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2.75 rods

In the way such rods are being used, the test curve is only of real significance regarding the weights being cast and the distances involved. If you aren't chucking significant distances or big lumps of lead/feeders, you may still manage to fish the Trent with much lower rated rods.

Test curves can also be a terrible red herring. A fast actioned rod with a 1.75lb TC is a totally different animal to a through actioned 1.75lb rod. A test curve rating alone is an almost useless way of determining what a rod might be like.
 
Exactly the same thing happened in carp fishing. I was happily catching big 20's on 2lb test rods on a water of about 2acres. But there were guys on there who swapped their 2.75's or 3.50's. Totally unnecessary on such a small water, but it was the in thing.
Ridiculous !
 
Adam Wylie said:
Hi all, do we really need to use rods with a TC of 2.75 ???
on some parts of the Trent they are using 3lb plus 😳
years ago a rod of 1.75 was considered a SNAG ROD !!
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100% YES !!!
far to many people get hung up about test curve numbers as its really all about the ACTION of the rod I have a pair of Diawa powemesh 2.75 and while they can happily lob 6ozs plus weights and a delight to play fish with their super compound action in the fast flowing Tidal Trent
I was so surprised they are also a delight with light lines and 2 ozs weights and 5lb fish dont feel overgunned in the middle Trent

now that brings me to a pet HATE
>>> these people that THINK !! they are super clever anglers fishing very light lines and really low test curve rods taking and age to land Barbel as anyone with any real angling ability KNOWS Barbel will fight to total exhaustion if allowed to !

I dont mean you need to drag them in of course !!
but for the fishes welfare they dont need to be subjected to unnecessary prolong fights due to people not having gear up too the job

and as for your comments about yesterdays rods yea my stepped up Carp rods back in the day were 1.75 !! but things and materials have come on and the Action of rods are quite different now you need to move with the times :)
 
Adam Wylie said:
Hi all, do we really need to use rods with a TC of 2.75 ???
on some parts of the Trent they are using 3lb plus 😳
years ago a rod of 1.75 was considered a SNAG ROD !!
Click to expand...
You are not going to put 6oz-8oz to the far bank with anything lighter on the tidal stretch’s of the Trent



That’s your 2 options for fishing it. Under your feet go lighter over to the other side….. go heavier
 
Chris Jones said:
In the way such rods are being used, the test curve is only of real significance regarding the weights being cast and the distances involved. If you aren't chucking significant distances or big lumps of lead/feeders, you may still manage to fish the Trent with much lower rated rods.

Test curves can also be a terrible red herring. A fast actioned rod with a 1.75lb TC is a totally different animal to a through actioned 1.75lb rod. A test curve rating alone is an almost useless way of determining what a rod might be like.
Click to expand...

Test curves on their own are no more of a red herring than action is. You need to consider both aspects.

Going back to the original question; the primary necessity for a rod is to be able to deliver the desired bait and rig to the desired location and keep it there. If that is 40 metres away and in a fast flowing river then the weight of the rig may dictate a 2.75lb or 3lb tc rod. If the bait can't reach or stay in the area you want to fish then the rod isn't up to the job.

After that you can consider the action needed to set the hook if approriate. Then comes the playing and power needed to land the intended quarry, pleasure to use, etc.

But first and foremost the bait and rig needs the be delivered.
 
Clive Kenyon said:
Test curves on their own are no more of a red herring than action is. You need to consider both aspects.
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Quite so, but as actions aren't easily quantifiable, people rarely obsess over them in the same way they do a bare test curve figure. Test curves mean very little in isolation, but people still slate rods based on nothing more than a test curve. The opposite side of the same coin is those that buy blind based on little more than a test curve rating and end up disappointed with a rod that's either too tip actioned, or too through actioned, for their liking.
 
Seen on 2 occasions where over playing a fish, has resulted in the death of a good Barbel. All by good friends. I have rods from 1.75 up to 2.75 that I regularly use all year round on the Trent and I use them all to suit the conditions. If the TT is in this state in 2 weeks time it will be a 1.75 down the edge anymore I will fish a heavier rod. Then again. You can still over play a Barbel on a heavier rod?
 
We are just used to the test curve system
Everyone in the specialist game refers to rods by it and I do it myself all the time but it’s still a totally crap system.
It simply tells you nothing more than the blank will bend somewhere some how to 90° with a certain load on.
So we know the rod has a certain resistance somewhere along it’s 12 foot length
I did it myself above referring to 2.75 barbel rods and 8oz leads. Fortunately we know heavy barbel rods stated with high TC’s (or at least good ones) are quite progressive in action and tailor towards heavier loads being launched. A stated 2.75 tip actioned rod would very likely break with a far bank cast of 8oz
 
If 3lb test curve rods were needed for barbel fishing I really wouldn’t bother. A major part of the enjoyment i derive from fishing for all species, is getting an alarming bend in the rod. I’ve never cast to the far bank of the Tidal Trent and never will. If others want to do so, no problem, so long as I’m not on the opposite bank 😜.
 
High tc is for casting heavy lead/feeders. When it comes to playing fish, the rod action is thing you need to consider.
 
I think it’s all about options Nick. As you so rightly say ultra heavy rods are not needed to land barbel and I also don’t particularly chose to use such things myself that often

However they give people options to get to some places where you simply wont get with conventional barbel rods.
We can all laugh about the guy casting to the other side but if he’s stood on the inside of a bend casting to the deeper water on the outside and catching as a result then whos having the last laugh?

I personally do own a set of barbel rods capable of dealing with 95% of situations and that would also include getting 6oz of lead across a raging big river. I don’t use em often but I have the option. I’d hate to think I was stuck to an inside line if a particular feature on the river I want to fish was on the outside

Regarding a bend in the rod….. oh I hear you on that one. Nothing better than seeing every inch of carbon bend with an angry barbel on but it’s a bit of a mis conception to think these powerful rods don’t do that. I’ve had big barbel pull back on rods rated to 2.75lb TC and they bend right through to the lower half very well indeed. They do not kill the buzz in the slightest and they ain’t pokers.
They are refined forgiving tools just with more power designed for casting heavy weights. They are surprisingly clever things though because the action is still there even right under the rod tip and another reason why test curves are so misleading.

We all do it mind……We Think 2.75 must be a scaffold pole. Then we pick up the chimera 3 😎
 
Richard Isaacs said:
You are not going to put 6oz-8oz to the far bank with anything lighter on the tidal stretch’s of the Trent



That’s your 2 options for fishing it. Under your feet go lighter over to the other side….. go heavier
Click to expand...
if the fish are on the far bank; why not the near? heavy to follow fashion not need
 
Gerry Giles said:
100% YES !!!
far to many people get hung up about test curve numbers as its really all about the ACTION of the rod I have a pair of Diawa powemesh 2.75 and while they can happily lob 6ozs plus weights and a delight to play fish with their super compound action in the fast flowing Tidal Trent
I was so surprised they are also a delight with light lines and 2 ozs weights and 5lb fish dont feel overgunned in the middle Trent

now that brings me to a pet HATE
>>> these people that THINK !! they are super clever anglers fishing very light lines and really low test curve rods taking and age to land Barbel as anyone with any real angling ability KNOWS Barbel will fight to total exhaustion if allowed to !

I dont mean you need to drag them in of course !!
but for the fishes welfare they dont need to be subjected to unnecessary prolong fights due to people not having gear up too the job

and as for your comments about yesterdays rods yea my stepped up Carp rods back in the day were 1.75 !! but things and materials have come on and the Action of rods are quite different now you need to move with the times :)
Click to expand...
Gerry, light test curve rods do not take an age to land barbel! it is the angler . A good through action 1.4lb Avon rod can and will land big (16lb +) barbel on small snaggy rivers quicker than a 1.75 mid action rod. As all are saying it isn't the TC; it is the action of a rod that counts. however, all to their own I suppose😂
 
Paul Rogers said:
if the fish are on the far bank; why not the near? heavy to follow fashion not need
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I don’t agree with that Paul. By limiting your self to one bank your simply limiting your chances of success.
There are features and river depths that hold fish all along a river and we can’t choose where they are. In one peg it could be your bank and in another it could be the far bank…… so why ignore them???
Going in with tackle to cover all bases is simply going in smart and absolutely nothing to do with fashion.
While I agree there is a good amount of tartness around barbel anglers with there perfectly aligned rods on pods, the stiffness and action type of the rod designed to get lead anywhere gives people a rock solid advantage over the guys that can’t.

It would be a bit boring if rivers were like fenland drains but fortunately they are not so we don’t have to fish them like such.
 
Each to their own.
But personally I'd rather fish heavier to give myself the best opportunity to get the fish in. Losing a fish to snags and leaving end tackle in the river/fish is bad angling in my opinion.
Also I want to be able to fish the far bank and fish heavy leads if needed.
 
Paul Rogers said:
Gerry, light test curve rods do not take an age to land barbel! it is the angler . A good through action 1.4lb Avon rod can and will land big (16lb +) barbel on small snaggy rivers quicker than a 1.75 mid action rod. As all are saying it isn't the TC; it is the action of a rod that counts. however, all to their own I suppose😂
Click to expand...
I agree with your first point.

But you wouldn't use a rod that hasn't got the backbone or ability to cast the required weight or exert the required pressure on a fish no matter what the action was, and that is where the test curve comes into the equation. You can get Avons down to 12oz test curve and through action or fast action fly rods of # 3 or 4. Try lobbing a loaded 2 ounce feeder with any one of those. You need to consider the test curve first and then make allowances or adjustments for the action. Both criteria have their place.
 
Test curves are a load of baloney. I have a few 2.5lb TC rods, two are boat rods designed for pike fishing, two are light carp rods.

I can cast a 4oz lead and decent sized deabait with the pike rods, I couldn't even lob that weight with the carp rods.

It may take 2.5lb to pull the tip round to 90 deg on each rod but the carp rod will be bent through the butt, the pike rod the first foot or two!

I also have a pair of 2.25lb barbel rods that can cast 6oz or more, a smaller "TC" than the carp rods.
 
I have a Pike rod that bends almost to the butt. And two Carp rods that have a similar action, but I also had a Carp rod that was like a poker. Grading rods by their itended species is a load of baloney. There are Carp rods designed to chuck a lead to the far side of the moon and they will have a different action to a stalking rod . They are both designed to catch carp, but they are totally different rods.

There are lots of ways to grade a rod's performance, but species isn't one of them.
 
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