The 'Naiad' reel by Watermole+

[Evert van der Plas]

Wow amazing craftsmanship and design, worked out beautiful in all details

[OldTackle]

Wohoow...a good fraction more of general 'speechless'. I also knew he had some reel in progress ... but THAT? A true reel fanatic like you Nobby MUST be finding himself with the brightest of his smiles! Have a look into the mirror please, Sir.

[Harry H]

Simply beautiful the man is an artist

[Keston]

I think that is the best looking reel I've ever seen . Nobby I don't suppose you will be taking it to Romsey Tackle Fair ? I would dearly love to ogle it .

[Nobby]

Yes, I could probably manage that, John.

[Keston]

Yes, I could probably manage that, John.

[Barbulus]

Beautiful.

[CrayCane]

Beautiful

[Nobby]

My pictures rather concentrated on the innards, and let's face it every internal component has been crafted to look good and work well, but Leszek took some rather more evocative pictures than I managed:













I've now tried the reel on just about every rod butt I have here. It fits them all and grips like a demon. The angles and dimensions of the ribbed reel foot work perfectly with every set of reel bands on all my cane rods and also with the screw-down ergonomic reel clamps of very modern rods. On each occasion I found the spool rim directly sitting below my right thumb as though the reel had been moulded around my hand. Not uncomfortably so, the rim sits about 1/16th of an inch away from where my thumb feels at rest. The check lever position is quite perfect too, I can flick the lever down easily to put the check on when netting a fish and it's no great stretch to get my forefinger below it when it is set to on, to flick it off again.

Now the position of that check lever gave Leszek some problems to overcome and in part this led to the new check arrangement featuring the leaf springs. Added to this was my desire for a knob on the lever of some kind, making things more cramped still.

In truth I may have over-stated my needs here...the lever, even with that knob, could easily emerge from the reel back circumference a full centimetre higher up towards the reel foot and I could still get a fingertip above it to flick it down easily, but as it is I'll never even feel it against my fingertip unless I reach for it. perfect.

But this does demonstrate his ability to solve a problem with new ideas...and still keep all the components so attractive to the eye into the bargain.

I've known some gifted engineers in my time, Ted, my first workshop foreman in the early Seventies; he could weld the silver paper out of a B&H fag packet to a solid bar of aluminium...I saw him do it. He could chisel out a section on the base of a dented petrol tank, beat out the dent with a padded dolly, weld the tank back up and re-spray it, I saw him do it many times...even to a brank new bike crashed by the mechanic who built it up from the crate on its road test...the new owner couldn't tell. Then there's the feller who currently spends 6 days a week fettling Mark Knopfler's collection of vintage cars; I've watched him roll a sheet of steel on an 'English wheel' and turn it into a Peugeot works rally car wheel arch in about 20 minutes. I've watched English craftsmen secretly build racing motorbike engines in their garden shed for Japanese works teams which went on to win world titles......


But none of these fellers, truly, truly gifted as they are, are quite in this league. I'm a lucky man.........

[Lea Dweller]

I agree with your comments Nobby, I personally have had very little experience of a craftsman at work, nobody in my immediate family was "good with their hands". Perhaps this is why I have grown to appreciate the talent that others have, I marvel at what can be produced with imagination and flair. Like you, I often study my Watermole+ reel from every angle, still feel so lucky to have it, they are truly beautiful things to behold. As I have started to use mine more often, my appreciation is growing, I am sure that it will be the same for you. This forum is an outlet for talent, discussion, all manner of things related to Traditional angling matters, I do appreciate being a part of it!