Alcocks Record Breaker.

[Rotrax]

I have looked through this forum and used the search function but have found no mention of my 'pin, an Alcocks Record Breaker, a slim 4.5 inch diameter model with a plain anodised front.

I have had it forever, it has got a couple of dings on the rim edge but still performs perfectly.

Are they rare? Not much mention of them on here.

[AshbyCut]

There are a few about on various auction and retail sites at the moment ... seeming to range in price from about £60 to £80 or so.

I think that their 'Match Aerial' of a similar size is a more popular and sought after alternative.

[Moley]

I have looked through this forum and used the search function but have found no mention of my 'pin, an Alcocks Record Breaker, a slim 4.5 inch diameter model with a plain anodised front.

I have had it forever, it has got a couple of dings on the rim edge but still performs perfectly.

Are they rare? Not much mention of them on here.

Like you Rotrax my Record Breaker has a few dents and dings but still functions. Fatty uses his for margin carping loaded with 10lb Maxima.....the reel excels for this usage:



And before the no mat brigade start up, the carp was lying in soft grass and ground. Also it went back within thirty seconds.....as do most fish caught by the Mole. This is probably why the ridiculous posing demonstrated by most carpies is absent from any of the Mole pictures

As ever,.......

Moley

[Olly]

It was the cheapest Youngs centrepin sold by Allcocks at 50/- or thereabouts.
Those with a drag - Rapidex, Trudex, Match Aerial - were more expensive by upwards of 20/-.

[Rotrax]

Thanks guys - appreciated!

It came from Paynes of Balham with my Sealey Floatcaster De Luxe.

IIRC that was in the window at about a fiver.

An expensive Birthday present for a kid in those days.

Both have given me great pleasure and will continue to do so now I have discovered others who share the traditional philosophy.

[Banksy]

The reel which was the subject of my boyhood dreams ...
...was the Allocks March Aerial.
It occupied prime position the the window of Linford's Fishing Tackle shop in Bridlington, and that window became smeared from my nose pressing up to it.
My copy of the 1968 Allcocks Anglers Guide (costing 3 shillings, if you please!) automatically fell open at page 186, and I knew the description off by heart - "Endorsed by Billy Lane as 'The finest trotting reel ever made'".

In 1969 I worked every available hour during the summer holidays, saving up for that reel.
Finally, in October, I had enough money, so took the bus into town. my pockets jangling and my spirits high.

But I had somehow miscalculated - something to do with an increase in purchase tax since the catalogue had been printed - and I was about 4 shillings short!
The shop owner would not budge on the price, and to make it worse, suggested that I did not need such an expensive reel, and that its quality would be wasted on a young lad like me.

He sold me a Record Breaker, at half the price of a Match Aerial.
I hope you will forgive me when I confess that I soon came to hate that reel, and all it represented!
It's not a bad reel, but in the circumstances, it did not stand a chance.

And it still hurts:

Reels.jpg

[Rotrax]

Interesting. I have used my Record Breaker for just about all types of fishing, including long trotting on the Hampshire Avon and Kennet. I have nothing better to compare it to and have always found it perfect for my needs.

The Rapidex I have is always second choice, I prefer the RB.

I must admit to suffering from inverse snobbery. Our local lake is infested with bivvies and bite alarms.

I enjoy popping down there with just my modified heavyweight reservoir fly rod,two rod rests and a landing net and mat, a couple of method feeders, a bit of my younger Brothers special mix - he is an ex tackle shop owner and was a well known Carp match angler years ago - and half a pint of maggots, and bagging up.

Never fails.

I am known down there as " Here he comes again " But they dont copy my style, just fish two rods with boilies and wait for the noise.

On the other hand, having been involved with, and spent a fortune on racing motorbikes, I really appreciate that the love of well engineered
and technicaly excellent gear is fulfilling.

I rescued a solid glass two piece heavy 5ft, sea rod and an old Penn Long Beach reel from our local tip the other day. One new bottom ring, a bit of varnish and a service of the simple reel and it is now a nice present for a yachting friend to use for a bit of trolling while under sail.

He would not appreciate anything better as he knows nothing about fishing and it wont be £150.00 up his shirt if it falls overboard.

Horses for courses.

Anyone fancy loaning me a top level pin so I can appreciate the difference?

[Duebel]

And I always thought, I had enough centrepin reels ...
The Record Breaker is definitely on my Must-Have-List

[Old Man River]

The reel which was the subject of my boyhood dreams ...
...was the Allocks March Aerial.
It occupied prime position the the window of Linford's Fishing Tackle shop in Bridlington, and that window became smeared from my nose pressing up to it.
My copy of the 1968 Allcocks Anglers Guide (costing 3 shillings, if you please!) automatically fell open at page 186, and I knew the description off by heart - "Endorsed by Billy Lane as 'The finest trotting reel ever made'".

In 1969 I worked every available hour during the summer holidays, saving up for that reel.
Finally, in October, I had enough money, so took the bus into town. my pockets jangling and my spirits high.

But I had somehow miscalculated - something to do with an increase in purchase tax since the catalogue had been printed - and I was about 4 shillings short!
The shop owner would not budge on the price, and to make it worse, suggested that I did not need such an expensive reel, and that its quality would be wasted on a young lad like me.

He sold me a Record Breaker, at half the price of a Match Aerial.
I hope you will forgive me when I confess that I soon came to hate that reel, and all it represented!
It's not a bad reel, but in the circumstances, it did not stand a chance.

And it still hurts:

Reels.jpg

Seems like we came from the same stable David.

A friend of mine purchased a Match Ariel somewhere around 1966, he was so proud of the reel he never used it , just kept it , pristine and unused for many years. He had owned a record breaker and was "moving up" I straight away saw that the Match Ariel was a step up, and straight away started saving up for one, but never actually reached the dizzying heights of owning one, I found a Gypsy D "Or in a canal lock and used that , in fact I still have it and use it regularly .
So far as the Match Ariel is concerned, well, as I usually fish for larger species these days I have invested in a younger and shinier Match Ariel wide drum, which I am rapidly getting to love .
It will never take the place of my battered Gypsy, but is another reel in the armoury, I quite like the idea of using an elegant finely tuned piece of engineering to land a big Barbel.

But which is the finely tuned reel ? They both go round and round, forwards and backwards, weigh the same or thereabouts, both have a wide drum, both do not need any backing as the line is near to the drum edge , both have a ratchet,neither have an infernal line guide , both do the same job in fact .

Just a bit of glitter and polish, and quite a few years in age seperate them .I do know that the Gypsy has served its time, and is as good now as the day I found it, I only hope that the Ariel will do half as well.

OMR

[Nobby]

I don't recall seeing anything that proved conclusively that JW Young made the Record Breaker, maybe Rupe has? But it surely is Young's with that check lever isn't it?