Allcock’s “Commodore” 6 inch Saltwater Boat Reel is often overlooked by collectors in favour or Hardy, Farlows and their famous USA counterparts. This is a serious hunk of metal aimed at those looking for skate, tope, conger, etc. as their catalogue entry states. This reel is the Model C605 with a friction brake to the […]
In celebration of Prince Charles 70th birthday we thought we should showcase our own Monarch. This one is from the Ken P Morritt stable of die cast alloy reels. Surely every young angler in the Uk owned one of the Intrepid range. This one from the early 1960s cost approx. 19 shillings. Built in the Intrepid […]
The Wyatt Erp of casting reels, this unusual vintage George F Ball Free Flo spinning reel is not easy to find these days for collectors. It’s no surprise this reel was sourced from the Wolverhampton area, having not travelled far in its life. GF Ball of Wolverhampton, England produced these reels c 1950/60 era, the […]
I didn’t know what else to call this one! These came in as a pair recently. Two weird and wonderful vintage wood and brass fishing reels with unusual features. One, a simple shallow-drum sea fishing style reel with optional check button and over engineered brass fittings. The second is amazing. It is fitted with a […]
The principle of drying fly lines and reducing weight has been an ongoing challenge for reel makers for years. The modern hi-tech reels feature the same broad principle patented by Rueben Heaton of Birmingham, England on December 24th 1888. He clearly didn’t have Xmas on his mind. The Patent No 18,817 applies to a series […]
Just arrived from sunny Northampton is this curious friction drive spinning reel showing the influences of Illingworth, Rudge and Stanley. Scratch built, well-engineered and completely over the top in terms of weight and strength. The machined parts are well made, if a bit on the heavy side. I wonder how many reels were turned out […]
This is one of a very few of these early Cowan of Edinburgh, Scotland, all brass reels have appeared recently. This example, a 2-1/4” diameter reel, is the trout version from a range reaching to over 5” for salmon. The trade mark Shield logo is nice, similar to other Edinburgh makers – Phin and Wilson […]
An unusual reel popped onto my desk this week, I’ve seen similar before, but could I remember – NO! With the help of Andy Crisp, he identified the reel as The Smith & Wall 3 Part Reel. He spotted the fold-over bracket foot assembly, good lad! Basically a copy on the lines of the Hardy […]
The Sterling Nottingham Reel is a bit of an odd ball but what a great looking vintage fishing reel. It was manufactured by Reuben Heaton of Birmingham and retailed by many others. This reel was often referred to as ‘The Wilkes Osprey reel‘ because it appeared more with their mark than any other makers. Initially […]
The Allcock’s Duplex reel is probably one of the simplest of all ideas. On the surface it’s to convert a reel from left to right hand wind, or is it? Allcock’s in association with a Mr B J Wakeflied of Plymouth jointly sealed a Patent on May 10th 1932. The production reel became the Allcock’s Duplex […]