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Many, many thanks to Paul Whiteing :)

I would go one further I have a pair of 12ft Fox Duo Lite FX 2.75lb Specimen rods which I use for punching out big feeders on big rivers. My knee jerk response would be 2.75lb is over gunned for barbel rods but test curves are only ever a guide and these rods are close to perfect IMHO and...

I would say an 11ft rod of your choice. My choice in order would be Harrison 4 piece avon 1.5lb tc, Harrison GTI, Free Spirit Barbel Seeker 1.75lb or Torrix 1.75lb or 2lb tc. These choices reflect my prefence for a through action rod but each to their own. I really can't agree that the Barbel...

Hi Paul That is the chair - I had forgotten we had the same chair. That looks a very good solution. Where would I source the metal straps and screws from? Thanks

Kevin, are you sure that Tiger Woods was the frst to say "The more I practice the luckier I get?" I'm sure I remember Trefor West saying that about 30 year ago. Maybe Tiger knows Trefor 😆

The 11ft 1.75 Torrix is a good rod but for hook and hold the 11ft 2lb Torrix has just a bit more grunt but is still a slim and light rod ( very different to the 12ft 2lb Torrix). The Free Spirit 11ft 1.75lb Barbel Seeker is a cracking rod and I wouldn't say it is soft or lacking in power. I...

I have a 30 year old JRC Specialist chair which I am very attached to (no, nothing to do with superglue!). It broke when a suporting metal strap under the seat parted from the main frame (yes its a bad design). It happened before maybe 15 years ago and I got someone in Barnet to weld it. From...

Its very distinctive - I think you would be hard pushed to find another torrix with sliding reel fittings.

You have a pm. Neil

At the risk of reinforcing the stereotype of a tight northerner, the £400 plus price tag for the Basia just brings up a big "NO!" for me. On the infrequent occasions I need a beefy 12 rod for punching out big feeders I have arrived at a pair of 2.75lb Fox Duo Lite FX Specimen rods (second...

I have an old pair of these reels which have suited me fine for the limited occasions which I use them. On one the baitrunner lever was not working - so opened both of them and checked the mechanism is OK which it is but when I put them back together the Baitrunner Levers are 'slipping' and...

My experience leads me to believe barbel are not fussy at all. In 3 seasons I caught a few hundred barbel on the middle trent - about 5 came on spicy boilies and all the others came on Hinders elips or Spam. Maybe I could have caught more on other baits but on a good day I was catching 20+...

In the absence of a try before you buy/ test drive option all you can do is buy it, try it and sell it if you don't like it- I have done this quite a bit and by buying second hand you can get back what you spent. If you read the reviews and makers blurb every rod is exactly what you need - but...

I have, after much online research , bought a pair of Shimano Baitrunner 6000 xtea but they are just so bloody big and heavy... have pity on me because I do 90% of my fishing with centrepins I am sure the engineering is superb but they just don't feel at all the right size of reel for my...

For a cheap(ish) trotting reel an Okuma Sheffield or Aventa is a good bet. They are free running and robust. I've hard it said that they are too free running but I don't really understand that comment - its what your thumb is for... They are not things of beauty but they do the job and if...

I have an 11ft GTI 1.75 - made for me by Paul Whiteing- and a Torrix 11ft 1.75 and also an 11ft 2lb Torrix. If I had to choose one of these to keep it would definitely be the GTI. I would agree with Richard Isaacs that the Torrix is more suited to casting distances (which I don't do for 95%...

I am a member of a club that specifies barbless only and does not allow hooks with pinched down barbs ...so I use barbless.

I haven't used a barbed hook in over 20 years and see no reason to do so. I think it is less harmfull to the fish than a barbed hook and if I am going to get a hook stuck in me I would much prefer it to be barbless. I would class a barbed hook with its barb pinched down as a barbless hook and I...

I agree with Trefor West/Tony Miles Quest for Barbel John Wilson wrote some good books but no Fred Crouch or Peter Stone???