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1.75 lb test upgrades ?

Gary Manders

Gary Manders

Senior Member
Think of up grading to 1.75s in the new year , like the harrison blank and heard the Drennans and greys ae hard to beat , i fish the WAVON , Dove, Trent , your thoughts please . regards Gary.
 
Gary,
the Greys blanks are relatively soft compared to other rods at the same TC rating. I have Greys in 1.75 and 1.5/2.0. I have tended not to use any of them on the Trent, preferring Korum Twin Tips (using the heavy tip) or latterly, Fox Extremes.
I use the Greys when I don't need to chuck big weights a long way.
 
I agree about the Greys being softer and its not a rod I'd use with any amount of water on, my xflite was next to useless on the Wye with anything other than summer levels add to this that it snapped on two occasions whilst playing small Barbel and plenty of other story's of the same thing happening I'd stay well away. The Drennan rods seem to be much better having used the older "power barbel" a fair bit and out of the two it would be what I chose. Saying that I now own a couple of Harrissons which are a dream to use, nice soft tip section with plenty of power in reserve. Theres a big difference between the Dove and Trent so maybe just one rod for both is too much to ask for, why not use your older rods on the smaller rivers and buy a more specialist flood rod for the Trent and high water conditions, I have a BFW I-Flood which is brilliant, I'l be back on the W Avon in the new year if you want to take a look at it.
 
I fish some tight swims on the Avon with a Bob Gill, Harrrison blank 1.75 Stalker rod and it is a dream to use. It has handled chub to 5lb 12oz Barbel to 13lb 8oz and even a Carp of 21lb 12oz without any fear of losing the fish and it gives you that wonderful feeling of immediate control. The 11ft and 12ft BFW Rods that Bob makes are well worth a look at
 
Been checking the Harrisons out in Fosters and was very impressed with the action, as regarding the Dove which i have fished for the last few seasons is that the barbel are of a specimen size and needed a rod with more power as some pegs are very close to bushes and snags i have a 2lb test korum rod which i have used which is a little stiff on the top section and my 1.5 powermesh is a great through action rod and ive caught some nice doubles on it but 1.75s would be ideal for this sort of work i think and for the lowr severn and wye for heavier feeders , if there is an oppurtunity to get out i will have a look mark but there dosent seem much chance at the moment lol.
 
I can't resist joining in on this thread, although there will be members on here with loads more experience on this topic than I have. My experience with Greys is that they are soft and I have found that I have needed to step up a grade in terms of t.c., ie where you would think a 1.75 would fit the bill, get the 2.0tc. instead, if you bear this in mind then the Greys will do a good job. The Harrisons and the Infinity seem great for the job that they are intended to do. One contributor has mentioned the BFW iFlood, nice rod to fish an average river (Teme, Dove etc.) in flood, but in my view not up to the rigours of the Trent and definitely not in flood. For the Trent, especially, the tidal, specialist rods seem to be required. Jon Frisby kindly introduced me to these and you are looking at 2.75tc and probably the longer lengths. There is one other excellent dark horse that Jon and I have stumbled upon, but this is probably not the forum to discuss it.
 
Gary,

I've said this loads of times to this question before and still maintain it. IMO the best 1.75lb tc rod is the Harrison Chimera Spec No.2. I can only say I've been using my pair for six years now and they have given me superb service despite being knocked about and covered in mud etc.

They have an awesome action which is a medium style and has loads of power in the butt. It's probably best termed as progressive. I use mine on every trip excepting when Im trotting, need a shorter rod, or in big floods (3m +).

You can still buy these rods for a substantive price but the other option is the Torrix which superceded the Chimera but retains a similar action albeit on a slimmer and lighter blank.

If I had to buy a new all round rod for barbel (and tenching) it would be the Chimera No2, despite all the newer models).

Just a personal opinion, but one I know is shared by other Chimeraists (!). Bob Gill will tell you what a good rod it is, but will also tell you the Torrix is better most probably due to the advances in technology:)

If you can get your hands on a Harrison blank, (new or second hand)you really wont be dissapointed I promise you. If I was forced to choose another make it would be Free Spirit, another excellent brand and reliable, unlike some of the stories you hear about other mass produced brands.

Best advice is to waggle as many as you can before spending any money. Thats what I did with Bob's Chimeras after some nightmares with the Insight brand.

Hope that helps

Tommo
 
Gaz,

really like my 1.75 Daiwa Infinity.
They handle WAvon and most conditions on the Wye.
Quite fancy a couple of 2lb Torrix though. :)
 
Chimera no2 beautiful rod, soft tip with bags of power down the rod to stop anything........get on them:)
 
For an off the shelf rod and one that is very underrated are the Daiwa Infinity,s.
 
i <3 my chimeras,about the same price new as the diawa allready mentioned 175- 180ish, brilliant fish playing rods,imo a little softer actioned than the torrix's.
 
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