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best barbel reel ever

okuma-trent-centrepin-reel.jpg

120 years to develop the Aerial concept and they came up with that :eek:
 
Very droll Mr Lush . It's actually Ouse Bridge as there is a good Sams Smiths pub right next to it ! My favourite Barbel Reels ? 'Modern' - Abu Cardinal 54 . Old school fixed spool - Mitchell 300 or 410 . Pin - Speedia , Mordex Merlin , Gysy D'Or , the list goes on ....

A good Sam Smiths Pub? Why had some one burnt it down, I wouldn't let them brew tea, now if was a free house selling Copperdragon :rolleyes:
 
Tim is the Aerial original,or a modern copy by your mate John Baldwin.just wondered as the brass reel fitting looks
very shiny.
 
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Have to agree with Derek. I have the 5000 XTEA's. But the ones he mentioned are great value reels especially matched with something thats not used for growing runner beans..
 
Shimano 5000 GTEC's do me a treat:)
 
Probably the least important bit of tackle as far as Barbel are concerned ! Nicest is the ABU Suveran but any old reel will do, even a pin ;)

I think that Simon and I agree on Abu - proper Abu that is - the quality will never be surpassed. If only they had made a baitrunner.
 
Tim is the Aerial original,or a modern copy by your mate John Baldwin.just wondered as the brass reel fitting looks
very shiny.

Well spotted Howard, you're absolutely right. It's something I've been dreaming about for a long time. Having persuaded John to make the back, I then also had to wait for the right donor Aerial to come up for the drum. I was so pleased with the result that I thought I'd share it with you. Notice the tolerance between the drum and the brass backplate strengthening rim. The engineering is superb. And as you also pointed out, a genuine Improved Coxon would be too valuable to use, even if you could afford to buy it in the first place. Last I heard, a pair went for £6k. It could well have been the two reels that Mullocks had a couple of years back.
 
enlighten me...

Well, tell me how you come to the opinion that it is an 'Aerial type' for a start. Then we can discuss how two old reels, no longer in production, can be bodged together and thought by some misguided person to be superior to any modern equipment. We might then touch on twin stainless bearings, one-way disc drag and tolerances that an old Redditch tackle blacksmith could only dream about.
 
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