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custom rod

Neil Blood said:
Anglers Workshop (Kev Baine's) 11ft 1.5lb TC Specialist. I've got two and its the perfect small river Barbel rod. Light tip, with big power reserves low down. I have lots of rods and this is far and away my fav. Kev doesn't charge silly prices either. Tel: 01782 561 515 after 14:00 week days.

Hmmmm, if Roger offended you, then I'm not sure what you'll make of Kev (top bloke and knows his stuff) :)
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rang him he`s not taking any more orders and as for Roger just found him a bit rude considering i was a potential customer you would think he would learn to speak to people properly and maybe i would be spending my hard earned money with him.:rolleyes:
 
I found roger to be fine on the occasions I spoke with him, perhaps you’ve caught him on a bad day.
Mark Tunley is definitely worth putting a call in, he’s a very approachable and likable bloke. They all differ slightly in what they will and won’t do. But one thing i can be sure of is no matter who builds it, the quality will be flawless.
ive read a lot of stuff regarding British rod builders but never have I seen anything to suggest disappointment with the rod build itself.
marks pretty good in the respect that he won’t say no to much unless the request is going to have a negative effect on the rod.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
And this is the thing. They need something proper pulling back on them to appreciate the extra power and stiffness in the butt section as a real positive over a more flexible rod.
ive had barbel of 9lb on them and barbel of 15lb on them and the rod really comes alive when something on the other end is saying “no mate I ain’t coming quietly” and bangs another 5-10 yards of line off the spool!

some people will probably own Torrix’s and never actually understand what on Earth I’m on about if the venue they are used on simply doesn’t give the opportunity to unlock them properly.
I use them for both static and moving baits and yes the lightness is a nice touch but it’s not the real success in the blank imo.
The real success can only be noticed when you connect with something that little bit more special. Hook a big double in low clear water on a torrix and you’d be very thankful of that steely last 600mm 😊
I am at least anyway 🤣
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Exactly.
 
Joe Winstanley said:
I’m going to keep one and sell the other, I just want to get one of the rings on the butt section replaced first as the insert is a bit loose, not sure how it happened. Just waiting to the next time I’m passing Dave Lumb’s, which might not be a while. It’s otherwise in great nick. Let me know if it’s of any interest.
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Pm me an exact spec if you want Joe. It could be of interest to me.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
And this is the thing. They need something proper pulling back on them to appreciate the extra power and stiffness in the butt section as a real positive over a more flexible rod.
ive had barbel of 9lb on them and barbel of 15lb on them and the rod really comes alive when something on the other end is saying “no mate I ain’t coming quietly” and bangs another 5-10 yards of line off the spool!

some people will probably own Torrix’s and never actually understand what on Earth I’m on about if the venue they are used on simply doesn’t give the opportunity to unlock them properly.
I use them for both static and moving baits and yes the lightness is a nice touch but it’s not the real success in the blank imo.
The real success can only be noticed when you connect with something that little bit more special. Hook a big double in low clear water on a torrix and you’d be very thankful of that steely last 600mm 😊
I am at least anyway 🤣
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I’ve had 4 carp between 15 and 19lb on them, hard fighting Dintons, possibly not caught before. I’m not saying it’s a bad rod, far from it, I just found it seemed to lock-up a fraction quicker than the Interceptor.

All personal opinion, but of my 3 three 11’ barbel rods, the 1.75 GTI is the one I’d reach for in most conditions.
 
I use 11ft 1.75 au free spirit barbel seekers on the upper lea can’t fault them perfect for smaller rivers mine were built by vic Gibson.. but others have said you really need to have a “waggle” it’s Avery personal thing .. I don’t like chimeras but others swear by them
 
Joe do you find the GTI heavy? I used a mates 15ft gti float rod and it was very heavy ... you wouldn’t want to hold it all day
 
Terry Harman said:
Joe do you find the GTI heavy? I used a mates 15ft gti float rod and it was very heavy ... you wouldn’t want to hold it all day
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I find the 11 1.12 GTI balances well with a 4000d shimmy. It feels heavier than the SU 1.10 Avon, but as its on a rod rest 99% of the time it's not an issue.

I bought a 15ft SU GTI but quickly moved it on because of the weight. I don't find the 14' standard GTI a problem though, its heavy compared with a Hardy Marksman and an Acolyte but it's a lovely rod for playing fish on, really versatile, I usually use it with a spliced tip when trotting for silvers and grayling.
 
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Rob Paylor said:
Andy I've just read your initial post again and note you mention the Mark Tunley Dark Carbons...

The rods that I have just retrospectively had isotopes fitted to are a pair of Mark Tunley built Harrison Dark Carbon Xtra Power Specialists in 12' 2.5lb, they are for flood fishing. Haven't used them yet and I bought them 2nd hand at a price I couldn't say no to (they are like new!). The build & quality of the rods is superb, so from that point of view I could recommend without having used them!

Very much looking forward to trying them out for heavy feeder work!

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That reel looks decent, which one is it?
 
I have just purchased the basias 1.75 for the ribble,
I havnt really tested them yet. Not had anything decent on them really just chub and small barbel.
Looking foward to hookkng into something decent to unlock the power of them.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
Ideally you need to have a pull around on some Andy before jumping in.
unlike Joe I put the Torrix right at the top of all the barbel rods I’ve owned and tried but like he said it’s a very personal thing and you may not like it.
to describe it I’d say it is a 2/3 through action Rod with A stiffer lower section. Even with a huge fish pulling back the last 600mm of exposed blank hardly bends compared to the rest of the rod. Quite a clever blank as it has more bullying backbone without compromising on short range Lunge cushion.
I Absolutely love it but it’s not a Noticeably special rod until something really powerful is pulling in the opposite direction.
you’ve got to unlock that last 600mm of blank just above the cork for you to appreciate just how unreal they are.
I wouldn’t chose it as my first choice rod for waters holding a lot of single figure fish personally as it won’t really do the torrix blank much justice.
for me it’s a proper Big fish tool
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I have 12 ft 2lb torrix and I know what you mean about the 600mm , awesome rods
 
Lee Iley said:
That reel looks decent, which one is it?
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Hi Lee, the reels on those rods are the Shimano 8000D model. I have 6000D's on my 2lb Free Spirit rods and they're lovely. My only complaint is that the baitrunner tension doesn't have a lot of usable range at the firmer end of the scale, it's either 'free running' or 'very firm'. Seems to be missing a 'quite firm' setting for when debris is catching on the line. But the feel of them and the superb drag means I can live with that really...
 
Rob Paylor said:
Hi Lee, the reels on those rods are the Shimano 8000D model. I have 6000D's on my 2lb Free Spirit rods and they're lovely. My only complaint is that the baitrunner tension doesn't have a lot of usable range at the firmer end of the scale, it's either 'free running' or 'very firm'. Seems to be missing a 'quite firm' setting for when debris is catching on the line. But the feel of them and the superb drag means I can live with that really...
[/QUOTE thanks rob, would they be a good match for my 1.75 basias. I currently have a pair of the fox eos 7000 which are ok tbf but want something a bit more decent.
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Terry Harman said:
Joe do you find the GTI heavy? I used a mates 15ft gti float rod and it was very heavy ... you wouldn’t want to hold it all day
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The GTI float rods are heavy and I guess it’s just down to the fact they are long over due an update.
I’ve got a stepped up 13 footer and it’s been fabulous to be fair and caught me a lot of winter chub. but it’s now been put aside Since I got the Acolyte compact plus. Different league of rod all together In weight, crispness, slimness and the fact that it can be Taken to the bank built up is just an awesome touch. Doubt the Harrison GTI will get another look in again until I pass it on.
 
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