What Is The Oldest Tackle You Have?

[SunnyCoastMark]

Hey Guys,
I was reading a thread this morning about a forum member with a 30 year old Alvey set up.

It got me thinking - in this age of disposable everything - how old is some or all of the tackle you are using??

I'll start.............

I have an 8ft rod I built for myself when I was 15 - so that would be 30 years ago - guides are all underbound with diamond wrap above the reel seat and it has caught everything from Salmon & mulloway in South Oz to Coral trout off Cairns - to Snapper and Mackeral off the Sunny Coast.

Also have a 3 tray Plano Tackle box that is around 25 years old - Same as the rod - it has been everywhere and done everything - still in good nick!:)

Whatcha got???

Mark

[Breambuster33]

Hey Guys,
I was reading a thread this morning about a forum member with a 30 year old Alvey set up.

It got me thinking - in this age of disposable everything - how old is some or all of the tackle you are using??

I'll start.............

I have an 8ft rod I built for myself when I was 15 - so that would be 30 years ago - guides are all underbound with diamond wrap above the reel seat and it has caught everything from Salmon & mulloway in South Oz to Coral trout off Cairns - to Snapper and Mackeral off the Sunny Coast.

Also have a 3 tray Plano Tackle box that is around 25 years old - Same as the rod - it has been everywhere and done everything - still in good nick!:)

Whatcha got???

Mark

I am 15 and i have an old side cast reel similar to and alvey with a 9ft cork grip rod which was passed down to me so i am guessing it has had its days im guessing around 30-40
breambuster33

[steve99]

I still use my two Shimano Triton Trolling Series ( TTS30 ) reels I bought 22 years ago.
The introduction of the TTS series game reels was the start of Shimanos foray into fair dinkum big game fishing reels - they have never looked back.

Japanese made reels - just the best!!!

[Tetsuo]

I have a capstan threadline that has to be well over 40. I dont use it but it still works fine. I'll see if I can post a photo.

[Luc]

My oldest piece of tackle is a little ABU 175A baitcaster (40+ years) and still going strong.

No drag & just a free spool button.

It was my first ever baitcaster and was great for bass fishing with light lures.

Now pensioned off other than the occasional casting practice in the back yard.

Luc

[4x4frog]

Over half of my gear is vintage stuff. I have 13'6'' cane surf rod my dad bought form Lex Mossop many years ago. Dad passed away in 1973 and the rod would have been easily 10 year old then. I still have the Alvey 650C5 that went on it and the rod still has the original Mossops sticker on the butt.
I have 2 x heavy fibre-glass rods I use, one is a 'light' one and the other a little heavier. I bought 2 Alveys 500A reels 6 months ago so i could use the rods again.
I have an old yabby pump that's brass not stainless. I am also still using the old cane creel Dad used to use. When I go fishing, if I dressed in 50's gear I'd look like I had just stepped out of the Tardis:o;D..................
My collection does stretch to new gear too, one Quantum baitcaster and a few spinning reels, & the assorted rods for them:)
All in all then I'd say that the age of some of the gear must be 40 years at least.
I wonder how much of todays tackle and gear will be going strong in 2030 or beyond?
As a kid I used to love to dismantle things to see how they worked. I remember pulling apart an old Mitchell Surf spinning reel and not being able to fix it and ditching it because I didn't want to get my bum wacked for breaking it

[4x4frog]

I still use my two Shimano Triton Trolling Series ( TTS30 ) reels I bought 22 years ago.
The introduction of the TTS series game reels was the start of Shimanos foray into fair dinkum big game fishing reels - they have never looked back.

Japanese made reels - just the best!!!
i can remember working for a guy on the sunny coast who recieved one of the first TLD25's in Australia, back in 1985 I think it was. That was a big deal and they were great reels too.

[nigelr]

Love using the vintage gear, my oldest usable reels date from early/mid/late 60's, French Bretton 902, 904 and 910 threadlines. Big heavy surf reels that still work like champions, leave any Mitchell surf reel for dead.
Cheers.

[onerabbit]

Probably my most prized fishing possession ..........

My Grandfather gave an old rod to my brother when he was learning to fish, which was passed on to me when I was learning, yellow solid glass, used to be a 2 piece ( I even remember when it used to come apart ) with wooden grips & a now badly perished rubber stopper on the butt. In those days it had white ceramic runners with what looked like wire holding them until my brother made his first attempt at replacing them.
Considering that it was old way back then, & I turn 45 in a few weeks, I could only guess it's age & any signs of breed are long gone.
I do know it has accounted for literally thousands of fish in it's life-time.

I also have an old split cane fly rod which has seen better days & is destined to be a trophy for my "Wall of Fame".

Muzz

[Horse]

I still have my first Baitcaster. A nice little ABU 5000C. That reel caught thousands of fish from big lizards and Trevs to a 25lb Jewie off the bank

[TonyM]

I've still got my first ever boat rod (little Jimbo Deluxe), whiting rod (Black Queen Deluxe), and my first Alvey which are all at least 38 years old (the alvey and Black queen had been my dads for years before I nabbed them).

I've got a few Daiwa spin reels that are over 30 yrs old that I still used up until a few years back

Also got my cane creel which brings back many memories too! Along with a few incidentals like my wooden floating knife and some tackle/sinker boxes made of bakelite that used to be my dear pops who passed on almost 30 years ago. (still got some of his sinkers and swivels in them too!)

I had a lot of other gear including lures that go back a few generations, although they got stolen when some mongrel decided they deserved to have them more than me a couple of years ago

Most of the gear that I use nowadays is new, although I've bought good gear that hopefully will stand the test of time and I'd like to think my grandkids will continue to enjoy it long after I'm gone!

[TonyM]

I have an old yabby pump that's brass not stainless.

hehe your yabbie pump sounds the same model as mine, only upgrade it's ever had is a new washer made from the proverbial thong you can always find laying around on the beach when it needs replacing ;D

[4x4frog]

hehe your yabbie pump sounds the same model as mine, only upgrade it's ever had is a new washer made from the proverbial thong you can always find laying around on the beach when it needs replacing ;D
That sounds like it Tony. Only problem is my brother-in-law needed a ppiece of brass tune at one stage and cut the side handle off it:'(:o>:(.....haven' managed to replace it yet....have no idea what to do, except crown him with it. The wife told me I was stupid blaming him....well I offered the alternative that I'd not cut off my own handle;)////no idea how to fix it though

[4x4frog]

Probably my most prized fishing possession ..........

My Grandfather gave an old rod to my brother when he was learning to fish, which was passed on to me when I was learning, yellow solid glass, used to be a 2 piece ( I even remember when it used to come apart ) with wooden grips & a now badly perished rubber stopper on the butt. In those days it had white ceramic runners with what looked like wire holding them until my brother made his first attempt at replacing them.
Considering that it was old way back then, & I turn 45 in a few weeks, I could only guess it's age & any signs of breed are long gone.
I do know it has accounted for literally thousands of fish in it's life-time.

I also have an old split cane fly rod which has seen better days & is destined to be a trophy for my "Wall of Fame".

Muzz
That's the 2 I have Muzz....one has the rubber butt stopper, reliably perished now too. Mine both had the wire only runners, which I have a few here I was sent by an ausfish member to return the rods to original spec with. I just have to find 2 rods to replace them with, so I can use them as display rods then.

[rockfisho]

Im 17 but ive got a 25 year old Alvey which has barely been used considering its age, it runs very well.

Cheers

Owen

[reggy]

Mine`s an ABU Duet Zoom rod I bought back from Singapore in the mid eighties.

It came with 2 top sections, one lighter than the other. Teamed up with my Cardinal 55 reel, it accounted for a lot of school macks.

Reggy

[SunnyCoastMark]

[quote=TonyM;770862]I've still got my first ever boat rod (little Jimbo Deluxe), whiting rod (Black Queen Deluxe), and my first Alvey which are all at least 38 years old (the alvey and Black queen had been my dads for years before I nabbed them).

Ahhhhh....... the old Black Queen My mate and I both used to have one of those - we would use it for carp, whiting, mullet - everything.

I remember they used to be THE rod back then - even tough they curved all the way from the butt.:)

Who made those? - Butterworth? or Jarvis Walker?

Mark

[TonyM]

Hi Mark,

They are a JW.

Cheers
Tony

[moater]

[quote=TonyM;770862]I've still got my first ever boat rod (little Jimbo Deluxe), whiting rod (Black Queen Deluxe), and my first Alvey which are all at least 38 years old (the alvey and Black queen had been my dads for years before I nabbed them).

Ahhhhh....... the old Black Queen My mate and I both used to have one of those - we would use it for carp, whiting, mullet - everything.

I remember they used to be THE rod back then - even tough they curved all the way from the butt.:)

Who made those? - Butterworth? or Jarvis Walker?

Mark


G'day Mark,

The Black Queen was made by Jarvis Walker and was the rod of choice for a long time for diehard bream fishers (bait) in the Gippsland Lakes here in Victoria.It was popular largely because of the parabolic (bendy) action that the breamers preferred to let a fish take a bait without too much resistance ...."ya gotta have a Black Queen mate" was often said.My brother had a long green JW rod that was a "Clarence" I think and we used to stir him about his "sloppy joe" which by the way I believe was a model of Len Butterworth?? ie the "Queensland Sloppy Joe"??

I've got a Jarvis Walker "Tooradin" which is also a solid glass rod,black with a ferrule just above the cork foregrip.Gee that black rod has caught a sh1t load of fish over close to 30 years and it's had a refurbishment or two.I still use it with a Shimano TSS-3 & 12-15lb line.

As to other gear I've got some old Penn reels ie Delmar 285 overheads that are at least 40 years old (about my age) and still going strong and great reels for heavy duty bottom bouncing.Also some Penn Longbeach 65 overheads that are around same vintage.Got a few of the older ABU overheads in the 8600,12 models that are pushing 30,in good order with many more years left in them.Got a new in box/unused ABU 10000 2 speed automatic that's over 20 years old.

Got a bit of other gear that's getting old but works well.

Geeeezzz...people will start to think it'll rain for 40 days & nights when they see me with my boat.;) (boat & motor and accessories are new & haven't been used yet---sooon!!)

Darren

[youngy]

I have my wife's grandfathers old cane surf rod and alvey reel with a red ceder spool
it is from the late 1950's still works trouble is you would have to be a weight lifter to use it. cheers Wayne.

[SunnyCoastMark]

Now look at that - who says we are a throwaway society?

If only we could get our wives to keep some of their "stuff" for so long....................... then we would have more money to spend on fishing gear;D

Mark

[jacko_01]

i went out to the shed, found the old black queen, forgot i still had it. was given a reel by my great grandfather about 30odd years ago, like an alvey (but not) it looked bloody old when i got, he said it was his fathers. no idea how old it is but i still use from time to time. caught a lot of fish over the years

i was given a rod at the same time, yellow solid glass, timber bottom grip, top grip is like a red bakelite , off to the shed to look for it

cheers rob

[tunaticer]

My favorite reel for rock fishing is my trusty old Abu 12 how many guys out there can honestly say they have used or remember them?

Jack.

[Horse]

My favorite reel for rock fishing is my trusty old Abu 12 how many guys out there can honestly say they have used or remember them?

Jack.

I remember them well
The guys who used them swore by them but they never took off with the general public for some reason. Probably poor marketing or something

[oldboot]

I have an old brass backed alvey with a wooden spool that my father picked up ( probably second hand) when we lived in townsville in arround '65..'66.... still works fine..... due for some attention.

I still have the butterworth rod my brother baught me when I was about 12.


yep the old black queen... still available..... still good on bream & whiting.

cheers

[moater]

My favorite reel for rock fishing is my trusty old Abu 12 how many guys out there can honestly say they have used or remember them?

Jack.

Well I'm one for example.I've got a couple of Abu 12 reels in top nick and an 8600 that needs a minor amount of work.I used to have another 2 x Abu 12s but due to (very) hard times I parted with them.:( :( When I got the chance to buy another..then another,from a US ebay seller I couldn't resist.They cost me about $200 each and I also got a 8600 which is very much the same reel.I sold the 8600 on here ages ago (and wished that I hadn't!!:( ).When I saw another one for sale I thought I'd atone for my wrongdoings..hence my present one.

Down here in Victoria I've used the ABU 12 for surf fishing for gummy shark and smaller bronzies etc..they cast a long way and are built like a tank.I reckon they'll go to my little bloke in good working condition once I'm gone.Hope to get a lot more use in the meantime!

They're great matched up to a FSU5120 blank.8-)

The newer gear looks pretty but I like things that are going to last for sure.:)

Darren

[DR]

i have my grandfathers boat rod & reel from somewhere in the 50s i think..
rod is 6' heavy split cane with stainless guides, on ferrule it says.. Mt. House rod
matching reel is an old Graeme, both working well, just need a bit of TLC to make a lovely wall decoration..

[NAGG]

Unfortunately I've not been able to hang on to any decent gear .... due to a couple of break ins & a break up::)

The couple of losses that disappoint me the most were a Finnor Tycoon ( late 70s) & a Finnor lite ( mid 80s ...... both were awesome hand built lever drag game reels that were worth their weight in gold :'(

Nagg

PS .... I still have a late 1970s ABU 7000 ..... that I used off the rocks

[ida]

gday guys i still use my 6.6ft solid glass jarvis walker rod .i got it in 1972 & it is the best rod for whiting .just love it you can nearly bend it from tip to butt cheers ida

[artesian]

this has been a fascinating read.

Someone has to lower the tone, and since I have to be so P.C. at work, I'd like that to be me :-) For those who don't know what P.C. means, be happy !

My oldest piece of tackle is about as old as me, but after I was married, got less use, and after our child was born, even less :-)

Now how daring was that:-)

On a serious note, I have a much treasured seascape major, a beautiful yellow heart rod that an elderly friend gave me, and a tank aerial rod ffom lifeline at Lutwyche

[coelacanth]

I use a Jarvis Walker Black Queen Deluxe with a Mitchell egg beater when I drop in to my folks on a flying visit, got to leave some of my normal gear with them next time and just take reels down . I don't mind a few grands worthof rods with him but can't do without my reels back home.Even though it was the bees knees in its day the jw is just not the same as using high quality/performance graphite.The JW would be 30+yrs old but still in good nick,Mitchell even older.
It's strange , when you think back to what we were using 30 yrs ago compared to today but we still caught fish and thought that the gears performance was great and now have the ability to compare it's mind blowing the advances in technology that have occurred.In fact I am encouraged by this thread and will send a few rods to the old boy tomorrow,the rivers are getting up at home (Bendigo)so next time they'll be there ready.IAN

[Da-Jew-Man]

Hi Guys,
I have the first sidecast reel made in Australia ( Acme) , 1913, as well as split cane rods both fly and even surf. Cane rods from 6 ft to 18 ft and the ever popular Sloppy Joe's then the fibreglass rods from the 70's ie GoldCoaster and then the graphites.Lures biased towards surf fishing ie Wonder Wobblers and many lead slugs.Other reels including cedar,silky oak and other names also.
No I don't use any of these as they are precious and part of the history of fishing in SE Qld and Northern NSW.
Yes I am an addicted collector of old fishing gear.
I still use the trusty Alvey today( can't use those other things).
Interesting to know what people still have and are using.Some of these items may be valuable.

[reidy]

Good day,
Heaps of gear from the late 70s early 80s but my oldest user would have to be a old mid 70s d.a.m. sl4 threadline.Tough old thing,comes out every so often for a tad of bottom bashing for flatties and gummies.
Cheers Reidy

[nigelr]

Yeah reidy, I've got an SL5, next size larger than yours, solid as a rock and built like a tank, heavy as one too!
Great reel for 15kg though.
Cheers.

[gunna]

I have a couple solid glass rods and old alveys that would all be pre- 1965. Best though - the reel I still use when surf fishing - the Alvey 650 I bought in 1966. Lovely rosewood reel - still in great nick.

[finding_time]

The Tackle i was born with still seems to be working quite well!:-[ :-[ :-[ :-[

[4x4frog]

The Tackle i was born with still seems to be working quite well!:-[ :-[ :-[ :-[
So many lines, which one to choose.........how about, yeah it may still work but how often does it get a workout??::)

[aussiebasser]

My favorite reel for rock fishing is my trusty old Abu 12 how many guys out there can honestly say they have used or remember them?

Jack.


The Abu Ambassadeur 12 was basically a 9000 without the cast control and two speed gearbox. I've held on to most of my old Abus including:

1500C IAR (Only about 18 years old.)
2500C x 2
6000C (From the first shipment into Australia in the very early '70's)
7000
10000C
12
Cardinal 44 threadline
Cardinal 77 threadline

Suecia Zoom 0 rod
Suecia Zoom 1 rod
Atlantic Zoom 4 rod
Fladen Solid Glass rod

I also have a pre-WWII Alvey somewhere

[Red60]

Got back into fishing about eight years ago when someone bought me a Rex Hunt Kmart cheap shyte combo. It is the oldest piece of gear I have but it is rubbish and I will never use it again.

:D