I have more or less stopped fishing now, apart from a couple of very hard to reach local ponds. They are so difficult to get too, I rarely can face it.
When I was in the thick of my carp angling, I was never a member of any syndicates or top waters, although I was lucky enough to fish many as a guest, and would of loved to have had my own ticket for many of them but, I probably wasn't committed enough.
The waters I was a member of though, were very nice places to fish, with lovely stock. The fact that they stayed off the radar for a good while, made them in some ways better than the syndicates. They were cheap, relatively quiet with nice fish.

Don't overlook these type of places, there are still many around.

It's not even 5G capable.

A few tips I was given by a rod builder friend was, to clean the cork as some have mentioned with baby wipes. They work well, also a light rub over with a scouring or soap pad works but, you need to go easy.

For really sorry looking abused handles, a light sanding will bring them back to life. Then when they are completely dry, applying a cork sealer will help keep them clean, and a lot easier to wipe down. U-40 is a good sealer if you can find some.
As IP100 mentioned, taking care of the handles is paramount, the better you look after them, the longer they will stay clean.
There are many different grades of cork, some are more durable than others.

I don't get to go much now but, every so often I'll get an invite to guest or a social, and nine times out of ten, our mate Ray comes along and he's a top London chef, and some of the food he's cooked us, is just like posh nosh.
We all chip in, he doesn't pay for any of the food or drink as a thank you.

If I knew how to post photos, I'd put some up, amazing food.

I was once in a syndicate of 30 anglers, and over half of the members had Dymag nets. Some of them weren't particularly well off, so that says a lot to me about the product. I suppose it sounds silly getting excited about a landing net but, they really are lovely. One day I think I'll treat myself.

In reply to Post #35
Haha! Fair play If you're gonna do it, do it properly!

In reply to Post #22
Well when I walked in the shop and saw him, it had been a long time, and I do mean a long time since I'd last seen him but, recognised him straight away.
The coffee sounds nice but, I'm a tea man at heart, Iike a nice cup of coffee but, could drink tea for England!

In reply to Post #18
To be fair, he's aged well, nice bloke too

In reply to Post #16
Yeah of course he does I'm getting old lol!
I spoke to him for the first time in years about 18 months ago, I was down that way for a funeral, and called in the shop on the way back.
Amazing shop, they still had the old one last time I saw him.
Don't hear about the real big pike much now.

In reply to Post #12
Thanks Mark
The name Gary Peet sounds familiar too