Memories of Swing Tipping
Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 3:58 pm
I recently bought a WA Allcocks Adonis and when I opened the bag the seller had enclosed a Freddie Foster style swing tip. It was one of the commercial copies with the screw in rod top adaptor:
The nylon hinge can be adjusted by holding in the steam from a kettle and bending it to the correct shape. The hinge is a push fit into the screwed adaptor so that the angle at which it sits can be adjusted when screwed into the rod tip.
This, coupled with the recent thread on swing tipping, prompted reminiscences on fishing in sweepstake matches on Carr Mill dam in Lancashire in the early to mid 70s. St Helens, Leigh and Wigan were hotbeds of match fishing during the 60s and 70s producing famous anglers such as Benny and Kevin Ashhurst and Billy Makin (Senior and Junior) as well as equally skilled, but less well know anglers such as Joe Lee. Being situated at the heart of this area and holding a good head of bream, matches at Carr Mill would always be of a high standard. Not surprisingly these matches were dominated by the swing tip.
Each match was a learning opportunity and my mates and I soaked up knowledge like sponges. Most of the tackle was home made as commercially available stuff was either too expensive or not thought adequate. Rods were generally made from 9ft 5 weight fly rod blanks as these were light enough in the tip to protect the fine hook lengths used, short enough for the angler to see the tiniest bites and long enough to pick up the line easily when striking.
Swing tips were made from cane of either 3/16" or 1/4" and were around 8" to 10" long. Two eyes were fitted, one at the tip and one close to the hinge. Any more than 1 inch down from the hinge and you would get wrap-arounds on casting. The hinge was a piece of valve rubber just long enough to allow free movement. One end was pushed on to the screw adaptor and one on to the cane. Rings were either bought or made from safety pins - I found that you could easily get a season out of safety pin rings so being a poor student I used these.
The rods were fished at a shallow angle to the bank and set up so that the end of the swing tip just touched the surface of the water when the tip was at an angle of around 80 degrees to the surface. This showed up tiny bites well as on calm days the tip would disturb the surface even when the tiny movement was almost impossible to see. On windier days the tip would be loaded with lead wire and the skilled angler tuned into the rhythmic movements of the tip in the waves and struck at any suspicious movements.
Not surprisingly I never won a match although I did place on occasions, but the real value of those days was the development of skills that have stood me in good stead ever since.
The nylon hinge can be adjusted by holding in the steam from a kettle and bending it to the correct shape. The hinge is a push fit into the screwed adaptor so that the angle at which it sits can be adjusted when screwed into the rod tip.
This, coupled with the recent thread on swing tipping, prompted reminiscences on fishing in sweepstake matches on Carr Mill dam in Lancashire in the early to mid 70s. St Helens, Leigh and Wigan were hotbeds of match fishing during the 60s and 70s producing famous anglers such as Benny and Kevin Ashhurst and Billy Makin (Senior and Junior) as well as equally skilled, but less well know anglers such as Joe Lee. Being situated at the heart of this area and holding a good head of bream, matches at Carr Mill would always be of a high standard. Not surprisingly these matches were dominated by the swing tip.
Each match was a learning opportunity and my mates and I soaked up knowledge like sponges. Most of the tackle was home made as commercially available stuff was either too expensive or not thought adequate. Rods were generally made from 9ft 5 weight fly rod blanks as these were light enough in the tip to protect the fine hook lengths used, short enough for the angler to see the tiniest bites and long enough to pick up the line easily when striking.
Swing tips were made from cane of either 3/16" or 1/4" and were around 8" to 10" long. Two eyes were fitted, one at the tip and one close to the hinge. Any more than 1 inch down from the hinge and you would get wrap-arounds on casting. The hinge was a piece of valve rubber just long enough to allow free movement. One end was pushed on to the screw adaptor and one on to the cane. Rings were either bought or made from safety pins - I found that you could easily get a season out of safety pin rings so being a poor student I used these.
The rods were fished at a shallow angle to the bank and set up so that the end of the swing tip just touched the surface of the water when the tip was at an angle of around 80 degrees to the surface. This showed up tiny bites well as on calm days the tip would disturb the surface even when the tiny movement was almost impossible to see. On windier days the tip would be loaded with lead wire and the skilled angler tuned into the rhythmic movements of the tip in the waves and struck at any suspicious movements.
Not surprisingly I never won a match although I did place on occasions, but the real value of those days was the development of skills that have stood me in good stead ever since.