INDIANANGLER

Hi all ,
Got this bengali style rod and reel. Dont know how to setup. How to load line, how the drag works and how to cast .
Please help !

Why do I have a feeling that you have a right reel on the wrong rod or the wrong reel on the right rod. I mean either ways its wrong :)

The ROD looks like a fly rod, and the reel is a bait casting one. You either need a fly fishing reel or that rod or a bait casting rod for that reel. Never seen/used a bengali tackle ever. I most probably could be wrong in my perception.

Cheers
DeZZ

Hi DEZZ !
Combination of the rod and reel could not be wrong in any probability because it was bought as one setup (combo). The rod looks like a fiber or carbon material but actually is made of bamboo.
Lets wait for the bongs to arrive.

I had one of these early in my life. They are hell.
1. Just wind the line on the reel after tie it down. Make sure you tie it down tight or it will slip.
2. The drag is the little 'ships wheel' under the winding lever. Tur it one way and it will tighten the drag. the opposite way will do the opposite.
3. With a loose drag thread the line through the guides and tie and then rig up with whatever set up you like. These work best with floats./
CASTING (The hellish part)
1. Pull out as much line off the reel and lay it gently on the ground.
2. Place the rod down.
3. Pick up the line and cast it out with your hand.

The rod and reel only come handy once you have hooked a fish.

Hell I tell you. Lots of tangles. Lots of frustration. But great fun.

How strong is the outfit ?
If it's fairly heavy duty gear it could well be old (properly old) mahseer tackle and therefore colectable.
If I were you I'd get some good photo's of any makers marks and of the rod and reel individually and start doing a bit of research.
Might be worth a bob or two if marketed corectly.

Ya this is a typical rod and reel from Kolkata. very strong when it is compared to the modern day fishing equipment.

The only disadvantage with this set up is that you cannot cast the lure or bait the way you would cast it from a normal spinning or a baitcasting reel. The line needs to be manually pulled out from the reel and the bait thrown in the water with your hands.

I have 2 of these combos. These set ups are very famous in kolkata.

Regards,

Christopher

Ken! The reel design is antediluvian but they are made even now. The beauty is that the materials, brass and iron, are the same. If you strip and polish the parts they do get smooth but never castable.

Had one long ago. Wish I had thought of using a modern reel with it. The bamboo rods are very tough. But casting was always painful. I loved the look of the reel though.

Is that rod bamboo or cane?

Hi Bobby
Rod is very well painted so diificult to tell but i belive it should be cane.

These reels are found in Guwahati also but brought from Kolkata. Karmakar and Co. or Karmakar Bros. makes such kind of reels. Others also manufacture the same. The rods are made of cane as the bamboo ones dont last long. GRC, Saiki and others from Kolkata can provide more information about it.

appo waitin for Gavin and saiky to reply

GRC here with his 2 pice bit

the rod and reel shown by Prakash is the modus operandi for the anglers in this part of the world. Since MKen has already explained the correct way of putting line onto the reel as well as casting the bait out, I wont illustrate this further...

The bamboo (ringal) rod is abundantly found here in Kolkata, however over the last few years, people have been shifting to fibre glass rods... and so are the reels, which are normally brass, fibre glass, and sometimes aluminium.. It has a very simple drag mechanism (as already mentioned by Ken).. For years I had been using this set up and I can guarantee that these rods can stand up to most, if not all, the more famous and knowm brands, the world over.. I have even sent a sample to Dirk Buran (Product Manager - Askari/Kogha) and he was pleasantly surprised with it..
The regular length of the rods are about 5 to 5.6 feet and is generally two piece, however u can have your rod made-to-order for a little extra cost.. The rods are joined by aluminium/brass ferrules and the guides are usually ceramic. Cheaper rods would have metal guides...

The Reels, as I have already mentioned above, are normally brass however you do have the fibre glass and cheaper aluminium versions.. They come in different sizes ranging from a 2 inch dia. upto the 4.5in dia.. 3.5 to 4in dia is the most preferred and used reel. The reel has 2 ratchets on either side. One ratchet is for the drag.. Unlike the "international" reels that we are used to and have different drag setting options available to us, the "Kolkata reels" just have 2 options. Medium drag and Less than Medium drag ( there's just no other way to explain it ).. The other ratchet is for noise.. Lets call it the Kolkata Bite alarm .. If the ratchet is on, and a fish is on your line, the noise made by the reel due to the line being pulled out by that monstrous fish, is very much like a banshee ( or in some cases the Missus after a hard day at the office ).. The only hiccup on this reel is the winding mechanism.. Since this is just like a lever system, it takes a little doing to keep the line from going slack.. However, my personal suggestion to all TRUE anglers, is to have a go with this set up.. It is painstaking however, the prize is a little more worthwhile knowing that you did it the hard way...

Cost of the rod would be anything between 200-350 bucks (INR)
Cost of reel (brass) would be about 200-500 (depending on the size)

I think that I have covered most of the Kolkata Special... But in case there are any grey areas, do let me know and I will try and answer them for you...

Cheers and Tight Lines,
GRC

Prakash - You've got the reel fixed the wrong way.. The reel is a right-hand and the two bars close to each other is the area from where the line comes out from the reel...

I Still Fish with them. It’s a lot of fun. To be frank I never knew any other kind of setup existed till Abhijeet (spoon angler) introduced me to spinning reels. They are very strong and my dad has caught a 5 Kilo Katla on one of the rods. Has to be fished with a float and works best in lakes and ponds.

I agree RoS.. Its good fun to use these reels and rods and just adds to the nostalgia of the entire experience.. I have seen catlas of upto 30kgs being caught with this set up...

A trip down nostalgia lane indeed! I learned to fish with a setup like this as a kid, and after about 45 years, and plenty of rough use (it has served as a training rod for other kids in the family down the years), I still have it with me, in serviceable condition. As has already been brought out, can't be used for casting, and can only be effectively used for float fishing. Due to the inherent inaccuracy of the hand casting involved, and the poor ergonomics of the equipment (landing a large fish with this setup is a pretty tough job), it is a far better option to use a spinning reel for float fishing. However the attraction of the 'Kolkata Special' is undeniable. I recently picked up nice old set, with a 2 piece bamboo rod of about 7.5 feet and a large sturdy reel, and look forward to trying it out sometime soon.

I agree with M'ken about the description of this set up but would love to add that with a bit of practice you can cast with this setup a long distance. The trick is to strip line of required length between the reel and first guide as done while using fly fishing and then holding the line near the guide end cast as you cast normally. I have done some spinning and landed some fishes with this rod and let me assure you, fighting a fish with this setup is an different experience altogether.

I do not know whether good quality, three piece cane rods are still made or not but I would love to use this setup once again for some sea fishing.

Regards,

Ali.

Thanks for that Gav.
I have one like this at home, yet to inaugurate...maybe sometime ken and the quantum of sol ?

Hey Doc.. Long time. no see.. How are you ??
Have got about 8 of these rods and about 12 reels at home.. Spoilt for choice i guess, but I hardly use them.. There is one belonging to my dad which is about 50 years old and still going strong...
Sometime back I had coupled the ringal rod with a spinning reel and it handled quite well.. Come to think of it, I might just give it a go once again..

GRC

These rods are usually fitted with small snake rings - did you replace these with regular spinning rod rings ?

Will be a tough job handling a decent rohu on this- 30kilos? whooee. 50 year old ringal rod? oil it and store it for the next gen Gav

Hawkeye - Till about 15 years back, the rods that were made have been exceptional, even though they had the snake-like brass guides (note that the brass / aluminium guides were found on the cheaper rods) they were quite good.. All my guides are made of ceramic and bound extremely well and has a great finish.. Since these rods are hand made and measurements are more in the head of the maker rather than on paper or a computer, I will vouch for the strength and durability of such rods... Also you can get you rods made-to-order for an extra 100-150 bucks...

Doc - These rods are strong.. Make no mistake of it.. I have only seen people losing fish because of the local line that they use and maybe sometimes because of the hooks, but never due to the rod snapping or giving way during play.. Will forward you a mail sent by me from one of our IA members from Kolkata, who recently landed a 12kg rohu with this set up..

Cheers and Tight Lines...

GRC

Allready into attic.

Hi

try the setup on a decent size GT, will settle all views quickly.

Regards
Pandim

It's never the rod. But the man behind it. hahahhahahahaha

Would love to do the same....

Question is from where can I get a good Two/ Three piece rod with a old rugged calcutta reel.

Regards,

Ali.

Ali, I have one 2 PC rod and reel.. that is over 25 yrs old.. my first. Will post the pics soon.

Calcutta

Pandim - Whether it is a 10kg GT or a 10kg catla, I agree with Monsieur Ken, it is not the rod but THE ANGLER... I have seen anglers with the best equipment fail to land a 2kg rohu...

Tight Lines,
GRC

Hi GRC

now that's a comparison, 10 kg Gt or 10 kg Catla!!!

Pandim

GT of 10 kg = 30 kg + catla...

pandim, santosh - I was not making any reference to the fish.. The reference was towards the anglers and their handling of the equipment... and just for arguments sake, I have not seen many anglers here catching 10kg catlas... GT's maybe, but catlas no...

GRC.. I have seen anglers landing 20 KG + catla. on gear that will not get you a GT of 10 kg even if you are the luckiest person in the world... I have fought a fish for over 90 mins on a 10 lb tackle with size 12 hooks and almost landed it... Trust me in same tackle and size of fish in saltwater the fight will last 3 -5 secs.

Here is a pic of 12 KG catla on 25 lb line.. get me a GT of that size.




Santosh

i have used this setup too and i agree that this rod is very durable and the reel is good too. i am using this type of reel in 1 of my rod and landed almost every freshwater fish.


this setup is available here in Nagpur.


Regards,
Manish

Please understand what Gavin is saying guys, he is saying it does not matter what fish you catch a Rohu, Katla or a GT it is the anglers skill that comes first.

A good angler with bad tackle is better than a bad angler with good tackle.

A good angler with good tackle is better than a good angler with bad tackle.

I know us salties get really tickled when someone compares a fresh water fish with its salt water counterpart

Just to stroke this little fire.
Saltwater fish vs freshwater fish. For one you need muscle in your tackle. For the other you need muscle in your head. Which one goes where is for you to go figure.

Santosh - 25lb line for a 12kg catla seems a bit over-the-top. Where was this fish caught ?... And am not trying to take away anything from you salties and like Bobby has already pointed out, I was just trying to highlight the durability and strength of this Bengali tackle.. I think you misunderstood the point I was trying to put across...

Ken - Thanks for the muscle definition.. Hope it is not lost on us anglers.. Didn't realise that this tackle thing would become a "My Fishee Strongest" issue

Manish - Is this tackle widely available in Nagpur ?

Tight Lines,
GRC

Hi GRC

there are mainly 2 fishing tackle shops here in nagpur and yes they both are keeping this rod and reel combo.


Regards,
Manish

On doubt on angling skills..
I have done all sort of fishing, and have landed most that swim in our waters including 3 kg Mrigal on 5 lb line. trust me i wont dare to cast a lure to target 3 Kg GT on 5 lb line.

Santosh

Guys, I have seen one old timer use a similar setup(in fact he had a 4' rod) with a 6lb mono line (not imported but Calcutta make). He landed an 6kg and 7kg rohu on the same setup and typical Bengali style of fishing (the Bengali fishing technique was explained to me by my friend). So i think this is a pretty good setup but a little cumbersome when using.

Even i have a same rod (5' 2 piece) which i bought for 250 rs and i use it with a plastic spinning reel. I usually give to my friends who want to try fishing first time & don't know anything abt rods and reels

Regards,
Vijay

Just for your refrence guys..

Mr. Leo Cloostermans has to his credit world record of landing Atlantic Blue marlin on line strength of.

A)- 573 lb Blue marlin on 4lb test strength line.
B)- 248.5 lb Blue marlin on 6lb test strength line.
C)- 381 lb Blue marlin on 8lb test strength line.
D)- 604 lb Blue marlin on 12lb test strength line.

Regards,

Ali.

Saki,

Can you find out the best cane rod(Lot of backbone) with a suitable reel from calcutta. Now it is becoming an obsession to land some saltwater fishes with using this old setup.

thanks for the update Manish.. Come to think of it, I might just use the old set up tomorrow...

Tight Lines,
GRC

Ali Bhai, do you have a "0" key missing on your keyboard??
573 lb Blue marlin on 4lb test strength line. WOW this fish must have been ashamed of itself :) Must have felt like a dental floss on its beak LOL

The real question is 'how long did each of these fights last?'. Days I imagine.

Fantastic fisherman to say the least.

There are others who have accomplished similar feats as well. I think the Captain and crew of these boats are the real champs and deserve 80% of the credit for such catches.

Hi Ali Bhai I have a similar setup, if you want it I can send it across to you

Cheers,

Chris