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Tidal trent.

i have fished the Trent for over 50 years for all species

1.75tc will land anything that swims in the Trent inc the cats - i'll not go into details about 'levers' and actually pressure you as an angler can actually apply - there is plenty of good info online

these huge feeder are used mostly by anglers fishing at range - as others have said there is always the 'inside line' that allows a lighter feeder and more accurate/delicate presentation

in fact on the inside line i would prefer to avoid a feeder and loose feed as in my experience and that of far better barbel anglers the fish are learning about huge feeders

and Guy makes an excellent point about a 'bow' in the line - an old and largely forgotten tactic

also of course a fine diameter braid helps a hell of a lot in holding the bottom with lighter weights
 
Terry Harman said:
personally i would worry more about the welfare of the fish if you hook a good double on the tidal with those rods you could probably land it no question.. but it would take you a lot longer than it would if you were using rods that weren’t under gunned... taking into account you are going in august when it could be scorching hot therefore less oxygen in the water a prolonged fight in those conditions would be detrimental to the fish
you could probably get a pair of korum rods that would do the job for around £100 why take the risk ?
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got to disagree - sorry

if i can land Atlantic Salmon over 20lb in the River Tay's very strong flows with a 1.5tc rod then barbel on 1.75 are not a problem - but there may be a problem with an anglers playing technique?

the salmon have to be played very, very hard as its pretty much all catch and release today

these massive test curves seem to be a UK/Europe thing?

remember a Richard Walker Mk 4 was 1.5tc and the SU 1.75tc?

go to Alaska and see 50lb plus Chinooks caught and released safely on 8/9 weight fly rods

or Tarpon on the same rods

or 20lb plus Barramundi in Aus on ultra light rods
 
this increase in test curves has really pissed me off because its without logic and the science as mentioned earlier about 'levers' and the force that can be applied

carpers (and i used to be one for my sins) started this trend - and year by year the test curves got larger

you now have carp rods with higher test curves than beachcasters used for cod etc in the North Sea

the higher the test curve the better your casting needs to be - i've used Trebuchet etc and they are nasty rods that most anglers cannot compress as they lack the technique

so onto the angling forum come the champion casters who designed the rods trying to sell their casting lessons/tuition

vicious circle - not forgetting they are not nice rods on which to play fish

again i ask - why has distance become the new god?

i spent many years carping on Pits 5/6 at A1 - every local expert bar a few said you had to hit bar 'x' at 145yds

and when Pit 6 was drained down the bullshit was fully exposed - the Hump/The Point/The Boulders - nothing as described by the experts, lol

BULLSHIT

these fools were casting into no mans land whilst big 20's were cruising the margins under their feet

i fished the margins as did a few others - we far, far outcaught every other angler

i love the margins - easy/lazy bait application - and to me the application of bait is the key to catching regardless of species - i'm a good caster but i cannot bait accurately to my standards at over 50yds in the baiting pattern i want

and yes, before somebody asks - i can cast 150yds with bait and have taught (foc) casting lessons
 
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Terry Harman said:
well they are harrison’s 😂
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pmsl

did i mention i'm working with Harrisons to develop a new specialist roach rod?

prototypes start testing in the next few weeks as delayed over a year due to covid

don't get me started on Century rods and the NG tips snapping off at 6" below to tip ring

i pay for all my rods at rrp apart from the prototypes so not to be accused of favouring Harrison

my rods have all been bought as standard factory builds from Johnson Ross

i have 4no 1.25tc Torrix/4no 1.5tc Torrix/4no 1.75tc Torrix - factory builds as i despise custom builds as nothing more than a tart delight

yes, i buy all my rods in fours

talking of Harrison rods imo the Chimera is the best carp rod
 
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Nick Hodgkinson said:
- factory builds as i despise custom builds as nothing more than a tart delight
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Couldn’t disagree more with that.
custom building onto a fresh blank is absolutely the single best way to get a proper fishing rod made to your own specifications. I’m not talking about whipping colour here…..
I’m talking about ring placement, type and sizes, handle preferences (name a rod now where you can still get sliders for reel grips)
Tip splicing on certain blank types, hook keepers and various designs.
sight tips, isotopes etc etc. all useful customizations that are nothing to do with being a tart.
off the peg rods ain’t a patch on a rod you’ve had specifically built to suit your own fishing even if the blanks are exactly the same.
 
Nick Hodgkinson said:
pmsl

did i mention i'm working with Harrisons to develop a new specialist roach rod?

prototypes start testing in the next few weeks as delayed over a year due to covid

don't get me started on Century rods and the NG tips snapping off at 6" below to tip ring

i pay for all my rods at rrp apart from the prototypes so not to be accused of favouring Harrison

my rods have all been bought as standard factory builds from Johnson Ross

i have 4no 1.25tc Torrix/4no 1.5tc Torrix/4no 1.75tc Torrix - factory builds as i despise custom builds as nothing more than a tart delight

yes, i buy all my rods in fours

talking of Harrison rods imo the Chimera is the best carp rod
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all those stiff rods you’ll be ok if you need to scaffold your house 😉
 
Nick Hodgkinson said:
i have fished the Trent for over 50 years for all species

1.75tc will land anything that swims in the Trent inc the cats - i'll not go into details about 'levers' and actually pressure you as an angler can actually apply - there is plenty of good info online

these huge feeder are used mostly by anglers fishing at range - as others have said there is always the 'inside line' that allows a lighter feeder and more accurate/delicate presentation

in fact on the inside line i would prefer to avoid a feeder and loose feed as in my experience and that of far better barbel anglers the fish are learning about huge feeders

and Guy makes an excellent point about a 'bow' in the line - an old and largely forgotten tactic

also of course a fine diameter braid helps a hell of a lot in holding the bottom with lighter weights
Click to expand...
What a breath of fresh air!
 
Fished tidal last few days & yes it would be nice to fish the inside line,if you do that take a really good supply of leads & feeders with you
as thats where most of the rocks are on the outside bends imo,

With the downstrem rod you need to hold bottom or you will end up amoungst them, im no tidal expert but you need to use a lead/feeder
to suit the conditions & boy do them fish fight in the flow,give them a nice long rest
 
My last two pairs of Torrix have been custom built.

Because I can. I can choose everything to make them as individual as I want.

Last time I looked, I definitely was not a Tart.
Though nowadays appearances can be deceptive.

As for roach rods, my Hardy 14ft . Or my Drennan IM9 will mean I won't need anything else float wise for some time unless another one can magic more bites.

Three different feeder rods for silvers will do also.
 
Nick Hodgkinson said:
1.75tc will land anything that swims in the Trent inc the cats - i'll not go into details about 'levers' and actually pressure you as an angler can actually apply - there is plenty of good info online
Click to expand...
Your missing the point nick yes you don’t need a big tc to land fish …..in fact you could land barbel from the Trent on that new roach rod your developing…….if it’s as stiff as a torrix you could land porbeagle with it……..it’s about how quickly you can land fish in the hot weather with low oxygen levels ….please don’t tell me you could land a big cat from the trent with a 1.75 tc rod quicker than using a dedicated 5lb tc cat rod…..and as Dave says above yeah you can fish the slacks and hook fish but there is only one place that fish is going straight out into the flow

and yes the Richard Walker mk4 was a 1.5 tc but I dont think he was fishing the tidal Trent for mid doubles with it…what was the average barbel size when the mk4 came out ?………good for growing runner beans up though 😉
 
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Terry Harman said:
Your missing the point nick yes you don’t need a big tc to land fish …..in fact you could land barbel from the Trent on that new roach rod your developing…….if it’s as stiff as a torrix you could land porbeagle with it……..it’s about how quickly you can land fish in the hot weather with low oxygen levels ….please don’t tell me you could land a big cat from the trent with a 1.75 tc rod quicker than using a dedicated 5lb tc cat rod…..and as Dave says above yeah you can fish the slacks and hook fish but there is only one place that fish is going straight out into the flow

and yes the Richard Walker mk4 was a 1.5 tc but I dont think he was fishing the tidal Trent for mid doubles with it…what was the average barbel size when the mk4 came out ?………good for growing runner beans up though 😉
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Got to disagree on this Terry.

Dave says above yeah you can fish the slacks and hook fish but there is only one place that fish is going straight out into the flow.

More likely straight down into the rocks IME of the Trent.
 
Not a smart arse, Chris is just learning like most people ,who is to say that the bloke who fishes the tidal with 8 foot cane rods and centre pins is wrong, not for me but I would not begrudge them for doing so. Was lent the right rod and reel a couple of years ago tope fishing in Dumfries and Galloway ,that I had never done before and good advice how to hook play and land one for nowt,just a bit of help from myself to launch and land the boat, . Small tides and on its bare bones the tidal can be fished a lot lighter, when it ain't like that hope you have the right gear !
 
Richard Isaacs said:
Couldn’t disagree more with that.
custom building onto a fresh blank is absolutely the single best way to get a proper fishing rod made to your own specifications. I’m not talking about whipping colour here…..
I’m talking about ring placement, type and sizes, handle preferences (name a rod now where you can still get sliders for reel grips)
Tip splicing on certain blank types, hook keepers and various designs.
sight tips, isotopes etc etc. all useful customizations that are nothing to do with being a tart.
off the peg rods ain’t a patch on a rod you’ve had specifically built to suit your own fishing even if the blanks are exactly the same.
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each to their own

how many anglers have the 'jig' necessary to put a blank under compression under different loads to arrange ring placement? - none i guess because you need a bloody big wall space ,lol

be honest most anglers know sweet fa about the pros and cons of ring selection/sizing because its a science

i know a few custom builders and titanium rings are the new 'want' because its the new 'want'

now if you want to understand a totally different concept in rod rings especially smaller and more rings then Kev Baines at Anglers Workshop is the man and he produces some superb rods that will truly shock you

i am a big fan of the Fuji Low Rider rings - i actually have a spomb rod i designed with these rings and yes, i set up a homemade jig and weighed mini and medium spombs with multiple wet mixes to get it right

its actually built on a Free Spirit Marker Rod blank!!

its optimum was for the mini spomb - medium spomb was a short range compromise

the distances achievable using 30lb Powerpro and no leader are staggering

and to prove its not all talk - you can visit me and try the rod on water

and no, its going to remain a one off as i have no interest in marketing any rods as life is too short

yes, you can customise handle length - measure from x to y etc - but off the shelf rods suit me as i guess i'm just average?

handle diameter - i have small hands and I've never found a handle too thick, lol

but here i will ask a critical question

why is it that its carp and barbel rods that have so much customisation given these rods spend say 59 minutes of an hour sat on rod rests?

but take fly rods that are casting 59 minutes of an hour are off the shelf build and mostly used by anglers who can afford 'the best'?

honest question
 
Terry Harman said:
Your missing the point nick yes you don’t need a big tc to land fish …..in fact you could land barbel from the Trent on that new roach rod your developing…….if it’s as stiff as a torrix you could land porbeagle with it……..it’s about how quickly you can land fish in the hot weather with low oxygen levels ….please don’t tell me you could land a big cat from the trent with a 1.75 tc rod quicker than using a dedicated 5lb tc cat rod…..and as Dave says above yeah you can fish the slacks and hook fish but there is only one place that fish is going straight out into the flow

and yes the Richard Walker mk4 was a 1.5 tc but I dont think he was fishing the tidal Trent for mid doubles with it…what was the average barbel size when the mk4 came out ?………good for growing runner beans up though 😉
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OK Terry

the cat was somewhat rhetorical - but with a 2.75tc Daiwa Infinity X i would be way faster than the 5lb cat rod - but the barbel and 1.75tc absolutely no problem

you think the low tc Torrix are stiff? - maybe the carp rods but certainly not the 1.25/1.5/1.75 i own

the roach rod is about 0.75tc but not finalised - its not a float rod

float fishing for roach i have an original Drennan Acolyte 13' and for big fish on the float a Harrison 13' GTI SU

somebody mentioned fish going for the rocks - ever fished for salmon on the Tay, Spey, Tweed etc? - rocks from the size of a tennis ball to the size of a family car
 
Nick.
Rocks.

Some areas of rock on the Trent and the Wye have jagged, pointed, edge of deeps nasty stuff.

Only fished the Tay once. Smooth large pebbles on the bit I was on.

My 1.75 Torrix coped OK on a Summer non tidal Trent piece I fish.

However, were pushed to cope with real fish control when 4ft plus on. And have played few barbel in my many years. No problem with bait presentation of course, because I probably would be under the rod top

I certainly would NOT recommend someone without your experience to even start on less than 2lb tc ( depends on action of rod of course to a degree, maybe 2.25 needed)
 
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