Do we have any Centre-Pin devotees out there? I hope so.
Avonbarbel has asked me to put a piece together on the subject, so here goes...
The centre pin reel as we know it today was born in the mid 1800s in the suburbs of Nottingham. Small manufacturers supplied the requirements of the local River Trent anglers who wanted a lightweight free-running reel. These simple wooden reels, known as Nottingham reels promoted a method of fishing - the Nottingham style. They rapidly gained popularity and by the 1890's were being mass-produced by large companies such as Reuben Heaton, Smith & Wall, Allcocks and David Slater- indeed the Slater reels were amongst the finest made, very expensive at the time, and very collectable today.
The primitive early reels evolved considerably until their decline in the 1950's and there are some wonderful creations still around for the collector - constructed from amazing combinations of Walnut, Mahogany, brass, ebonite (a bakelite-type material) and alloys. Some of these reels are real works of art.
Around the end of the Victorian era saw the introduction of Aluminium alloys in reel manufacture and indeed metal reels would eventually all but replace the wooden ones. There are a bewildering number of manufacturers and models of alloy centre-pins during the last century. Again some are superb and eagerly sought by collectors - none more so than the famous Aerial Reel.
This reel was designed by Henry Coxon for the old-established tackle company of Allcocks, who marketed the reel for around 70 years! Of a spoked open face design, the Coxon Aerial was originally made with an ebonite drum and wooden back with brass fittings - similar to the popular Nottingham reels of the day, but in use its lightness was a revelation and many still rate the earliest Coxons as the best centre pins ever. The Aerial evolved over the years with literally dozens of models and variants. The best ones are the pre-war (1940) reels - these truly represent the high-water mark of the reelmakers' art and are as usable now as the day they were made.
There were many other fine reels made by other companies - among them Hardys, Allcocks, and the largest of the lot, J.W.Young and Sons. Jim Young was head reelmaker at Allcocks in the late 1880's and helped in the design of the Coxon Aerial. It seems he left to set-up his company to manufacture the Aerial for Allcocks in the mid 1890's. Youngs manufactured fishing reels for many of the big names such as Allcocks, Milwards, Fosters, Farlow, Sealey and latterly Shakespeare. They exported their reels, bearing other companies' names, all over the world. After the Second World War Youngs introduced a range of reels bearing their own name. All were of modern design and dominated the quality reel market for decades. In this range of reels we find famous names such as the Rapidex and Trudex centre-pins and the Ambidex fixed spool reel.
Youngs have continued in production with their modern range of reels (until comparatively recently still made in the UK, now owned by Masterline) and today still offer some of the finest Centre-Pin reels available - most still built around the Allcock Aerial principle. Of these the Ray Walton "Rolling Pin" will be of most interest to our members - it's a magnificent centre pin, conceived for Barbel fishing, which swivels to enable those mortals amongst us to be able to cast straight from the reel!
Incidentally, Garry Mills, a really nice guy, who was reelmaker with the now-defunct J.W.Young factory now markets his own hand made Aerial-style reel, made to the specifications of the Barbel Catchers Club. It's a beauty!
Well, that had better do for now - I hope one or two of you are still awake! But I urge all to try a centre pin - although in all honesty not easy to use, the rewards in playing a fish on a 'pin just have to be experienced.
The Pics below show an original Coxon Aerial of 1896 and a current Youngs Purist CL of about a century later - you can see the family resemblance. Now that's a production run!