The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Us Nobbys are as common as muck! The nickname goes with the second most common surname in the UK...Clark, which is a misspelling of clerk, or cleric...quill pen wielding scribes with knobbly knuckles. It's a Norman job title, not a name :-)

Sadly that will be my last Fair. I'm not quite sure what folk want from them anymore but when you can't sell a restored Rapidex reel, converted to left hand wind, that spins for over 2 minutes with absolutely no wear, for £45 what can you sell?

I had some fine restored rods on the table and a few very rare old floats, some over 100 years old, .... just to see if anyone spotted them. They didn't( apart from Jeff Della Mura, that is ).

All in all, I lost money taking fuel into account so I must accept it's over for me.

I am sorry to hear that Nobby, I enjoyed being on the next table to you and can vouch for the quality of the rods and other items that you had on offer! I do think that some people may have been put off by the traffic delay warnings, but even so I can understand your disappointment. In the past I have seen decorated tins, floats and many other objects on your table and the prices have always been extremely fair. I hope that we will see you and hopefully fish with or socialise with you, In common with many on the forum I have learned a great deal from you!

As an aside, it's sometimes hard to keep track of all the folk talking with you when they are backlit by the hall lights at Romsey and consequently I can't recall quite who it was that was kind enough to give me some old 304 spares at the last fair. Suffice to say, those spares just got another old banger back into top fettle and the reel is on its way back to the owner.

If it wasn't for your thoughtfulness and generosity, whoever you are, that reel would have been beyond economical repair as what few spares are left would have come to over £40!!!

Nobby wrote: ↑Thu Oct 04, 2018 10:23 am As an aside, it's sometimes hard to keep track of all the folk talking with you when they are backlit by the hall lights at Romsey and consequently I can't recall quite who it was that was kind enough to give me some old 304 spares at the last fair. Suffice to say, those spares just got another old banger back into top fettle and the reel is on its way back to the owner.

If it wasn't for your thoughtfulness and generosity, whoever you are, that reel would have been beyond economical repair as what few spares are left would have come to over £40!!!

I do remember giving you a couple of complete reels Nobby, one of which was a 304, but they both needed work so perhaps you cannibalised them? Either way it is good to know that it has helped someone else!

Indeed, I've just been reminded that another gift of parts has helped yet another angler...some shims for a Mitchell 300 given to me at the last fair have actually now gone into the very reel that angler owns. Or to put it another way, he's just got some of his shims back....inside his reel.

His reel might be interesting. Dating to 1954 by the Mitchell Museum system, it has steel pins holding the anti-reverse spring in place, so it is a very, very early full bail, but it has the thickened casting around the lube port screw. It was always thought the spring mounting was changed before the lube port....but maybe not after all. Ted, I shall get your two reels apart soon and look for similar differences.

Nobby wrote: ↑Thu Oct 04, 2018 1:46 pm Indeed, I've just been reminded that another gift of parts has helped yet another angler...some shims for a Mitchell 300 given to me at the last fair have actually now gone into the very reel that angler owns. Or to put it another way, he's just got some of his shims back....inside his reel.

His reel might be interesting. Dating to 1954 by the Mitchell Museum system, it has steel pins holding the anti-reverse spring in place, so it is a very, very early full bail, but it has the thickened casting around the lube port screw. It was always thought the spring mounting was changed before the lube port....but maybe not after all. Ted, I shall get your two reels apart soon and look for similar differences.

Thank you Nobby, some more information I have written down as I would never remember it! I will be interested to know what differences, if any, you find when you compare the insides of my two reels. I do believe you suggested that going by my serial numbers 345741 and 345817, they were made in 1954?

Gentlemen , the Ogden Smith version of the Arun rod has a length of 11' and 3" as does the superb version crafted by Andrew Davis ..

Just finished them Ted, and they are both identical to the other reel I repaired this week. Is it OK if I put a post and images on the Mitchell reel section?

Nobby wrote: ↑Sat Oct 06, 2018 10:12 am Just finished them Ted, and they are both identical to the other reel I repaired this week. Is it OK if I put a post and images on the Mitchell reel section?

With pleasure Nobby, I wasn't sure if they would be the same internally, but as they are so close in numbers it is no surprise!