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Significant advance in carbon fibre rod building in the last 20 years?

Adrian Williams said:
So is this a quality product or a pile of old poo? I'm confused.:confused:
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Don't sell your old stuff just yet Ade! You get what you pay for in this game as you well know. I realise my post was less than complimentary to DC products and in all honesty that's probably not fair from my own personnal experience. I got a beachcaster from Rogers tiny little shop in Hucknall many years ago for £10, drove it to Norfolk and caught my first flatfish - a Dab, followed by my first Bass - which i was very pleased with. At the end of the day it did the job. There is a huge market for the cheap stuff and as long as it's usable it will get people into fishing which can only be a good thing.

David Gauntlett said:
They are all using cane and pins Andrew :p

Cheers, Dave.
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Growing beans Dave?
 
i still have a shakespear lexicon 13 ft float rod, its is light as a box matches, with a nice action,also 13 ft barbel power green b good action on it as well, good rods
 
I tend to use float rods quite a bit and I must say that of the last 3 rods I have bought only one could be considered "modern", that was a Preston Innovations carbon active 13ft float rod, BUT, the one I got is the Askari blank, which is considered to be better than the more recent builds.
This rod has a fuji type reel seat, which is a pain in the butt as I cannot use many of my centre pins on it (and when I do use it the reel has to go where the manufacturer put the seat and NOT where I want it to go), this is one of the reasons I don't buy modern rods.

For years I have used a couple of Shimano Diaflash 13ft H rods, these were ideal but are at last getting a bit "tired" and not as stiff as they were.
I also used Drennan Stick float and IM8 and 9 rods and I have several Tench float Mk III rods, I also have several Normark rods!

For me the problem is that I cannot find a modern rod that I like enough to buy and have proper reel fittings fitted, I am sure that manufacturers have a policy whereby they produce a rod and when it starts to get a reputation they reduce the carbon content, thus reducing the manufacturing costs.
I therefore tend to buy rods that are at least ten years old, but these days a very good conditioned Shimano Diaflash or Normark Titan will cost the same if not more than the original RRP and good quality versions are getting as rare as rocking horse manure.

This year I may well have a couple of new rods made for me, they WILL have proper sliding reel fittings and I will be fussy about the eyes, but for me the biggest problem is getting a blank that is light and through actioned, I did have a look at the Harrison GTI but it was heavier (in weight) than I would like as well as being stiffer than my ideal.

I would love to find a rod that I like in a tackle shop but until I do I shall buy my rods on E-bay.
 
My Carp Rods are old Sportex or Daiwa Whisker rods.
My preferred Barbel rods are Hexagraph or Free Spirit. All use quality Carbon. I think the FS rods use quality carbon.

For float rods I too don't like the fixed screw fittings. I much prefer the Daiwa Whisker Tournament I use which has the moveable screw fitting. I can place it where I want depending on whether I am using a pin or fixed spool.
 
I think there is a real float rod bias on this thread....... in which case I would agree with most that there are one or two older rods that have not been bettered.

However if we start to talk about modern Carp, Barbel, Pike rod blanks then the modern ones are far, far superior to older counterparts.
 
Ian Crook said:
I think there is a real float rod bias on this thread....... in which case I would agree with most that there are one or two older rods that have not been bettered.

However if we start to talk about modern Carp, Barbel, Pike rod blanks then the modern ones are far, far superior to older counterparts.
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As I can fairly be listed as one of the 'older counterparts', I am hurt to the quick Ian :D:D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Great rod and an absolute classic the only minus was the ultra long butt.. To this day its slightly off putting.
 
Just re-invigorating this thread; partly because it might interest @Richard Isaacs , and partly because I wonder about (and lament) the loss of the old posters on this thread. I know Keith Speer passed away a few years ago, but what happened to Dave Gauntlett, David Hall, Ian Crook, Darryl Davis, Eddie Farrell, and Andrew Boyne et al?
I even noticed Paul Boote's name in a thread the other day, and have to say I really enjoyed reading his posts (though probably pre-2010), even if some found him a tad abrasive (for wont of a better word).
BFW has a fantastically rich history of members.
 
Richard Parsons said:
Just re-invigorating this thread; partly because it might interest @Richard Isaacs , and partly because I wonder about (and lament) the loss of the old posters on this thread. I know Keith Speer passed away a few years ago, but what happened to Dave Gauntlett, David Hall, Ian Crook, Darryl Davis, Eddie Farrell, and Andrew Boyne et al?
I even noticed Paul Boote's name in a thread the other day, and have to say I really enjoyed reading his posts (though probably pre-2010), even if some found him a tad abrasive (for wont of a better word).
BFW has a fantastically rich history of members.
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Ditto that Richard. As soon as I saw the name Adrian Williams I wondered how long ago this thread was.
I have a couple of rods that came from Paul Boote's stable so to speak and heaven knows they may 30 year old blanks and technology, but not sure there is much around to challenge them today.
 
Damian Kimmins said:
Ditto that Richard. As soon as I saw the name Adrian Williams I wondered how long ago this thread was.
I have a couple of rods that came from Paul Boote's stable so to speak and heaven knows they may 30 year old blanks and technology, but not sure there is much around to challenge them today.
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I still think Jon F’s post ref the carbotec blanks is accurate even 14 years on from when he posted it
Still probably the most advanced and clever carbon rods on the planet.
I still prefer Normarks though personally.
 
My favourite carp rods are my Daiwa Amorphous Whisker. Sensible diameter, lovely tapers, relatively thin walled and super lightweight.

My FS Hi-S are all thick walled blanks, heavy and unchanged in 20 years… can’t be that high-tech…

Would love to try some 90’s Daiwa float rods and I would also like to try some of the modern Daiwa’s… I think they build some of the best blanks in coarse fishing.

I’d also like to try some of the choice Normarks…

To eBay I go!!!!
 
I'm not convinced that there have been any huge developments with carbon fibre technology in many years. It all seems to be about finessing the use of the same basic material. When it comes to float rods, pushing the limits of wall thickness, to minimise weight, seems to be a current trend. For some, this is a good thing. For others, it's a decidedly bad one.
 
Oliver Harfield said:
To eBay I go!!!!
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I would be very careful buying a normark off eBay and there’s no way I’d even contemplate it without having some fundamental questions answered and seeing the images clearly and exactly how i want to see them.
The sad truth is, there’s not many good ens around left and the majority of good ens that are left don’t get let go or sit unused in personal collections.
There’s nothing wrong with buying a team 2000 that’s 10-15mm short. It will fish just fine but it’s worth less than half what a full length model would be and that’s the important thing to understand. Don’t pay £300 for a short rod and don’t confuse the models or eras of the models either. Some are worth 3x what others are.

Join the normark and carbotec FB group if you’re serious about buying one. There’s knowledge on there and good genuine rods come up frequently for sale. Ones that ain’t good quickly get found out and points raised.
 
It's a little like fibre glass rods, there is only so far you could go with them. Now we are at that point with carbon. The biggest change over the past few years has been reducing the resin in carbon cloths. Its quite catastrophic when this mark has been reached.
 
Richard Parsons said:
Just re-invigorating this thread; partly because it might interest @Richard Isaacs , and partly because I wonder about (and lament) the loss of the old posters on this thread. I know Keith Speer passed away a few years ago, but what happened to Dave Gauntlett, David Hall, Ian Crook, Darryl Davis, Eddie Farrell, and Andrew Boyne et al?
I even noticed Paul Boote's name in a thread the other day, and have to say I really enjoyed reading his posts (though probably pre-2010), even if some found him a tad abrasive (for wont of a better word).
BFW has a fantastically rich history of members.
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Dave Hall and Dave Gauntlett are still members of our Fishing club and both active on our Facebook pages, though both are not in the best of health. Dave Hall and his wife Carol manage a Fishery for our club and everyone loves them. Yes and really liked Paul Boote's posts, and
the Hamster diary though others claimed it was not him. Also liked Ian Hugo Arnotts Return to the river Pinn diary some fantastic imagination there.
 
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Mark Swaby said:
Dave Hall and Dave Gauntlett are still members of our Fishing club and both active on our Facebook pages, though both are not in the best of health. Dave Hall and his wife Carol manage a Fishery for our club and everyone loves them. Yes and really liked Paul Boote's posts, and
the Hamster diary though others claimed it was not him. Also liked Ian Hugo Arnotts Return to the river Pinn diary some fantastic imagination there.
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pleased to hear Dave G is still around !
 
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