The Great Rod Divide(?)

[David Craine]

Agree entireley Dave.. I like the sensitivity of J curves, and the old Zippy has softened a bit and is a delight to use,the Conti is more of a through action , which suits the Shimmy Ultegra 1400XSD, but it took a bit of getting used to , its soooooo easy to get a bait out to well over 100 yds without blowing it up, with a simple arielised ground cast, or fishing pendulum. I backcast the Afaw"s mostly. Tourney Rock and Tourney Match, f/s in winter multi in summer. I have used braid on my mangles for quite a few years, but stick with mono on multis, used to load them with braid, but managed to bend a spindle on a 7HTpulling out of a snag. I have braid on my Rock multis though.
Thats enough about salt...other Barbeleers will be wondering what we are on about :0)

Dave

 

[Dave Taylor]

Don't feel guilty Dave,... a rod is a rod, cheap or not, the basic requirement is that it does what you brought it for, no matter the target species.

 

[Mark Anderson]

Hi Joe, re. the "Nash Elite Barbel Specialist 12ft 2lb".. any idea who made the blanks for those? I bought my first Nash "The Specialist" Barbel Tri-Tip (1.5/1.75/QT .. NOT the Dean Macey thing) 14 years ago and loved it so much I now have 5 of them (2 of the 1.5 tips have been shortened to give a test curve of 2.2lb!). Anyone know if the blanks for the 'Tri-tip' and the 'Elite' were made by the same company, and which company /companies that was??
ATVB
Terry

Hi men ,

Terry , we also have 5 of the Nash Elite , love them to death , see my days out . Got to say that of all the things important in barbel fishing , the rod comes quiet a way down on the list . Its nice to hold a quality rod , but that aint going to stop you fishing effectively .

Use my nashys to , in this order , smash down nettles , clear a path through the balsam , hook back overhanging trees and bushes , as a stick to slide down into swims , oh , and fish with , the Perfect Teme rod


Hatter

 

[Terry Simner]

Hi men ,

Terry , we also have 5 of the Nash Elite , love them to death , see my days out . Got to say that of all the things important in barbel fishing , the rod comes quiet a way down on the list . Its nice to hold a quality rod , but that aint going to stop you fishing effectively .

Use my nashys to , in this order , smash down nettles , clear a path through the balsam , hook back overhanging trees and bushes , as a stick to slide down into swims , oh , and fish with , the Perfect Teme rod


Hatter

Yep, TOTALLY agree Hat.... bleedin' work-horses that never let you down (and IMO, a joy to hold). My first was £50, the most I've paid is £70 IIRC. I loved using the 1.5 tip for mega-wagglering and meat freelining (a la 'Rolling') on the Severn last year. Did the job..and this season will be paired with a side-cast reel

 

[David Craine]

Don't feel guilty Dave,... a rod is a rod, cheap or not, the basic requirement is that it does what you brought it for, no matter the target species.

I never feel guilty about my gear Dave, although I sometimes feel just a bit sorry ( and have a small chuckle at the same time,) for those amongst us who are slaves to a brand name, even though sometimes the rod they choose is totally inappropriate for the job they want it for, especially so when spending maybe £50.00 to £100.00 less would have given them a far better rod for their purpose.

Marketing , a lot to answer for !

Dave

 

[John Care]

I use a Daiwa Infinity 1.75, which is a lovely rod...I also use a Daiwa Theory, a third of the price... and to be honest, I can hardly tell the difference. They both do the job just fine.

Have been tempted by a pair of Torrix rods a number of times, but they're not going to catch me any more barbel than i do (or don't) now.

 

[Anthony Pearson]

What would be interesting is if rods could be blind-tested. I wonder how many of us are swayed by the label rather by the action/feel of the thing? Or, we've bought them because of recommendations on a thread such as this one? The beauty of the second hand rod market is that we can buy, try and then sell if we don't like them.....well that's the theory. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to doing the last bit!

 

[Howard Cooke]

I've no doubt that a genuinely objective test would reveal the small performance or function gaps between rods designed to do a particular job. But it's a business and the full weight of the corporate machine comes into play. The great thing is that there is enormous variety to suit pretty much every budget and style of fishing. It also means there is a decent competeive market and an incentive for the corporates to continue to innovate. It's the same with reels.

Like many I guess, I have way too many rods. These range from off the shelf jobs to my prized Barder split cane. Apart from the very obvious differences between cane and carbon, I can't hand on heart say I am able to tell the difference between off the shelf and custom built. But that says more about me I suspect! I do notice and appreciate the build differences with a custom build and love my Bob Gill rods. And when you are spending a lot of time just staring at your rod as it rests comfortably and lazily in its rests, it helps if it's a pretty thing to look at.

But if I had to keep just one rod then it would have to be the Fox Kevlar multi-tip. If only for versatility alone. They must represent great value.

 

[Joe Winstanley]

What would be interesting is if rods could be blind-tested. I wonder how many of us are swayed by the label rather by the action/feel of the thing? Or, we've bought them because of recommendations on a thread such as this one? The beauty of the second hand rod market is that we can buy, try and then sell if we don't like them.....well that's the theory. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to doing the last bit!

Now that would a good one. Hearing anglers describe the Torrix 1.75 and 2lb, and the even the Chimera 2 as 'through-actioned' makes me wonder

 

[Chris Jones]

What would be interesting is if rods could be blind-tested. I wonder how many of us are swayed by the label rather by the action/feel of the thing? Or, we've bought them because of recommendations on a thread such as this one? The beauty of the second hand rod market is that we can buy, try and then sell if we don't like them.....well that's the theory. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to doing the last bit!

There's little doubt in my mind that many can be put off certain brands, for all sorts of reasons. I'd also suggest that most will regard certain brands a little more highly than they might actually deserve. It's nigh on impossible for any of us to be truly objective. However, I do have a little difficulty accepting that there will be too many using poor gear just because of a brand name.

I really like trying new gear, float rods especially are my thing. Sometimes they might be quite expensive, sometimes not. I know from experience that not everything a certain brand puts its name to will be of equal standard. I also know that my preferences and way of using them (venues and techniques) are not common to all. I own rods from lots of different manufacturers. I love some rods that are virtually unknown, unregarded or modestly priced. I've really disliked some rods that are well known, very highly regarded or rather expensive. Very rarely have I encountered anything I'd describe as genuinely bad.

The biggest issue I've found when looking for new rods to try (in the never ending quest for the best, or just that bit better than you have), is that so many types, or brands, of rod are nigh on impossible to actually get your hands on prior to purchase. You know they exist in catalogues, but seeing one in a shop or on the bank is very unlikely. I take more than the odd blind punt. Sometimes it works out really well, sometimes it doesn't. The expense of buying this way is to dicey for many to contemplate.

I'd love to get a selection of unmarked trotting rods to trial. It would certainly be an interesting experience. I've little doubt that I'd not choose to use some of the most expensive. However, I rather suspect that those I ended up preferring would generally be fairly pricey. I also suspect that there's be the odd relatively inexpensive surprise thrown in.

 

[Daniel Watt]

I have been using a Fox Royale 1.75 since summer. I am yet to catch a Barbel but it has done a lovely job of playing many carp up to 15lbs.

Progressive power all the way through the Rod.

cost me £70 but I am looking to get another (nicer) Barbel rod.

 

[David Tainton]

Cane?

For Barbel-Torrix and my I-Power, float fishing the first Normark Titan, but if I won the lottery I would commission a rod from Edward Barder-based purely on using a Richard Walker split cane for Tench on a local club lake. Playing fish is totally different, and I would love to play a big fish with the right split cane rod. Just looked at the website and prices are around £1800!

Cheers me Dears

 

[Bob Gill]

There are some very good 'imported' blanks around. However, the price differential between the good ones and home produced is becoming narrower. Some high end rods do use imported blanks, some surprising.
Glad I'm mostly out of it for the foreseeable.

Bob