Chris Yates’s Martin James ‘Ma Petite’ fly rod & his Farlow Regal fly reel.
A lovely 7'6" 2-piece #4-weight fly rod accompanied by its vintage Farlow reel. RESERVED.
£500.00
The delightfully named Ma Petite fly rod was given to Chris by his children’s teacher in 1994. It, and the two Farlow fly reels it came with, had belonged to the teacher’s late father.
Chris first used this rod when he fished with me on the Hampshire Loddon. He’d been commissioned to write a piece for the Weekend Telegraph and the mayfly were up. We had the river to ourselves and the trout were very, very obliging that day. Chris lost count of the fish he caught and he let me have a go Ma Petite. I caught four trout with it before we stopped fishing and came to our senses.
It’s a delightful rod, very light and lissome but capable of handling large trout, as we soon discovered.
Our next trip was to the Lyde, a small chalk stream tributary of the Loddon. I’d found a big trout and planned for Chris to have the first cast to it. We hid behind a bush to watch its movements. Once we’d got the measure of it, Chris crawled into position, made a few false casts and dropped his French Partridge perfectly, a few feet ahead of the trout. Up it came and after some tense moments, he landed a wild fish of two and three quarter pounds.
The adventures of Ma Petite didn’t end there. Next season, Chris, by now a fanatical mayfly fisher, asked if we could go to the Loddon again. His timing was spot on and we had another day in perfect conditions. I left Chris to it and wandered off. Still within earshot, I heard him call for a landing net. He’d only gone and caught a wild trout of three and a half pounds! Picture attached.
The Farlow reel Chris always used with Ma Petite is rather special. It was made by JW Young of Redditch to the Hardy Perfect Pattern. It has no ball bearings so we in the world of classic fishing tackle refer to it, not unkindly, as a eunuch. What it lacks in balls it makes up for with a fascinating and very beautifully made check mechanism, as you can see in the accompanying photos.
Chris has written letters of provenance for the rod & reel on Golden Scale Club headed paper.
Ma Petite- Specification & Condition.
Martin James was an old established Redditch firm. The best of their rods are very nice and not often seen.
Blank: 7’6” two piece split cane. The sections are pretty straight and the rod, dating from just before or just after the 1939-45 war, is in fair condition. I think the whippings on the tip have been over-varnished or possibly replaced at some stage. The up-locking screw reel seat has been repaired too. Overall, the rod is sound and fishable. It has small silk line era snake guides whipped on with gold/black variegated silk. The butt & tip rings are agate lined. The nickel silver ferrule is a snug fit. The rod comes in its original maker’s labelled bag.
Farlows Regal- Specification & Condition.
This Perfect-style reel has a diameter of 2¾” and a spool width of ¾”. It holds a #4 line and backing comfortably. Made for Farlow’s in the 1920s by JW Young, this centenarian reel is in superb mechanical condition. It retains a lot of its original leaded finish and its patina is most attractive. The check work previously alluded to is some of the most intriguing and finely made I’ve seen in a fly reel. It’s Regal, it’s gender neutral and it’s the perfect partner for Ma Petite.