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Paul Witcher reels

Aaron Littlefield

Aaron Littlefield

Senior Member
Are there any barbel hunters on here that have bought or used Paul Witcher reels? In the unlikely event that I win the lottery this weekend, does anybody know what the typical going rate for one of these would be? I was offered one recently through a contact - a 4.5" Avon Elite for £1250, but I have no idea if that is a realistic market price.

It's hard to believe he was selling his reels for around £500 in 2001, if I did buy it I would use it, but only on special weekends...oh trying to rationalise expenditure, I could buy a handful of minty Allcock Match Aerials for that sort of money.

Any advice (clean please!) taken on board, PM me if you like.

Regards

Aaron
 
Rare as hen's teeth those reels. Great reels by other great reel makers often come up on ebay. Chris Lythe's from time to time, Richard Carter's too and only last week a Barbel Catcher by Garry Mills. But Paul Witchers, never. As one owner I know told me some time back: "they're buried with you".

So £1250 for an Avon Elite is probably about right but it could be even more. As for a Bisterne Aerial....probably best not to even think about it.

Aaron, you really have caught the bug haven't you. I hope you're financially well set, because I think you could be about to drop some serious wonga.
 
Seem to remember that a Witcher Avon Elite in fine nick and with all documentation etc went for that sort of money (more?) a year or so back after a hard-fought bidding battle among Witcher aficianados on Ebay. Nice reels.

PS - for some reason, my usually excellent memory keeps offering me "£1750" for that Ebay Witcher.
 
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oh yes, he's got it bad. pin'an'cane'itis at it's most (financially) crippling :D, terminal i'm afraid, no cure when the panda-fodder bug bites and the secondary spinney thingy infection takes hold. only thing to look forward to is a lifetime of watching water and smelling of fish, if your lucky:D:D:D
 
I have 2 - the 1920 Aerial copy which I bought new from Paul at £650 about 7-8 years ago and which gets used a LOT - by far and away my favourite reel - gets used way more than my Chris Lythe or my Richard Carter. Also have a very early Avon Elite from Paul which I bought for under £600 from a dealer about 5 years ago....

C.
 
It's official: there's no justice in the world! That one man can own two Witchers, One Lythe and a Carter too, that's simply just not right. You're a lucky man Chris, that's a mighty collection and I am very jelous.

For my part, I've been umming And ahhing over getting one Of Chris Lythe's Barbel Master reels for a while now. I told myself I'd get one for my fortieth, but with that looming ominously just over a year away, and with CL's notoriously long waiting list, it now seems unlikely.

P.S Hope you've got a water-tight insurance policy on that lot, Chris.
 
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Something to leave the boys when I go!!!

Pic of the 1920 copy with a recent capture....

5lb6ozChub.jpg



C.
 
Teak and brass - I bet it weighs a ton! PW's reels are very light - which is why they are such a joy to use!


C.
 
Or spend similar money for a really first class 1915, 1920 or 1935, Real McCoy, Allcock Aerial that Paul's reels faithfully copy in design and finish. I'm just glad that I got my couple of users of said reels when I did, for pence or a handful of pounds as a penniless teenager / early twenties hairy man back in the 1970s.
 
Agreed. I like to think I'm an honest, honourable person but if there was just one thing, just one item of tackle that could inspire me to to beat up a fellow angler, push him in the river then run of with his tackle then it would have to be one of these — http://www.mullocksauctions.co.uk/lot-13554-reel_an_ex_rare_allcock~s_double_ventilated_aerial.html
I jest, of course, but I dream of one day finding one of these at a boot sale...for a fiver..

P.S I know you have one of these Mr Boote, probably best you don't take it anywhere near the Gt. Ouse with you.
 
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that is 'pin porn' and needs an 'xxx' certificate. i'll be drooling all morning now after seeing that ;)
 
The 4-inch example I have makes that Mullock reel look a bit tatty. I contacted Mullocks just before Christmas with a view to getting mine (which I don't see from one year to the next, with it being in distant safe storage) into their spring 2011 sale. Yet to make a final decision about if I can "afford" to keep it for a little longer, though. The loveliest of all Aerials, I and a few old, now dead, centrepin aficianado friends reckon, and last used "in anger" by me in a riverside garden in the shadow of Salisbury Cathedral spire back in the summer of Queen's Silver Jubilee year in another millennium.
 
if i was too buy another centrepin it would be a vintage double ventilated aerial , nearly brought one last year ,but a browning revolver came my way instead (modernish copy) . I cant get one this year as i'll be using my savings too put towards a deposit on a new (skoda yeti) motability car ,but next year i hope too be in a possition too get one .then my pin menagerie will be complete
 
1977, a good year. my first centrepin acquired at 11 years old, an allcocks match aerial, tatty but usable. 2 years later, and for the only reason that it was old and tatty, i part exchanged it for a daiwa gs1 and a brand new Grice and Young silver eagle, with the graphite back. broke the foot and lost interest in the centrepin for over 10 years, wonder where that reel is now....
 
Haydn Clarke said:
Agreed. I like to think I'm an honest, honourable person but if there was just one thing, just one item of tackle that could inspire me to to beat up a fellow angler, push him in the river then run of with his tackle then it would have to be one of these — http://www.mullocksauctions.co.uk/lot-13554-reel_an_ex_rare_allcock~s_double_ventilated_aerial.html
I jest, of course, but I dream of one day finding one of these at a boot sale...for a fiver..

P.S I know you have one of these Mr Boote, probably best you don't take it anywhere near the Gt. Ouse with you.
Click to expand...



It's going to be in Mullocks spring sale, Haydn. Sent the reel to John Stephenson of the firm today. First time I had seen the reel in at least three years. Yup - nothing less than a total blinder.

PS - Tell the tackle fiends.
 
Good luck with the hammer on that one, Paul. It's way, way, way out of my price range, sadly, but I'm sure it's a real beauty. I'll keep 'em peeled and watch for the final sale price. I'm going for somewhere between £1800 - £2000.
 
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