Hi all

I'm in the market for a rod & reel, with the intent of landing a few carpies and some of their cousins.

Back in the day my brother and I simply had rods of no specific designation. Now I find myself confounded by 101 different variables which need to be considered. all I want is an affordable rod which won't go wonky if I'm playing a nice fat carp and that could possibly handle something as feisty as a barbel.

It doesn't have to be uber sensitive or have bells and whistles, thats what eyes and ears are for. Can anyone recommend something along these lines? I'm panning on going to visit my local angling shop but I'd like to have an educated idea of what I'm talking about in case they try baffle me with bull***t.

Ta!

Choose from over 6,000 digital instant download products at www.MyClickBank.co.uk.

Guests - this sponsored link will vanish when you log-in. Click here to register for free.

Christ....so many rods to choose from these days especially for carp fishing.

Personally I'd go for a nice TC of 2.75 which should cover most situations....as for brands, I've always found Daiwa and Wychwood to be good value for money.

Sounds like you are after a general purpose rod that will handle Carp, big Barbel, Tench, Chub etc. if this is so I think a rod with a TC of either 1.5lb and 1.75lb would be better such as a Greys Prodigy Barbel rod or one of the prodigy Specialist rods. there are lots of similar alternative rods made by other manufacturers such as Fox, Berkley, Diawa, Wychwood etc.
The Barbel can usually fight much harder than a Carp (Size for Size) so if the rod can handle a 20lb Barbel then it should be able to handle a 25lb Carp however it will not be able to cast heavy Carp weights quite as far as a carp rod or set hooks at long range like a Carp rod.
The 2.7lb Test curve Carp rods are more suitable for Carp fishing at range and are not really General purpose rods suitable for other types of fish as well. However if this is what you want then fine; however it will be a bit too stiff for detecting Barbel bites and playing them.

Here is a link to a review of Barbel rods that may be OK for what you need at different price ranges (from £52.00 to £130.00).
Here is a link to the Greys Prodigy Rods.
Here is a link to the John Wilson Barbel rods and avon quivers

Hope this is of use to you.

This post has been edited by BoldBear: May 10 2008, 12:28 AM

2.25 TC would handle both Barbel and Carp