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Hexagraph barbel rod any one use them

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A few years ago i had a hexagraph barbel rod paid £150 second hand just wondered why there so much money to buy these days
 
Robert Linwood said:
A few years ago I had a hexagraph barbel rod paid £150 second hand just wondered why there so much money to buy these days
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I always wanted one of these when they first came out and I was going through my cane stage (I used to fish with a pre war Barder restored Wallace Wizard you know).
They always appealed to me because they were made in the same way that a cane rod is made, i.e. 6 separate pieces are laid up with carbon and then bonded together and strengthened with intermediate whippings for each section. I loved the look of them and also the feel of them in the hand though I never got to use one in anger.

I guess their value today is in the fact that they are relativity rare while still being a perfectly usable tool.
 
Hexagraphs are rather like Marmite: You either love 'em or ........
They seem to divide anglers, at least those who know of them and there are many who don't.

I was offered one a year or so back for £250. It was a number 2, which is probably the better rod out of the three for barbel fishing. It was with single leg guides with no intermediates. At the time I was unsure and decided against it and opted for buying a few cane rods and restoring them myself. I'm happy with the decision I made.
 
i actual collect interesting and vintage rods and have 5 hexagraphs
the first and as said is probably the best suited was a Ray Walton no.2 11' 1 1/4lb test avon paid £300 from ebay and worth every penny.

Second is a 12'ct carp that looks the same as the avon but a foot longer.

Then there's a 13' Gerry Swanton trotter perfect with a 4 1/2" bob james pin

also i have re-made one that was made as a salmon spinning rod for the first owner who had the blank made and finished in cane effect ( as the above ones all are) with a removable 30" butt and two 5' 6" sections making it 13'6" with a through action and 2 3/4lb test, it has been remade in the style of the Ray Walton avon but i'm afraid to use it as it's too heavy for any waters near me but what a tool for big rivers in flood, if i ever get to fish one;)

last is a 9' 6" 5/6w fly rod as i have to do something in the closed season;)
 
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I've got a weakness for tackle I can't really afford or need so I've been using Hexagraphs for most of my fishing in the last few years- current rods are

A 12ft 'Stalker' heavy float type rod
A 11ft Avon type rod about 1.5 TC which manages everything from carp, barbel and light piking.

They don't put more fish on the bank but they are nice to look at. The construction makes them very strong, The action works well with a pin but they are a tad heavy compared to normal modern carbon. I guess they are an aquired taste- best try before you buy. S/H they go for around £200-£300 but hold thier value well so you'll always get your money back.
 
yeah i will say that mate they are a bit on the heavy side
 
You don't know heavy until you've held my 13'6" monster rod, lol. The others are about the same as glass equivelents but with twice the power and no flat spots, all that and the look and feel as close to the perfect cane rod. I once described the Avon as the rod 'GOD' would use when out with Walton and Walker on the 16th of June, not a rod for someone that can't use a bit of muscle
 
In my opinion, the No1 11ft - 1lb t/c thru action with intermediate whippings suited me best. This one, obviously with less carbon wraps and inner material was much thinner and much lighter in weight. The single legged guides also took of weight. The RW No2 and No3 Hexagraphs were top to middle action.
 
Ray Walton said:
In my opinion, the No1 11ft - 1lb t/c thru action with intermediate whippings suited me best. This one, obviously with less carbon wraps and inner material was much thinner and much lighter in weight. The single legged guides also took of weight. The RW No2 and No3 Hexagraphs were top to middle action.
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have not had the pleasure of trying the no.1 but did have a go with the no.3 for surface carp once but thought it needed an extra foot so i got the 1.5lb ct carp hex' instead. it has a more through action than the no.3 avon too. i actually got the no.2 avon (with single leg guides) for tenching a large gravel pit before i got interested in rivers again a couple of years ago. quite new to barbel but have spent a few more years collecting avon and barbel gear, new and vintage. trouble is finding the time to use them in the way they deserve, an hour here and there just doesn't do them justice. would be nice to get a week or 2 on a proper barbel stretch, maybe next year;)
 
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Just home from 3 days fishing in Christchurch. 2 days on the Royalty and one on the Troop. A couple of Troop Chub fell to the Hexagraph, a Royalty Pike took a liking to a cane stick but despite trying very hard the Barbel avoided both. Might try to lull them into a sense of security with a battered old glass rod next time:)
 
they have a habit of doing that to me as well;) had a 18lb pike on the no.2 hex' avon year before last after it nabbed a chublet on the way in that tested it a bit but the pike made a break straight into the back of the net so hard that it pushed the handle through my fingers. both pike and chub were returned, the latter above the sluice and with a few tooth marks and more than a few scales ruffled but alive to tell the tale. the pike decided to hang around and spoil my carefully baited swim, maybe i should have put her above the sluice instead;)

thinking of making a lighter 10' 6" avon hexagraph with the fly rod i have and making a separate handle section for it, my rod builder seems to think it would make a very usable rod. any thoughts...
 
I went down a similar route a few years ago. I picked up a cheap, tatty hexagraph salmon rod to convert. Its deffo do-able but I sold it on at the thinking stage to pay for something else.....
To be honest I've never really had a problem with the wieght. Its only really a prob when you compare the Hex rods to Carbon. Compare them to cane and their light as a feather.... Top of my want list (without mentioning a Barder Merlin) is a No.1 Avon. Just waiting for a S/H one to come up.

Have you waved a B&W 11ft fibreglass Avon they are quite light and pretty good all rounders.



Ps. found out the Medway gudgeon like Hexagraph's yesterday. Gawd knows what rod the chub wanted me to use:(
 
hi dean. i'll have to let you see my monster hex' probably handle the medway chub, even if they were used as live bait at 60yards, lol. never actually had a problem with the weight of any rod (there's a lot of me to act as a counter weight) more a case that i like experimenting with different set-ups and have had the 9'6" fly rod knocking about a while, and it has a similar action to my chapmans 500, maybe a little firmer in the middle, it could be a nice chub rod for the tighter swims and backwaters
 
Does anyone have a Mark I for sale? I have just brought a vintage Aerial 4.5 inch reel and think that this might be the rod to match up to. If not, is it possible just to buy the blank and make one up myself?
 
Bruce and Walker will make you a blank but you'll need a mortgage for it;) still cheaper than getting a built one from them though:(
 
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