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split cane rods

T

Tony Jones

Member
anyone still use split cane rods for there barbel fishing after years of carbon i fancied a change so bought myself a 60 year old B.James Avocet not cheap but still looks strong enough to land a good un if i'm lucky enough.
 
I do Tony- from time to time! They are beautiful things but in reality of course can't match the performance of modern rods. I have a Barder, built for me a couple of years ago and it's absolutely exquisite. Used it a couple of times and even caught a few barbel with it rolling meat on the Wye.
 
In the right circumstances split cane rods are a joy to use and are every bit as good as modern carbon fibre rods . Sometimes I think people are a little afraid of using them ' hard ' as it where , thinking they may break when bent in to a large fish . I fish with cane rods whenever possible , a few weeks a go I caught an 11lb + Swale barbel in a tight swim using a B james MK1V Avon rod and it coped admirably . The limitations of cane rods are that they are a lot heavier in the hand than carbon and are not as good at casting heavy weights a long distance . They also require to be looked after properly i.e. not stored in a damp condition , however the effort it takes to wipe down your rod after a session and storing it properly is minimal .
 
Tony , just to add , if you fancy trying a cane rod for barbel just let me know . I restore cane rods for a living and have a number' in stock 'as it were that would do the job for you , you are welcome to borrow one , just E mail me on mike.hodgkiss@googlemail.com
 
Hi Tony, I use them fairly regularly on the smaller rivers coupled with Speedia reels they're a real joy and add a bit of extra fun to the game. I have around a dozen split cane rods for various disciplines but the ones that I use mainly for barbel are the aforementioned mkIV Avon and a mkIV carp. I've had double figure barbel on both and they handled them with ease.
 
I suspect you are right Mike about being a little afraid to use them. If I was still fishing the Kennet regularly I suspect I would use mine more. On the Wye I think it's just about finding the right swims/conditions. I certainly don't shy away from using my treasured pins!
 
Yes Howard , with cane rods it is very much horses for courses . I don't think even a stepped up MK1V carp rod would provide the ballista like qualities required to sling 4 ozs of lead across the tidal Trent for example . The biggest river I regularly fish is the Yorkshire Ouse , Mother Ouse is a pretty big river and one that I can cast wherever I want to with a cane rod in normal conditions ,however if it had 10 ft in I would defer to carbon . Edward Barder rods are works of art and worth every penny when you consider the hours that have gone in to making them and the quality of the finish .
 
Yes I had to wait 2 years for the Barder but it was worth it. When I lived in Newbury I worked out that he was based a mile from my house so I made the expensive mistake of popping in to see him. He operates from a very unassuming building that is something between a shed and a barn that he rents from an old school friends parents. He had a couple of completed rods that I could view and I looked at these and then across to the pile of bamboo. Quite astonishing. Having zero skill in anything remotely practical, I could only marvel at the craftsmanship. But at the same time worry that the art is dying. Edward has someone that works with him but I couldn't readily see how his skills etc. might be passed down or indeed across. He might be at the peak of his powers and I just felt I wanted to own and cherish a piece of angling craftsmanship. Its the same with my Witcher pins but they do see considerably greater use.

The Barder is a "Chris Yates Barbus Maximus SU". We opted for a slightly beefier version of the MK11.
 
I have a few split cane rods, and but have to admit that when I was about 25 ysr old, I had a financial problem and sold my Walker mark 1V Avon, I never replaced it, but still have a half dozen other Cane rods.
I have been recently thinking about building a Barbel rod from a decent 3 piece Salmon fly rod. I am sure if a Cane rod can handle a Salmon, a Barbel should not present too much of a problem.
Just looking for a suitable rod now for conversion.

Dave
 
Moved across from the Tech help forum...
 
I have an Avocet cane rod I bought a few years ago. It’s drop dead beautiful, restored by the late Clive Young I’m told, but I’ve never used it mainly because it looks so fantastic with speedia strapped in that I’d feel like a bit of a poser if I were actually to go out with it - if caught, some of the more accomplished anglers I might bump into might take the P (or would they?). Absence of Barbel, so fortunately these days most of the time the banks are pretty empty. Danger of being caught with my Avocet relieved, I might yet just sneak out one day with it soon - get myself a floppy hat too.

As you do, reading this thread I got to wonder, easily distracted as I am and started sticking all sorts of arcane names into google ‘Avocet whole cane butt’ brought in a few interesting results, but eventually I settled at the post below and thought worth sharing; 2009 from someone called ‘rank’ on the purepiscator website:
..............

For Sale

Izaak Walton Avon whole cane rod.

Unique, this museum piece is the only known example in the world, in fine used condition for its three-century age. This extraordinary rod was handcrafted from fine Tonkin bamboo by Izaak Walton Himself, the Father of Angling, by candlelight. It is, naturally, the classical eighteen inches in length, comprised of one section, whipped in Lapis Blue. It is clearly marked ‘EE’ by the maker (generally thought to signify the then popular Staffordshire dialectical phrase, ‘Ee, by gum!’). The four circular ‘hole guides’ are in perfect original condition, the practical method of usage for which traditional design is now sadly lost in the mists of time. The small square paper transfer label, marked ‘Made in China’ is contemporaneous, and thought to relate to a private joke between Izaak and Cotton. This rod has unique provenance, having been owned and used by various world-famous dignitaries such as King Henry VIII, the detective Sherlock Holmes, and more recently pop sensation Madonna.

Due to its unique place in the history of angling and rodbuilding, this rod auction has a reserve price of fifty gazillion pounds.

Happy bidding.

.........

Reading on on Purepiscator I caught mention of Burbot along the way, which made me wonder oh Ian Hugo Arnott where art thou?
 
You had me searching through the old Purepiscator thread there, Nick, as I was a regular on that forum but couldn't quite remember a forum user by the name of "Rank", and I knew most of them. Turns out "Rank" was an indication of how many posts that particular user had made.

Not that it matters a jot...


I'm also a split cane user. Several years back I took an interest in the vintage tackle as something of a reaction against the what I perceived to be slightly cynical marketing ploys of the major tackle manufacturers: how the latest and greatest was usually anything but..... and also the largely unnecessary over complication of the simple act of fishing.

Also, as a furniture restorer an French polisher by trade, I figured I could buy stuff on the cheap and restore it up and, hopefully, not only have some decent vintage gear but also a few quid in saleable assets, should I ever need it. That said, the rods I've restored would be the last thing to go if I hit skid row and the first thing I'd grab if the house was on fire. Something you've taken an active part in restoring or improving does have that effect on you. Somehow it becomes more a part of you than simply something you've bought. I've never counted up what I've restored and own but I'd guess it's somewhere between 15 - 20 rods in all. Cane can become slightly obsessive, that's for sure.

One of my best catches in recent years was a 24Lb carp, caught on a (very) light cane rod I'd restored, fishing bread flake under the rod tip with one of my own floats. Not the biggest carp I've ever caught, but certainly one of the most memorable, given the nature of how it was caught.


David Craine said:
I have a few split cane rods, and but have to admit that when I was about 25 ysr old, I had a financial problem and sold my Walker mark 1V Avon, I never replaced it, but still have a half dozen other Cane rods.
I have been recently thinking about building a Barbel rod from a decent 3 piece Salmon fly rod. I am sure if a Cane rod can handle a Salmon, a Barbel should not present too much of a problem.
Just looking for a suitable rod now for conversion.

Dave
Click to expand...

I'm not quite too sure how that would work out David. It would certainly be a compromise, as a salmon rod is as much a casting tool as a playing tool, so I really don't know if that would be the best way forward. What I would say, is to have a look at some of the three piece 11' cane "bottom" rods. I know chap who fishes an Edgar Sealey Octofloat for barbel and swears it's brilliant. I've got a few of these and haven't tried them on the river yet but my go-to rod for when I know there's the possibility of hooking something that pulls a bit is a Rodrill. I have three of them and restored them all to varying different spec. Being slightly underrated, they are still relatively cheap (when they come up on the bay) and make for a very decent barbel rod. worth sourcing one and perhaps having a go at restoring yourself.
 
I recently took part in a cane & pin day organised by one of the clubs I'm in, using a rod I'd picked up for a fiver in a charity shop. It was having it's first outing since I'd acquired it and having done a little work smoothing out the rough edges on the line guides, which were showing signs of age, I certainly got to put it through its paces. A barbel of just under nine pounds put a proper bend in the three piece split cane rod and I was amazed at how smooth the action was. So much so, that I've already been in touch with a rod builder to get a set of new guides fitted! It doesn't have a makers name on it and the gold'ish label runs the opposite way to that of an Allcock's. Someone suggested it may have its origins in the Redditch area. Whatever the case, it certainly gave me a buzz when playing that fish!
 
Gold fish logo ? Sounds like it could be Anon Shaw , cheap and cheerful make from the 60's ,not a bad blank but the ancillaries [ ferrules / rings etc ]were not the best quality . If you haven't got sorted yet with your rings I could do them for you as I now restore cane rods for a living
 
Sorry, Mike. I meant that the label was gold.....'ish in colour. Not goldfish!:)

I've already spoken to Chas, but thanks for the offer.
 
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