Feeder Rod Recommendations

[Colin Hipwell]

Morning everyone

I'm thinking of upgrading my feeder rods and looking for advice please . I currently use a pair of Shimano Barbel Power 1.75 . I use them on the Ribble and the Wye , casting feeders and leads of up to 4oz using 12 lb lines .
I do like them , they cast well and have a good action for playing fish . However , when there's a little bit of extra water on , they tend struggle and bend too much in the flow . Maybe too soft in the tip perhaps ?
I'm looking for something beefier that will handle heavier flows but still retain the action for playing fish . Not thinking of floodwater fishing though.
A few people have recommended the Free spirit HI S range , but at around £400 each , it's a little over budget . Looking at a max of £200 , so probably looking at mid -range , off the shelf, rather than custom built.
Any thoughts, please?

 

[Etienne Harvey]

Hi Colin, most of my barbel fishing on the Wye is done using a 1.75tc but if there's more flow on then I'll step up the tc to cope with using heavier leads/feeders. I started out with a korum neoteric twin tip rod that is 1.75tc and 2.2tc and this covered most of my needs dependant on river conditions. Although not a pretty rod by any means it has served me well over the years and was cheap. In fact I used it yesterday and caught a few barbel on it. If your in a hurry to get your rods new then there's quite a few options ranging from cheap to about £120 a rod which will come in around your budget. Or if your not in a hurry and dont mind secondhand I'd suggest to keep your eyes on the classifieds section as there's bargains to be had.

 

[Colin Hipwell]

Hi Colin, most of my barbel fishing on the Wye is done using a 1.75tc but if there's more flow on then I'll step up the tc to cope with using heavier leads/feeders. I started out with a korum neoteric twin tip rod that is 1.75tc and 2.2tc and this covered most of my needs dependant on river conditions. Although not a pretty rod by any means it has served me well over the years and was cheap. In fact I used it yesterday and caught a few barbel on it. If your in a hurry to get your rods new then there's quite a few options ranging from cheap to about £120 a rod which will come in around your budget. Or if your not in a hurry and dont mind secondhand I'd suggest to keep your eyes on the classifieds section as there's bargains to be had.

Thanks for the advice . No , not in any great rush . I'm quite happy with my current rods , just looking to see if there's something better that will cover more situations, really .

 

[Mark Evans 2]

Guru N-Gauge Barbel in 2.25 perhaps?

They took a while to grow on me but I love my 1.25 and pair of 1.75's now. I think the 2.25 are priced at around £120 so come in under your budget.

And I've heard there's meant to be a 2.75 coming out too.

 

[Colin Hipwell]

Thanks Mark. I'll have a look .

 

[Cliff Turner]

Colin, have a look at the Cadence range too

 

[Colin Hipwell]

Thanks Cliff . They're the ones designed by Des Taylor I believe. Saw them mentioned on another thread . I'll have a look