So I am taking a friend fishing for the first time on monday, to save him shelling out I decided to look out an old rod and reel.

When I put the reel on the rod I noticed it was set up for right hand wind. Off to the tool box for a screwdriver to switch it over, sounds simple so far.

Insert ham fists and remove the 2 screws I think look right, I now realised that this does not look like my other reels.

I only know it was too late to go back when i hear a tiny spring bounce off the ceiling. I look up and drop the 2 tiny screws which are in the palm of my hand, of course they drop between the old floorboards in my house.

Reel now in bin in disgust, thank goodness its a cheap £20 reel and not something a bit more desirable.

The lesson here is, have a fishing friend with small girly hands

That rang a bell..in more ways than one.

I have two of Mick Bell's reels. Tried to change the first one over myself and sent the C clip all over the room. Luckily found it but the second one I asked Mick to change over!!!!

Whenever I buy a reel, now, it's part of the deal that the seller sets it to RHW.

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Roy

In engineering terms, that wee spring is known as a 'pingfukit', common in many precision instruments

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Game fish are too valuable to be caught only once - Lee Wulff

invest in a carpet

.......or always have a strong magnet to hand (or even in the reel) when dismantling those fiddly bits.


Dave

Or a tea towel - handy device for catching pingfukits but must be deployed in advance.

I remember once stripping and re-building a pair of primary winches on a sailboat, out of sight of land - and the perfect recipe for the expensive version of the pingfukit game - small, vital, spring-loaded parts and no chance of a spare.

Some barsteward had greased the pawls - big no-no in cold weather - and as a result the winches would sometimes run-back under load - this is not a two pound trout at play, it's multi-ton loads and real risk of serious injury.

Anyway, working with the whole job wrapped in a tea-towel managed to contain the parts.

I just love technical language

i always thought the manufacturers delibrately booby trapped their products.when i'm taking apart small assemblies i do it inside big clear bags.to catch the ballbearings and springs

jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Update

Went to GAC today to buy a cheapo reel to replace springless reel that now resides in the bin.

Picked up one for £10 which will do fine to let him see if he likes fly fishing. I got to the counters and started to feel guilty that I had made the trip up there (I cycled up from the south side of the city) and had only spent £10.

I then went around the shop and bought another £50 of stuff to "justify the trip"

At one point I was drooling over the new Hardy Demon rods before I came to my senses, on another day, if I was not on the bike I would have impulse bought the bloody thing, knowing I dont need it !

What chemical is it that is released in the brain when you walk into shops like that !!!!!!!! Any Ideas for a name for this expensive chemical ??

"At one point I was drooling over the new Hardy Demon rods before I came to my senses, on another day, if I was not on the bike I would have impulse bought the bloody thing, knowing I dont need it !"