...but changed my mind as I try and avoid weekend stints at commercials. Instead I will stay here and tell you about a few odd repairs I have done recently, tell you about a new feeder float I intend to try out on Monday...
I have been having great fun with my cheap telescopic pole/whip that I elasticated. Wanting to experiment further, I was looking for a proper whip or two. Not wanting to spend a King's ransom on a full set of quality whips, I have been keeping my eyes peeled for some second had ones, just to see if I liked the slightly different style of fishing. Several months of watching the eBay listings bore no fruit, at least none that I wanted to eat.
Then my mate Mick decided to have a clear out and asked if there was anything anyone on the Maggot Drowning forum was after. Amongst his treasures he found a few bits I had asked him for. I have been looking, very half-heartedly, for a 4000 size reel for feeder fishing. Tick! On enquiring as to if he had any flick tip whips, he said he did. The net result was a selection of whips and a reel. Mick also gave me a 8 meter telle/put-over whip with a few 'issues'. One of the top sections had a fracture crack and had lost some of the top coating.
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| A double layer of shrink-wrap tubing does the trick |
The number two section was split and a bit 'crunchy' at about the halfway
mark. I did think about a full carbon repair as I have done before (See
HERE) but decided I would try something a bit simpler, a heat-shrink wrap. A decent length was slid over the damaged area and heated to shrink it. A hot-air gun, set to the cooler heat, is the ideal tool but most decent hair-dryers will do the job. The area was allowed to cool completely. A second shorter length of the same size tubing was slid over the first and shrunk to make a second layer over the centre of the joint. This puts more pressure on the first sleeve making the joint perfectly strong enough for the job in hand.
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| Removing the imprint on the shrink tubing to make the joint look better |
The imprint is easily removed with a alcohol-based spirit such as
isopropanol or mentholated spirit, leaving the repair looking neat and
tidy. Okay, this is not the way to mend an expensive pole section but for this cheap whip it is the perfect answer.
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| Mind your fingers! |
The other problem that seems to beset these cheap tele-poles is the end cap gets lost. This was the case with this pole. Sue
suggested using one of the tops to the plastic, wide-mouth fruit juice
bottles I keep my pellets in. As luck would have it, once the thread was
removed, it was a perfect fit
Instant and cheap, this repair will give this giant whip/pole a new lease of
life and a bit of fun to have a play with something that has been
brought back into use.
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| Perfect fit |
I am off fishing on Monday and I will try out one or two of my new whips and poles. I also have bought one of the new Sodafloats to try. It looks good but the real test will be to see if it helps me catch any fish, we will see.
Ralph.
