Gypsy D'or Centrepin by Grice & Young.

[kiwiretzev]

Hi all,

I thought Id show you you what the effects are of regularly washing out a freshwater reel, that is used (all the time) in the salt.

These British made reels were apparently meant for coarse fishing in the UK, however in Australia and here in New Zealand they make very good reels for catching Parore. I understand the reel (further down in the post) was made somewhere around 1965.

fyi the reel in this photo isnt a Grice & Young, but an Alvey centre pin that Ive since passed on to a friend. The photo is just to show you what a Parore looks like.


My local spot X for catching Parore in New Zealand. I  love  it down here as I never think about work!

Parore is a 'Maori' name (native New Zealander/Kiwi) and is is pronounced 'Pa-raw-ree'. Unfortunately, these fish are too often just called 'Sh%tfish.
We generally get Parore in the north half of the north island, while in Australia the fish are spread up and down the bottom half of the east coast.
In Australia, they are called Luderick or Blackfish, and they have a massive following of fishermen/fisherwomen.

Ive had this one for sometime now, and as you can see they are simple in design and solid as a rock. Im currently in the process of respooling it with some floating gelspun line.

This reel made me 'umm and ahhh' for some time when I first bought it, as it was in great condition and I was concerned that Id ruin the lovely paint work down on the rocks. This wasn't to be!

Not much can really go wrong with them. All I do when I get home after an outing is to dunk it in freshwater, and once its dried, give it a dose of reelX and maybe a smidgen of  Inox MX8 grease for good luck.






Its as good as new now, and is ready to fish another day!

[Cor]

When I was about 8 years old my Dad bought me a new Alvey centre pin reel.   I had it for many years but never managed to cast a sinker further than 30ft and had nobody to show me how.

I have an old Tadler reel 1970 (made in UK) with a similar looking finish, those were known as "tanks" here heavy and very strong no nonsense reels.

I once walked around the Cornwallis area, S.W. of Auckland and got caught by the tide at a very similar looking spot.

Enjoy your fishing, NZ has got the best of it.

[mhc]

That brings back memories, not the reel but fishing for Luderick in the late 70's around the Tweed River estuary on the QLD and NSW border. It's a real art to trick them into taking a small hook wrapped in weed under a pencil float - letting the float sink for what seemed like an eternity before gently setting the hook was an art that I never mastered, a couple of mates got caught up in the challenge and used to land a few using medium sized Alveys on soft Jarvis Walker rods like the "Black Queen". From memory one of my friends tried cooking one once but the dark flesh and weedy taste ensured they were a catch and release target. Luckily I'm a bit further north now in central QLD outside of there distribution, so I haven't been reminded of my inability to out smart an undesirable fish - until now. 

Mike

[kiwiretzev]

Hi Mike,
Thanks for your story. There are some stunning estuaries and river systems over there.
I've spent some time on the Tweed also, as my family are made up of both Kiwis and Australians.
If you do manage to fish for them again, the only reason the flesh didnt taste right would have been due to the black gut lining not being scraped out (and the fish not being bled straight away) That will make the difference.
I've intentionally fooled mates of mine in the past, when I've told them the Luderick/Blackfish is actually snapper. They had no idea, and I've never told them either!