New Record!!?

[Howard Cooke]

Waiting for stuff is just part of life isn’t it. Sometimes the wait is painful though, like when I was at some concert thing in a field and was in desperate need to use a portaloo because 3 seconds earlier I had eaten a strange meat dish sold by a bearded bloke sat inside a van made out of sea shells. That was very painful and actually unpleasant, but mainly for the people around me because I never quite made it to the loo. This was effective though in reducing the size of the queue. And then there is Kelly Brook. I have sent her so many messages, cards, gifts and even pictures of myself and yet I am still waiting for a reply. I do get letters, but they are largely quite official looking with increasingly aggressive wording in larger and larger print. But the wait goes on. We anglers can also spend quite a lot of time waiting- it’s part of what we do isn’t it, the sacrifice we make for those all too brief moments of utter joy when the thing we have been waiting for finally happens. Some say that marriage is a bit like that.



Anyway, I reckon this could be a bit of a record. Two years before my 50th Birthday (as I write this I am a month away from my 55th), knowing that Chris Lythe can be tremendously slow at building his exquisite centre pin reels, I put in an order for a reel so that it would make a wonderful gift on a landmark birthday. Well, I am delighted to report that after almost 7 years, the reel arrived today and it is very beautiful. I’m not sure I would advise Chris to appear on Dragon’s Den though as I fear his business model would come under some quite robust challenge from pretty much all the dragons. Still, we anglers are patient types and you can’t argue with the craftsmanship.

 

[Ben Marr]

Can you stick a photo up, Howard?

 

[Howard Cooke]

Can you stick a photo up, Howard?

 

[Mike Osborne]

Hi Howard,

I have been fortunate to meet Chris (at BS Shows and Yorks. Meetings) and to see and admire several of his masterpieces, mainly in the hands
of an old member here, (Biggun as he's known in the angling world). The thing I most admire with Chris's work is not the superb engineering of the reels but the way he lines up all the screw heads to be exactly the same orientation all around the reels. As a footnote to this I would be remiss not to mention the stunning floats that have come from Mr. Lythes work bench!! Mike.

 

[Mark Anderson]

Hi men ,

Great story as normal Howard , makes me smile when you post , but I have to say I borrowed one for the Kennet and Teme trips , I spent most of my time guarding it from the mud and crap , ended up just choosing swims that were clean enough to use it in . I know my gear is used and abused , so it was lost and wasted on me , but can't wait to see a pic of you're one laying next to a fish .

Hatter

 

[Richard Parsons]

'Tis a beauty, Howard. But seven years??? Long enough to give one an itch!

 

[Howard Cooke]

Hi men ,

Great story as normal Howard , makes me smile when you post , but I have to say I borrowed one for the Kennet and Teme trips , I spent most of my time guarding it from the mud and crap , ended up just choosing swims that were clean enough to use it in . I know my gear is used and abused , so it was lost and wasted on me , but can't wait to see a pic of you're one laying next to a fish .

Hatter

I abandoned the glass display cabinet for my pins a long time ago. It now holds photos of me and Kelly. The wonders of modern technology and photo editing. I do abuse my pins but like to patrol the bank seeking out swims that can accommodate my weedy casting technique. Not sure I even think about whether there might be fish present. I do like a gentle plop.

 

[Howard Cooke]

'Tis a beauty, Howard. But seven years??? Long enough to give one an itch!

I used to send Chris a card on the anniversary of my order but had missed a couple of years recently so it was a bit out of the blue when he said the reel was ready. I’m only teasing really because I know he’s had spells of being unwell and that has set him back. He’s a lovely chap and as an angling craftsman is a dying breed. Having no skills myself, I do gawp in wonder at these works of art.

 

[Howard Cooke]

Hi Howard,

I have been fortunate to meet Chris (at BS Shows and Yorks. Meetings) and to see and admire several of his masterpieces, mainly in the hands
of an old member here, (Biggun as he's known in the angling world). The thing I most admire with Chris's work is not the superb engineering of the reels but the way he lines up all the screw heads to be exactly the same orientation all around the reels. As a footnote to this I would be remiss not to mention the stunning floats that have come from Mr. Lythes work bench!! Mike.

Agreed Mike!

 

[Steve Lewis]

Great story Howard.

Similarly, I've been sending letters "FAO mid 90s Jamie Lee Curtis" for years, but they just get returned unopened, so I guess my luck is even worse than yours. At least you get a response.

I am aware of a Richard Carter custom Aerial that took nearly 11 years and which ended up being one of, if not THE last reels off his line before he completely disappeared from the angling world, but that was more down to the frequently changing demands of the eventual owner (a mate's now deceased dad) and fluctuating availability of some of the parts, rather than anything else.

But, like that Carter reel, I imagine your CL pin will prove to be worth every second of that wait.