My First Vintage Rod & Reel

This month I'm back on the banks of the Trent & Mersey canal with my first vintage rod and reel. A Match 13, hollow fiberglass rod, and a Mitchell 300 reel.

Also this month I went to the National Vintage Fishing Tackle Fair at Redditch. It was great to see the fair busy, with lots of stalls and visitors all looking for something special to take home and enjoy.

I had my usual look around at the stalls to see if anything caught my eye before reaching for my wallet. Not looking for anything in particular, apart from some rod bags, I noticed an old poachers' rod which I chatted about with the stall holder before thanking him and continuing my search. After another half-hour of browsing, I went back and bought the poachers' rod. Deal done!

I then continued my search and saw a nice old brass Hendryx reel that I thought would look nice with the rod as a display piece and with my new treasures in hand I went for a cuppa, but not before buying a book for some winter night reading.

While I was having my cuppa I got chatting with Joff from efgeeco.com and we chatted about the day. Thanks to Joff for the EFGEECO badges and reel oil and I'm already looking forward to next year's fair in May. I've started tidying the whipping the poachers' rod and I'm planning a session on the canal to catch a few fish before it takes its place on the wall. I'll have a valid licence and ticket though, so I won't be poaching!