Thinking ahead there is nothing nicer than walking along a river bank with the crunching of the snow & frost below your feet and the sun in the sky chasing Grayling.
The badge was not touched in any way throughout the refurbishment as I wanted to keep it the way I found it, to be honest there was not that much work required as the previous owner, a personal friend fished with this rod frequently and looked after it.
One part of the rod which had to be replaced was the handle, the cork was long since worn down around where the reel seat fits onto the handle through long-term use as you can see from the photo the first time I used it last year, I had to insert a small piece of cork between the handle and the reels seat to ensure a secure fit when fishing.
I have to thank Andrew Davis at http://www.ajdsplitcanerods.com/ for removing the old cork handle and replacing it with a new one, a lovely job which will probably outlast my time of fishing with the rod, Thanks Andrew.
Looking back through a 1956 Allcocks Tackle guide which I possess, the Eclipse was regarded as the highest grade of rod.
"Designed for the angler who demands a stiff, sharp-striking action, this beautiful built cane rod is without equal in its class. Light in weight and handy, the “Eclipse” is extremely powerful and can be thoroughly relied on to deal with strong and heavy fish. 3-joint, built cane throughout, cork handle, “Bells Life” rings, agate butt and end rings, bronzed sliding winch fitting, rubber button and partitioned bag. Truly this rod can be said to “eclipse” all rivals. Weights (approx.) 13½ozs. 10½ft."
The later rods had aluminium reel fittings as mine has.
Priced at 165/ which equates to roughly £8.25 in today's currency It was higher priced than its more famous sister the Allcocks "Wallis Wizard" which was priced at 156/ roughly £7.80 in today's currency.
I bet it doesn't half feel nice at 20 yards distance with a big Grayling on.
ReplyDeleteDave
It does indeed mate :)
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