Jims Sea Angling Diary – Fishing in Brighton, Sussex

As per a previous post, I thought I’d visit some car boot sales on Saturday, to see if I could pick up some vintage fishing reels. This was with a view to either starting a collection, or simply flogging them on Ebay – perhaps both.

I was out of the house by about 7:15, with my first planned destination to be the Brighton Station car boot. This ended up being non-existent – the car boot is actually on a Sunday, but I’m sure I read that there was one on Saturdays too.

Not to be defeated, I headed for the BHASVIIC College car boot, which I knew happened on Saturdays. This was absolutely tiny, with maybe 20 stalls. On my first look round, I clocked a fishing rod complete with multiplier – bingo. There were a few other stalls with a random selection of tackle, including another rod with fixed spool, and I did have a look, but moved on.

I had a closer look at the initial rod / reel combo I’d seen – this consisted of a Penn 60 Long beach multiplier with a 6ft “Storm” boat rod. I ended up paying £10 for this combo.

Had a further look round, and saw a stall with three reels – two were fixed spools, both of which were boxed (one with an immaculate box), and one multiplier, not boxed. These reels were a Daiwa 7500R (with immaculate box and instructions), a “Columbian No. 64”, also boxed with instructions, and the multiplier is an “Ocean City 981”.

The fixed spools, I’d estimate, are from the 70s; not sure about the multiplier. I was especially proud of the Daiwa – this, despite its age, is in absolutely immaculate condition, genuinely looking like it’s never been used. I paid £8 for the three of these reels. I have done carried out some research on the models, looking at Ebay to see if there are any equivalent models for sale, and also looking at the sites of a few collectors. The only thing Ebay threw up was a spare reel for the Daiwa fixed spool, for £5.99. It seems that these puppies are not going to make me my first million, but it’s fun all the same, seeing what can be found.

Once I’d finished at BHASVIIC, I dropped the gear home and left straight away for the car boot at the Adur Recreation Ground – this happens every other Saturday, but I wasn’t sure whether this was one of those days. As it turns out, it was, so I parked up and started to have a look round. There were no vintage multipliers to be seen, but I did spot a few fishing DVDs on my way round. There is also a dedicated stall for new fishing tackle. This had a selection of terminal tackle, rigs, quite a large selection of reels and some rods too.

I tried very hard to find something I needed, but they didn’t have my favourite hooks (Kamasan B940 in size 1 or 2). I ended up getting 40 barrel swivels (at £1 for 20), 10 roller bearing swivels, which were £1 for 10 – I’d not tried these before so wanted to see what they were like before buying any more – and 2 packs of 2 “Daylights”, for night fishing.

I went round about 5 times, but couldn’t see anything else of interest, so ended up with 4 fishing DVDs, 3 of which were “Rex Hunt” specials, for £1 each, a 3 pack of nail clippers, which was 50p, handy for cutting line. I bought a “lanyard” during my lunch break on Friday, specifically for keeping the nail clippers close at all times – this proved to be one of the best fishing accessories I’ve ever bought. It’ll save my teeth, too!

All in all, a fun start to the reel collection, and some cheap terminal tackle to boost my stores. I wonder what the next one will bring! Reel pics to come soon.