The Cardinals..

[Gary Bills]

I expect many of us can recall the wonderful ABU catalogues from the Seventies. I was still a kid then, but I remember the excitement of a new "Tight Lines" fresh from the tackle shop - and glossy pages showing the wonders of engineeering that were the Cardinal fixed spool reels. Gosh they were pricey, even by Mitchell 300 standards, and I never dreamed that I'd one day own one, or several: but I did! The first one I owed was a Cardinal prototype - a slightly shop-soiled, cut-price Abu 444 for my sixteenth birthday. That would be in the early Eighties, and I used the reel to catch small carp from a gin-clear rural canal. I understand that early 444s were silver, including the metal stern drag. Mine, a later version, had full Cardinal livery - the green egg-shaped back and cream flyer, and the rear drag was hard black plastic. It looked the part, but the bail arm spring was very weak, making me wonder how it even kept the bail arm closed during a battle. of course, due to the angle and pressure of the line on the roller, it never failed me. It was a good caster and possessed the cut-brass gears that made the Cardinal range famous. In more recent years I've owned the Cardinal 40 and the mighty Cardinal 66: each with their own distinct shapes.
The 40 - the blue budget one with the squarish back, isn't a bad stalking reel - not too "runny", thereby limiting the risk of bird-nests should a hand inadvertently knock the handle in a tight spot. The 66 is an amazing reel - big, green and cream - and this is very a "runny" reel due to the ball-bearings in the flyer: surprisingly quite a novel thing in the Seventies. It's too heavy for stalking, and too runny to my mind, but God what a powerful winch, with it's cut-brass worm-drive gears! These days, bass men love them and I've heard it was the reel of choice of many of the Savay crowd in the early days. For back-winding fans, they are the best. I wonder if any other forum members have fond memories of the Cardinals...?

[GloucesterOldSpot]

I've had a few over the years, including a pair of early pre-Garcia 55s and a 66. The latter was horrid; awful line lay, very vague feel through the gears and the clutch jumpy - even though it had been fitted with graphite washers to improve it. I hung onto it for a while, thinking it would be OK for bass spinning, but I also have two Daiwa SS2600s which knock the 66 into a c0cked hat in every respect, so I sold it. Perhaps it was just a bad one.

The 55s were nice and smooth, but rather heavy for their size and the spools a constant worry due to the risk of them exploding under pressure. A friend has since found a chap who makes alloy spools for them, though they're not particularly cheap and they make a heavy reel a bit heavier.

I've tried to love them, really I have, but I can't.

[Gary Bills]

I must confess, I sold my 66 recently: but I think you were unlucky - the gears of mine were smooth as silk.

[Snape]

I still have my 40 in a box somewhere. It replaced my Intrepid Black Prince when I was about 12. I loved it then and thought it was so modern with the tension adjustment being on the rear of the body.
Maybe I should dig it out and try it again.

[Caractacus Potts]

Two trusted old friends. Both have seen barbel action this season. They absolutely revel in it !

[Martin James]

Top reels were ABU, I had several models including a couple 7000's for beach fishing and 10000's for boat work. I couldn't fault the quality or performance.

[StalkingLuke]

Anybody remember the calendar in the back of the catalogue? It would predict which days were best for fishing.

[Gary Bills]

Anybody remember the calendar in the back of the catalogue? It would predict which days were best for fishing.

I remember!
It was like a treatise for piscine alchemy: promising to turn dull days into gold!
I remember thinking, "How do they know?"

[Snape]

Wasn't it all based on the phases of the moon.

Rather like Chris Lyons stuff at http://www.moonstrike.co.uk/home.html

[StalkingLuke]

Yes Snape I believe it was based on the moon phases, although I always felt everyday was a good day to fish in fact I still do.