Recent content by Richard Isaacs

Thanks Dave, she beat me up for a good 20 minutes. After 15 of them I started to win and actually believe I stood a chance of landing it. Shit myself mind when I got first sight of it 😂 😂😂 well we both needed a minute to regain some composure. There was a good reason for the net shot. I...

Appreciate the kind words I’ve been chomping at the bit to share those pictures with you gents. It’s by a landslide my biggest milestone in angling and I’m saying milestone because achievement isn’t quite the perfect word. Im not watering it down but there was a huge amount of luck involved...

I’m able to fully share now as all published and done This was the result of my last “chub” chasing session of 2025. Not quite in the same league of the great Keith speers. We are missing a pound in weight and a blanket of snow but not a million miles off either. Pb float caught barbel on a...

Nice rod. I met Daryl on Friday and got to have a little play with the 15ft versions as he had a prototype on him. Very nice rods indeed. Just bare in mind you need to carefully zip it up over those tall butt guides as it’s quite snug in that area. It’s even more important with the Normarks...

I’m using the 2 rod folding quiver for the job currently. It’s much much slimmer and taller too. You do have to be mindful when zipping it up over tall stand off butt guides but otherwise it’s quite good and very protective for 3 piece float rods

I’m really sorry for your loss Simon 😞

This is dreadful to hear Si. I can only hope the time left is as peaceful and painless for her as it possibly can be.

Shimano did the same. It was originally a matt hayes invention in the 90’s when he would whip on a loop to take an isotope or starlight. Obviously because he was promoting shimano gear at the time, they did the same thing and manufactured quiver tips with standing loops. Dreadful idea for...

Low quantities of barbel on any size of river can be a needle in a haystack until you’ve done a bit of homework on the river itself because in the daylight hours they do tend not to move about as much but it’s fairly easy to narrow down the search by understanding what they actually need. I’d...

Next time I’m in the shop I’ll ask Iain if he’ll get a couple out to look at I assume they are still made by daiwa?

There was 2 models. The early one was the best with the soft bulbous reel pouch and bigger full length zip up size pocket for a small brolly. The later one was hard all the way down to the reels and I believe didn’t accommodate a brolly as the pocket was smaller Early modellater model

I don’t think you can go far wrong with any of the vintage Swedish abu’s They are very reliable, very simple mechanically and shockingly spare parts have always been easy to come by. Another one of my favorites is the 1044. This was not made in Sweden it was made in Japan but it is a great...

Alan that would be the ultimate trophy mate. A great Ouse double figure barbel caught by design on the float. …. Wow! What more could a barbel angler want. Don’t get me wrong they are a long way off hanging them selves on the nene but to do it on the G Ouse nowadays is another level of...

Sorry Peter I’ve only just seen this question through browsing. The simple answer to that is that it’s a little different and a little niche. I’ve owned several acolytes and despite selling all but 1, I do rate them highly as good rods. But I don’t get the same hype with them and don’t find...

Which part has given up?