Chapman Amwell, £20....

[Bumblebee Bend]

Great rod for winter chub using float or ledger,I've had one for many years and it has served me well.You can hardly go wrong at £20!

[Banksy]

A ‘before’ and ‘after’ viewing is always interesting!
In the case of anything I have refurbished, ‘before’ is usually better!

[BoltonBullfinch]

I won't be getting my hands on the rod until the end of June.

Thanks
BB

[Gudgeon Basher]

BB

If you love your 500 you will love the Amwell too, I am lucky enough to own both but if I had to sell one it would be the 500 all day long I could never part with the Amwell it just feels right in the hand and looks stunning too, always brings a smile to my ugly mug when she slides out of the bag.

As Paul F mentioned it's a tad heavier than the 500 but I find the extra length balances it nicely, without a shadow of doubt my favourite rod (thank you Paul F for letting me adopt yours).

Worst case scenario is you resell it on here if nobody else wants it I will take it off your hands for £21 so you make a profit

It's always handy to have a spare

GB

[Wallys-Cast]

This post inspired me to take my Amwell on holiday last week to the Old Gravel Pits. I used the rod most days and I think it had more fish this week than it has ever had.
It really is a great rod, Tench, Ide, Rudd and small Carp all quickly brought to the net.

Long casting and quick striking, nice balance. Cant fault it.

[Gudgeon Basher]

Nice fish and photos Wal, these really are greatly underrated rods aren't they.

GB

[Wallys-Cast]

Nice fish and photos Wal, these really are greatly underrated rods aren't they.

GB

Thanks Steve, yes I had forgotten how nice a rod it is.

Best wishes.
Wal.

[BoltonBullfinch]

I got my Chapman Amwell on Saturday as my sister did a flying visit back north to fill her lungs with some decent air. What I received was a OK butt section, a OK middle section and three tip sections from god knows what. Although somewhat disappointed by the lack of the correct tip, I decided that the Amwell will be a long term project. I told Ted I had the Amwell and the Aquilla I got off him some time ago, thanking him for the Aquilla and explaining about the Amwell.
Today I got a message from Ted to say he had contacted the guy in the junk shop and there was another tip section that they had not passed on to my brother when he picked up the rod. It would be beyond belief if this tip was correct and serviceable, but one can hope.
I think this rod deserves a refurb no matter what, so if the tip is OK I might get it restored by someone much better than I am at the work, if it needs a new tip making then to keep costs sensible I will probably do it myself.
I will put some before pictures on here at the weekend.

Thanks
BB

[Gudgeon Basher]

Fingers crossed for you BB

[BoltonBullfinch]

Update....
Whilst having a go at making some floats this afternoon, I kept glancing at the two sections of the Amwell that I currently have in my possession, and the more I looked, the more I wanted to strip them down to bare cane.
I gave in around teatime and got the old steel 6inch rule and some curly stuff that works like steel wool but doesn't go through me, then set to work removing the guides and removing the varnish. As is sometimes the case, someone in the not too distant past had decided to give the rod a lovely thick coat of yacht varnish over the original covering, it was still sticky under a couple of guide whippings. Anyway, in about 40 minutes the two sections were as naked as the day they were born, except for the ferrules and the handle. The intermediates have left wonderful marks to help when re whipping, and they are not close together like a MKIV, more like a couple of inches apart. I will ask John Chapman next week if he has any of the wine thread used on this rod available, and see if he has any of the Chapmans of Ware stickers available. The ink writing that said The Amwell has come off in the stripping but has also left a nice outline to follow with a pen. I'm not intending doing too much to the rod at the moment until I get my hands on the tip section and see if it's the correct tip and is sound.

Thanks
BB