Thoughts on the Redditch Tackle Fair – November 2021

[John Bailey]

Well, what a complete treat. Had it not been for the admirable John Stephenson of Thomas Turner, I wouldn’t even have known this cornucopia of delights was happening. From the moment I met John Andrews on the door, I knew I was in for a grand time. Not only did I meet up with seemingly lifelong friends like Richard Masters and Neil Freeman, but I also bumped into legends I had long heard of from afar.

Andy Batchelor swan feather floats made in the old roach pole style​

And that brings me to Andrew Batchelor and his amazing floats. Of course, I worked with that other float maestro Andy Field for many years, and had heard of Andrew, but I’d never realised just how good he is ’till this super Sunday. I stood gawping by his stall and realised what a central part beauty and art can play in our fishing. I’ve been working with Thomas Turner for a year now, and never a day goes by without my realising the deep treasure trove that anglers have created over the centuries. Redditch confirmed something important to me. Yes, you can collect items to put on display and admire but, for me, the ultimate is to actually buy items that you take to water and use there. I bought an Andy Batchelor float, and I know I will watch it on springtime tench lakes with such pleasure that whether it goes under or not will be nigh on immaterial to the impact of the day. Fishing is wonderful. Tackle like this makes it more so.

Norfolk reed stems…​

…and the finished product!​

But I’m hardly saying anything you of all people do not know. I will add that I like the sustainability in evidence this remarkable morning. From John I bought ten floats for twenty pounds (actually JS’s money) and they were made from Norfolk reed. The key is to take that part of the stem that has been under the waterline and then dry it out over a whole year before varnishing. For two pounds, the result is simply a float that demands to be fished, and who would ever buy plastic again?

David aka Old Man River at his stall. Is there anything there you wouldn’t want to buy?​

JS hard at it​

Martin Stone rescuing ABUs for posterity​

Martin too, sitting there, servicing and renovating ABU reels before our eyes. Looking back to my roaching in the Seventies, I’d gone the ‘pin route, though many had suggested closed face reels instead. Handling a Martin-rescued ABU 506, I thought they might just have been right.

Andrew David and dear friend Richard Masters with wonderful things!​

I lost my heart there for sure. Andrew Davis had on display (and on sale) one of his Avocet rods, and I came within a barbel’s whisker of purchase. I didn’t, and I am gutted, and probably always will be. I think of the barbel, tench and chub it would have caught me in such graceful style and I weep.

That was the wonder of Redditch. I go into a modern tackle superstore with a list of things I need and buy them without fuss or thought. I might as well be purchasing toiletries from Tesco, the passion this inspires. At Redditch, though, thousands of pounds could have left my wallet and I’d have driven home singing! It really was that good!




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[John Bailey]

Redditch Tackle Fair – Further Thoughts​

I’m delighted there has been some reaction to the pieces both I and John Stephenson have written on last week’s tackle show, and I especially liked the reaction to the pictures of “Old Man River’s” landing nets and handles, which were truly exquisite. Exquisite and surprisingly inexpensive, considering the work involved AND by comparison with modern, plastic rubbish that is almost the same price and lasts exactly two minutes if given hard use. I reckon one of “Old Man’s“ creations would see me out.

I especially liked the discussion that these nets might be (loosely?) based on Maurice Ingham’s designs, modified of course by Richard Walker. This aspect of the interchanges drove me to locate my copy of Drop Me A Line, bought for me by Nanny Hempel when I was barely out of primary school, and which I thought I had lost in one of the house moves.

Hurrah, I not only found the book, but also the letters where Ingham and Walker discussed net design. And, indeed, the diagrams from all those years ago do indeed look very similar to the nets so beautifully crafted and on display at Redditch. So, all in all, a powerful and charming link to some of our yesterdays.

And a reminder of why carp fishing meant so much to anglers of a certain age in the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies, and why it means so much less today. Drop Me A Line is a great book in many ways, but for many of us it reeks of nostalgia for what carp fishing once was before it became the circus we know it to be today. Those days when the quest was finding a water holding carp, rather than today, when it is almost impossible to find one that does not. Those days when if you wanted specialist tackle, chances are you had to make it for yourself. Those days when potato, worm, banana and bread were the top baits, if not the only ones. Those days when freelining was universal and striking was part of the art. Those days when a ten pound carp was a cracker, and a twenty was the stuff of dreams.

Those days, in short, when carp fishing was all about mystery and romance, and those days which we will never get back again. At least with an Old Man River net pole in your hands, you can still dream!




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[steve2]

So true about the mystery of carp in the 50's and 60's it took me years to get my first double. I still remember it 14lbs followed by another slight larger. A 20 took a few more years. No mystery now just carp everywhere you go.