Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

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Fredline
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Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

Post by Fredline »

I picked up this beautiful item at Romsey on Sunday and was amazed when the seller had told me not one person had looked at it. It is a 4 piece bamboo and cane bottom 3 with a greenheart top.All the pieces fit perfectly inside each other, as with all good poles but like a lot of quality tackle it is unmarked. It is 36" long and 11' 9" when erected. These items are quite rare and a quick troll over the internet solves nothing. Has any TFF member seen one like this before as a maker and possible date would complete what is a quite superb item of vintage tackle.
I have discovered that these sticks were not for poachers at all but for illicit angling on a Sunday. Any activity apart from church was frowned upon in the 19th century on a Sunday hence the "Sabbath Stick". A poachers stick of the same format would probably not have had the same quality.

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Last edited by Fredline on Mon Oct 09, 2017 9:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
If you have no grease with you, and your rings are full of ice, do not cut out the ice with a pen-knife but get your man to put the rings one by one in his mouth, and so to thaw the ice.
John Bickerdyke.

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AshbyCut
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Re: Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

Post by AshbyCut »

No Gentleman should be without one !!! I'm very envious, Sir. Well found. :Hat:
"Beside the water I discovered (or maybe rediscovered) the quiet. The sort of quiet that allows one to be woven into the tapestry of nature instead of merely standing next to it." Estaban.

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Reedling
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Re: Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

Post by Reedling »

What a lovely find, I had a look on Google and all I could come up with is that they are called system canes, some canes had guns incorporated into them. Google.. fishing rod system cane.

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Olly
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Re: Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

Post by Olly »

"Poles Apart" by Michael Nadell would help.

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Harry H
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Re: Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

Post by Harry H »

Lovely object :Hat: Charles Farlow had walking stick rods in his 1846 catalogue as I'm sure did many others.
Probably the fishing equivalent of the golfers Sunday stick,anything to have a sneaky bit of participation of your pastime.
There are three things that improve with age: wine, friendship and water sense, and there's no short cut.
Anthony Shepherdson

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Lea Dweller
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Re: Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

Post by Lea Dweller »

Well done John a cracking find! I did see you walk past with it on Sunday, but I thought it was a "Sowerbutts" walking stick! :Hat:
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall!
Confucius

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KenSowerbutts
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Re: Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

Post by KenSowerbutts »

:Thumb: I am totally jealous what a find absolutely beautiful . It could be Sowerbutts because J H Sowerbutts was mainly a stick maker with only about 25% of his work was actual fishing rods . Is there any markings at all .
Knowledge comes but Wisdom lingers

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Tonytoned
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Re: Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

Post by Tonytoned »

Blimey! I was there and didn't see it. Great buy.

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Black Prince
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Re: Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

Post by Black Prince »

Very nice indeed it dates back to the days a man got food anyway he could a little fishing may be some purse nets in his pocket under a game keepers nose very well found :fishing1: mike

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Fredline
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Re: Cane Walking Stick / Poachers Roach Pole. Help!

Post by Fredline »

I have just added another picture of the walking stick fully assembled.
If you have no grease with you, and your rings are full of ice, do not cut out the ice with a pen-knife but get your man to put the rings one by one in his mouth, and so to thaw the ice.
John Bickerdyke.

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