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Small river barbel rod

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David Robson

Senior Member & Supporter
I'm thinking of buying a 11ft barbel rod for strike and hold situations on the River Nidd and would welcome any suggestions anyone can offer? At the moment, my head says CTX 2lb but my heart says the Barbel Seeker SU which i think is 1.75 TC. If anyone has got experience with this model would it be adequate? Thanks.

Dave
 
What sort of size do they go to and how tight are the snags. I use a flood and snag 11ft6 inch Chimera and a Relum pin for hit and hold snag fishing, cannot be beat if the fish are up to mid Doubles. My Torrix 1.75 11ft just would not cope with some of the fights . The pin enables me to wind under immense pressure. Its not pretty but does the job probably better than any other setup when things are a bit tight on a small river.
 
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Mark Swaby said:
What sort of size do they go to and how tight are the snags. I use a flood and snag 11ft6 inch Chimera and a Relum pin for hit and hold snag fishing, cannot be beat if the fish are up to mid Doubles. My Torrix 1.75 11ft just would not cope with some of the fights . The pin enables me to wind under immense pressure. Its not pretty but does the job probably better than any other setup when things are a bit tight on a small river.
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Not that big on the Nidd, maybe 10lb max and with it being really narrow with willows pushing out about a third of a way across. Its a shame there doesn't seem to be many options out there.
 
I fish the Nidd regularly and my go to rod is the the Harrison Avon 1:6. Having said that I would only use it at summer levels. It just bents and bents and with the Nidd barbel averaging 4 to 6lbs it stops then in there tracks. I have had an 8lber and it handle that fish easily which is a good fish for the river. A SU 1: 75 is also available. If the river is up and flowing I have recently acquired a Harrison Snag and Flood as Mark mentioned which will stop any fish I am likely encounter.
 
Angler Workshop 11ft Specialist No 1, lovely soft tip and enough power lower down to handle any size Barbel. Built by Kev Baines and cheaper than most rod builders, which I’ve come across.

Built on an unstated older Harrison blank (not Torrix, GTI or Chimera). It’s just awesome and my go to rod 👍🏻
 
'Harder on you - easier on the fish' perfectly describes the misconception of power in a rod when it comes to playing a fish.
 
Davis Tackle Harrison Avon rod. They do a 1.25 Avon which is 11ft and a Stepped up 1lb 10 0z version. I have the stepped up version and it’s superb for smaller river / chalk streams and for hit and hold fishing. They are built by Harrison’s for them
 
Simon Rolph said:
Davis Tackle Harrison Avon rod. They do a 1.25 Avon which is 11ft and a Stepped up 1lb 10 0z version. I have the stepped up version and it’s superb for smaller river / chalk streams and for hit and hold fishing. They are built by Harrison’s for them
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I have two of each of the above and find them very versatile. I have had barbel over fifteen on the SU version and barbel of twelve plus on the 1 - 6 version from the Avon.
 
It very much depends on the action you are after. The seeker and the torrix despite shared the same 1.75 test curve and 11ft length, couldn’t be any different in use.

You need to pull on afew, not get too wrapped up in the world of test curves and pay more attention to the action you want, the line strength you intend to use and the weight you want to cast.
Get that all sussed out and recommendations will be of far more use to you
 
Look at a Ray Walton 11ft rod. You can get them used for about £90 on eBay.

Awesome rod with a lovely action and perfect for regular reels and pins (my preference) alike.
 

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I always use my old Terry Eustace Big Tench for the Nidd - 40 years old & fibreglass. Approx 1lb 6oz tc, bending right to the butt - quite happy with 12lb line.
You'll minimise hook pulls & in those tight willow shaded swims you can smack it aginst branches with no fear of breakage!
A Bruce & Walker glass Mk IV carp would be pretty similar in action.
 
Julian Marshall said:
I always use my old Terry Eustace Big Tench for the Nidd - 40 years old & fibreglass. Approx 1lb 6oz tc, bending right to the butt - quite happy with 12lb line.
You'll minimise hook pulls & in those tight willow shaded swims you can smack it aginst branches with no fear of breakage!
A Bruce & Walker glass Mk IV carp would be pretty similar in action.
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I used to use a TE Big Tench for eel fishing - deceptively powerful rods.

Back in the day top carp anglers used 1lb - 1.25 rods with 15lb Sylcast for snag fishing. They could land anything.
 
I moved to a Torrix 11ft 2lb for the Nidd, was using a 12ft 1.75 - wanted more backbone for those 'intimate' swims the Nidd offers and for when its carrying a bit. It's proven to be perfect for me, but no doubt the 1.75 will be equally as good a tool 👍
 
Hi David,

I fish the Nidd for barbel most weeks.
Absolutley endorse the Torrix 11ft 1,75.

Used it for a good number of years, enough grunt to handle some 9+ fish
and great fun with the smaller splashers, fun with the chub also.

Also excellent with those super tight swims.
 
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