in water, the spreader blocks were double locked onto their aluminium frames. By testing gear like this at the same time as putting Marksman rods through their paces, I was able to make products better. The nets sold well for years, even outlasting the rods. The new 11ft 10inch Marksman Specialist Float Rod might have seemed a bit of an oddball design at this time, but a lot of thought went into it. Anglers were wanting two-piece blanks where possible, because they could be pre-tackled ready for instant use. A two-piece 12ft rod was a bit long to get in many rod holdalls, but by taking two inches off, the problem was solved. With a slightly shorter handle length, there was still the same amount of rod in front of it as most twelve footers gave you anyway.
FISHING ON
While working at Hardy I always tried to get over the message that fishing is fun, important in that it gets you out in the countryside. My business trips abroad sometimes gave the chance to wet a line, here in Germany on a lake full of match sized carp. I tried the paste approach I often use in the UK and it worked a treat. Just a bag of Super-G Green ground bait and I caught lively fish all day long. I was using borrowed gear from some of my German colleagues and it was interesting to find out they all loved Hardy Marksman rods too. This was a float model, getting a proper work-out. I never met any of the Hardy family, although I spotted one of them from a distance in the Alnwick workshop.
German carp
WHAT COMES NEXT
This German carp was one of many fish I enjoyed catching over there. I think coarse fishing is even more popular than it is here, with monthly magazines selling 100,000 copies when I visited. But it was in China where I discovered we are minnows in comparison, where there are over 14 million anglers! I also fished a few times during trips to the Far East. They have commercials but you are supposed to keep and buy everything you catch to take home and eat. A Chinese factory owner once challenged me to a contest on a lake that held golden carp. A similar paste approach to that which worked so well in Germany gave me a runaway victory. No Marksmans over there! We fished with long, soft tipped whips and very strange pole rigs, festooned with weird bits and pieces.
ANTIQUE TACKLE
This catalogue photo was taken of me using a prototype 12-foot Marksman feeder rod, which I still use to this day. During my angling career, I have had the pleasure of fishing with many classic rods, including Hardy Matchmaker and Shakespeare International float designs, along with early ground-breaking Drennan 12ft and 13ft Quivertip models, not forgetting various amazing Daiwa blanks. Many anglers might be surprised to know that the favourite rods they used back in the seventies, eighties and nineties are much sought after these days. Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques are always looking for rods from those classic years, not just much earlier models. You could have something sitting in a shed, or up in the attic that’s worth more than you think!
Beautiful big roach
SIZING UP
This beautiful big roach was caught on Waggler tackle, using a Hardy Marksman Supero 13ft Extreme Float Rod, one of the first samples ever made. I caught loads of quality red fins with that model, which I classed as a great all-rounder. It handled big river chub, large catches of stillwater bream, plus any carp and tench that barged their way into my float fishing. Waggler, slider or running river floats down a fast-flowing glide, that rod could handle it all. I used it to good effect in matches as well, even though it’s green finish raised a few strange looks from other competitors, with their bias towards blue and black match style products. I really didn’t care a jot about all that.
Unexpected filming on Innescarra Reservoir
ON FILM
These two guys turned up on the bank when I was miles from anywhere, lost on massive Innescarra Reservoir over in Ireland. They knew all about Hardy of course and wanted to film me setting up my stall and fishing. I never did get to see the video. It was a shame they couldn’t stay until the end because I absolutely bagged up that day. I was doing regular features for Angler’s Mail at the time, along with Gary Newman. I enjoyed one of my greatest match winning feats in the Emerald Isle, winning the Drennan Super League final, both team and individual wise. Apart from the prize money, I was presented with one of the first and now much-cherished Drennan 13ft IM8 Feeder rods.
A BIG SHOW
I was asked to fish in a big angling show over in Germany, using borrowed gear. There were ten thousand visitors in just one day. My old Essex Van Den Eynde teammate and several times world champion, Bob Nudd was there too. He has a big following on the continent, probably due to his association with Browning, which is massive over there. While Bob pole fished at one end of the line of guest anglers, I feeder fished at the other. Bob as usual caught all sorts, but it was much harder where I was. The German Feeder Champion dry netted next peg along, but thankfully, as you will see next, a bite out of the blue caught me a surprise monster to get out of trouble. The crowd loved it!
MILKING IT
I got a standing ovation from the large crowd after netting this big bream. It was the only fish I caught, probably due to all the disturbance because I was next to a jetty, where a sponsored predator angler was ferrying show goers out into the middle of the lake to have a quick dabble. Shame I went for something to eat after this, because one of my German work colleagues caught a sturgeon next cast using my tackle. I’ve never caught that species and probably never will now. After this escapade I ended up writing some features for a big German magazine called Fisch and Fang. Before the show ended, I went and had a good chat with Nuddy, who taught me so much during my Essex days. He is an angling mastermind when it comes to tactics. We won many big team events due to his vast knowledge.
IN MY BLOOD
I just can’t help it, due to my match fishing background, when I’m on fish I want to catch everything! The size doesn’t matter that much to me. I love it when sessions begin with small fish and then, gradually, the bigger ones move in to see what all the activity is about. This lot came to pole tactics and yes, at one stage Hardy were seriously considering moving in at the top end with a 16m super pole. I used the protype for many years, accidentally making it even better by experimentally switching around some of the sections. But sadly, the whole Hardy coarse fishing concept was shelved when Pure Fishing took the company over. I left soon afterwards but still have fond memories of my time up north, also still using some of the iconic gear I helped to get into production. I’ve moved onto Thomas Turner Classic Rod development now, which hopefully will be happening soon.
The post THE HARDY YEARS (Part 2) appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...