The Secret Swim...

Anyone else think this chap is being a little over-enthusiastic about a late-model Wizard (albeit in very nice condition)?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws...sPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Perhaps he is throwing in the Lucky Strike and his dad as well.

At the risk of being accused of heresy, was the original Wizard that good a rod, - particularly given the short handle? In my humble opinion you can buy better cane rods for considerably less.

Also the hysterical nature of the seller’s prose puts one off buying anything from him.

I was just going to post a link to that auction here myself !


Clearly he wasn't impressed with the question he has added !

We did have a natter about the green and black label a while back. Since the colours are the same as Lee and the graphics so close, I'd always assumed the label came about at the time of the merger. Allc0cks only lasted another couple of years and weren't listing the Wizard in the last few years, so they ought to be quite rare. Which leaves me to wonder again how it is that one sees so many 'late label' Wizards ?


Here's the post when I bought a catalogue recently....

http://www.purepiscator.....aspx?g=posts&t=183

I don't know for certain when Allc0cks started using the rectangular logo. I've always assumed it was around the very early sixties. As Nobby says it seems logical that they would have done so around the time of the Lee merger, but that was in 1964 which means they only made Wizards for a few years with these logos, yet they seem quite common. Maybe they started using them earlier, in which case it is quite possible that the seller is correct in stating the rod has been in the family since 1960.

The rod in question is certainly in good original condition, and similar ones have been advertised (and in some cases sold) at prices in excess of £300 during the cane rod boom of the late nineties/early noughties, but in the current market £200 would be about right - maybe £250 at the outside. Prices have definitely dropped in the last six or seven years. I was browsing through some early Waterlogs the other day and noticed (in the Creaking Cane section) a MkIV for £350 and even a Chapman 550 advertised for sale at £500! These days £150 would be a good price for the Chapman.

Whether you regard the Wizard as a good rod or not, it's a sought-after one. I love mine, short handle notwithstanding - though that's only an issue if you use a fixed spool reel with it. For Wallis casting a long handle can be more of a disadvantage.

Bah! Total tosh. Utter nonsense. Enough hot air to launch a balloon.

Troutbeck

Even more developments with this seller. Makes interesting reading!

Hello Gary, and welcome at last!

I held fire from commenting again as I thought I recognised your writing style ( plus the use of the Blackberry device, you technophile ).

I must admit I was a little concerned about the vendor being asked to flex a tip section by 90 degrees, myself. Without the rest of the rod and some line to take some of the strain, that is a lot of force to exact upon an old rod. Or am I just a scaredeycat?

I also wondered about the question of twist and didn't understand what the questioner was trying to find out. I have a rod myself which is a little 'twisty' near one ferrule and suspect poor dismantling of the made up rod...perhaps that is what he was trying to ascertain?

I fear if one more question is asked of the vendor he may well explode in the manner of a Monty Python caricature and the rod will end up in a skip !

By the way Gary, ....how's that hat collection coming along ?

( for those of you who don't know Gary, don't be put off by the Blackberry, he once used it to e-mail me whilst mid-stream wading up to his chest from some dingy looking Hertfordshire drain, only to catch a fish immediately after re-trousering the fiendish gadget. He does have a hat collecting fetish, but all in all..in the modern term...Respect! )

Morning Nobby et Al. Ah hats, just like magical cane wands, you can’t have too many.. there is one for every occasion. A Man and his Hats, I remember it well and it will appear in due course as an article on Fishing Magic for that now seems to be the home web site of the Internet Angling Club, after the demise of UK Fishing World. As for rod bending, I don’t think you need to bend a rod tip a full 90 degrees, with or without line, but a little tweak would easily satisfy the question of ‘does it spring back straight’. And all it takes is a little civility in the way you answer such a question. I once bought a very early Hardy Roach Perfection, two piece, 11ft, and those who know the rod will know it was replaced by a Mark II as the earlier version was prone to having its exceedingly fine tip smashed. It duly arrived, ex dBay (D for dreaded) and was in beautiful condition. Excitedly I rushed to the meandering Stream of Life to find exceedingly low summer levels. To trot that day I had to break an old stick float in two and cut a hook trace in half to present a decent end tackle in around 14 inches of water. I sat against an old willow drinking coffee while trickling half a dozen maggots into the head of the swim every few minutes. First cast and the float dipped.. I struck and the old cane creaked a most wonderful arch. A chub. Three pounds and 11 ounces. I remember it well. It was my biggest chub from the stream, at that time. How lovely I thought as I slipped dear old Chavender back into its lair. I picked up the rod and it was still arched. It had a soft tip that quite obviously was going to need a fair old spend to replace. There’s a moral in there somewhere.

I once bought an eight-foot Hardy Perfection, which needed some new rings, the female ferrule was loose on the cane and some of the intermediate whippings were frayed, but otherwise it appeared quite good - and straight. I set to and, by some miracle of good fortune and various other factors I've never quite identified, the results far exceeded my expectations - and my previous rod-restoration attempts. The rod was paired with a Carter Perfect-style reel and Aircel Supreme number five line, and plans were made to test it on some trout at Croxley Hall.

On arrival the rod was strung up, a dry pheasant tail spinner was attached to the cast and a length of line flicked through the rings in preparation of the magical First Cast. It didn't go well. Sadly, I discovered the cane to be 'soft' and, though it always returned to the straight position, it lacked that steeliness that marks a good rod from a dud.

Since then I always take a 'new' rod out and fish with it before carrying out extensive work. Most prove worthy of the effort, but now and then you get one which just doesn't cut it.