Blast from the past

[Glyn]

Hi all, I found this on youtube my brother and I watched these when we were kids, old school stuff with a fag in the mouth lovely intro music and not a swear word in sight...hope you enjoy and for some of you even remember them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twYNo3VrOTU

[mepps4me]

Some interesting and entertaining clips there Glyn. Just what's needed to whet the appetite ready for this season. Thanks for highlighting them.

[grey duster]

that is quite a good one on you tube.Oliver Kite fly fishing in a snow storm.I think it is called "season opens on the Teifi".Sorry i cannot do the quick referal.i think we should do computer lessons after the fly tying.

[Glyn]

Ah yes the good ole days, its nice to go back in time sometimes and see how simpler things were just fishing with basic tackle ..unlike today's ultra hi tech gear, but then I still use my 30yr old shakespeare big green condex made in Redditch for my salmon lines. I used to get quite envious as a kid watching where these people fished in the early programs.

Yes Ive watched that one with the snow storm too, the old films/programs are worth a watch they tend to ground you and re-think do I/you really need 80 patterns of sewin flies 30 types of spinning lures and do I really need that £600 fly reel and £1,200 flyrod.

GD if you think of a clip you remember from the past let me know and I will hunt it out on youtube and put it on.
Glyn

[grey duster]

I do not think i have spent £1200 in total on rods during my life.The most expensive one i bought was a Hardy spinning rod from Bennetts of Sheffield moons ago.At that time you could send a number of post dated cheques on the "never".I managed to smash it very quickly,slamming the rear door on a Ford Cortina,and i think there were still a couple of cheques uncashed.
Biggest outlay has probably been waders.I have tried the lot,neoprene,rubber,PVC,nylon,goretex,playtex,dure x.You name it.If they last a season before i find a bit of rusty barbed wire i am lucky.Always disheartentens me when they include a "puncture repair outfit" after claiming they are tough and durable,welded seams,etc.

[Glyn]

Now you've done it...you had to mention waders, you could have said broken bail arm springs or snapped devon minnow mounts but no it was waders...:>

I have had a t#t full of wader problems especially Vass waders, I am stupidly on my second pair now and after one season they are on their way out all ready. The studs are falling and twisting out of the soles and the hard wearing soles will be tearing and wearing down to a flat surface soon.

I mentioned these on the salmon forum I think last season...what rubbish they are.

My brother I think has gone through 2 pairs of breathable waders and is also fed up with money spent on waders that are crap.

HAHA yes the puncture repair kit never enough patch and not enough glue priceless.

A big expenditure for me back in the early 80s was £85 on a Berkley Phazer 15ft 10/11 I still have and use it today with a bit of help from Dai Jones who re whipped the spigots with super duper strong thread for me a few years back but the rod still works, its a tad slow but chucks a line out.

cheers
Glyn

[grey duster]

If you want to talk about fixed spool reels.Here goes.
I have about a dozen in the shed "awaiting repair"going back to the Mitchell 300.That was a good reel apart from it had an annoying habit of tangling the line under the spool.I thought skirted spools had solved that problem,but somehow it still happens.
I was once playing a smallish sewin and the bale arm of an ABU something or other decided to fall off.At other critical times the spring in the bale arm has broken,normally when i am about 2 miles from the spare reel in the car.Line has flown off the spools like a coiled spring landing in a birds nest at my feet,etc,etc.
Never had much trouble with lures apart from a few years ago when i was unhooking a reasonable brown that had taken the rapala.The fish struggled and i ended up about 7am on a sunday morning at the "drunk tank" in Camarthen hospital having a treble removed from the base of my thumb.
Happy days

[frankb]

The 2 biggest con's ever are breathable waders and fluorocarbon leaders. I have had 3 pairs of breathables by 3 different makers and all leaked during the first season of use. I am now using a pair of heavy duty Oceans with no sign of a leak after 3 seasons of hard use. I see that I can now buy a pair of breathables for ONLY £799 made by a well known American tackle firm!
As for fluorocarbon, anyone who uses fluorocarbon for salmon fishing wants their head looked at. Salmon are not leader shy, you could tie a fly to the end of your fly line and still catch a salmon, they just don't associate the leader with danger. I tried fluorocarbon once and after snapping off 2 flies in 5 minutes I realised the stuff was rubbish, stick to nylon such as Maxima and you won't go wrong.

[Glyn]

Ah my brother FB like you GD has experience with hospitals and flying hooks, we fished the Usk one day and he was unhooking a salmon in the net and the dropper came around and went straight through his thumb also.. so I had to take him to the hospital spoilt my day a bit ..:> and it was a big double oohh.

Yes sorry 3 pairs of waders we don't do waders well in our family, I will agree with him on flouro leaders some get on with them but the stuff does break off at dull moments, I saw a posting on the salmon forum a while back with the same issues flies braking off on the back cast I prefer nylon leaders flouro line is too rigid for me.

GD if want spares for the 300/410 let me know I have a few here I used to get spool burst. I still have a 306 too still works nicely. I bought a Mitchell avrorunner last year I think it will last one more season quality is poor...oh well.
Cheers
Glyn

[grey duster]

Thanks for the offer of the Mitchell spares Glyn,but i think the reel is beyond
redemption.I am currently using an Okuma something that has been going strong for 3 years and works as new.Famous last words:>
I am now thinking of buying a pair of Ocean waders.I think it is the only brand i have not tried.
I had a pair of "breathables" that were not cheap and i only had to go near a patch of brambles for them to start leaking
cheers

[Glyn]

Yes oceans are a good wader, I should have gone for them before Vass, the boot part on my last 2 Vass waders more or less fell apart my last studded Oceans lasted me a hard 5 seasons, now I think Vass and Oceans used the same dunlop boot but for some reason the boot on the Oceans was better.

What I did learn with the Vass's and Oceans was when repairing a leak I used super glue gel instead of repair glue and ordinary super glue it worked a treat.

My last reel before I had to buy the Mitchell was a Diawa Exceler and it was a beauty I had it for a very hard working 7 seasons before it gave out not the reels fault but my abuse, I used it for my medium and heavy spinning and big plugs for bass and last season it packed up I bought it from either Basspro or Cabelas and I think I will do the same again this season it only cost me £45... at the time about £95 over here you can still do a saving from the states just have to look harder.

Yes I think the days of the old 300's are over.:>
cheers
Glyn