robtherake

Can you lift the pic, or is that a bit cheeky?

I came home today with a tip stuck fast in the quiver section of one of my Fox Avons. Quite why it happened now - no muck or grit in it - I haven't a clue; it's never happened before with either rod. One quick trawl on here and I had the answer. No Marigolds to be found under the sink, but a piece of chamois leather from the same place did the trick, immediately. In fact, it was hard to believe it came apart so easily after my purple-faced contortions on the bank didn't budge it at all. A piece of chamois now lives in my rod bag! Anyway, all the tips have had a light dressing with 1200 grade wet and dry and all four fit perfectly now. Strange how they've all become tight - almost as if the section had shrunk a little in diameter. I believe thanks are in order, gentlemen.

Going back a bit, I bought the 4m version of Chapman's "Unbreakable Margin Rod", which hangs unused for the reason stated above. The action is excellent, and it's well capable of doing its job, but the thrupenny bit shape of the line through too few rings makes any fight a jagged, uncomfortable affair - even the smoothest of clutches can't compensate for that. In addition, as soon as the blank's wet, the line sticks to it like crap to a blanket. The tip section has a few "floating" rings that are pushed into position; a few on the lower sections would have made it a much better rod.

This lead core substitute seems to have divided people's opinions somewhat, but sounds interesting since it's far more supple and will follow contours better, especially in the cold. Does anyone have any first hand experience of this material? I'd be interested to hear some opinions, aside from the usual caveats regarding use of lead core.

Brilliant in all respects. http://www.fishtec.co.uk/buy.cfm/carp-and-specialist-reels/tf-gear-classic-centre-pin-reel/40/yes/48111

I agree, but where's the shopping trolley, waterlogged branch and bread bag full of stinky silt. Oh, and several species of wildfowl, I imagine.

No sweat, I could have made it clearer.

Same here, Ian; I meant mainline to swivel/connector. I accept that you'd have to re-rig if that isn't the case.

Shimano did a Technium Specialist rod along the same lines; there are a few others, but off the top of my head that's the only one that comes to mind.

Well, chaps, I'm sitting firmly on the other side of the fence. Totting up, It surprised me to find that I've accumulated seven different multi-tip rods over the years: three avons; three barbel rods, and a 10ft ABU twin-tip with a screw-in end eye that makes an excellent swingtipping tool. All have a discrepancy in balance between quiver and avon sections, with the latter being a little more tip-heavy, although not as much as you might expect. But since these rods spend much of their time in a rest that's hardly a heavy criticism. It's certainly a small price to pay for the flexibility on offer. Having decided which tip section to use in a given situation, it's rare indeed to change from one to the other, mid-session. If that's needed - because you're usually legering - it's usually just a case of snipping off and retying a single knot; a couple of minutes, tops. I'm sure that there are poorer offerings out there, but the Fox, Shimano and ABU rods that I use are brilliant at what they do; so much so that I've never felt the need to buy dedicated rods of either type.

Did you pull the worms from their holes? In my own experience, the attrition rate for lobs that you have had to forcibly extract is far greater than for those you've dug up. More soil, or whatever medium you're using may help, and as Kiri implies, some sort of food source if you intend to keep them for any length of time. Pieces of cooked potato, placed on the surface of the soil cut side down, is as good as anything.

Not necessarily so. There are two adjacent boxes in one drawer of our fridge; one with worms in soil; another with maggots. Both last for weeks and the worms (so far) remain healthy.

Guilty as sin, too Glad I bought mine when they were still cheap; they've doubled in price since then, and it was only about 18 months ago.

A good observation, Sir. Boron rods all seemed to come in the same green paint job (Bruce and Walker's version was called the Green Dragon). The majority of kevlar rods, however, seem to have an external fibre wrap under a minimal varnish/lacquer finish; if the makers were bothered about UV degradation, it seems a foolish place to put it.

Although they're flexible (in a way that standard carbon rarely seems to be), rods with a kevlar wrap are incredibly strong. I used to have a Tri-cast Tommy Pickering twin-tip. Faced with a stalemate on the Swale with a barbel almost into the snags, I simply walked backwards. The rod bucked and protested, bent into a hoop the like of which I'd never seen up until that point - the guy sitting with me hid his face, waiting for the bang! - but everything held and an extremely cross and surprised barbel was soon in the net. All the kevlar rods I've owned share that same characteristic. To use a hackneyed phrase, they are real player's rods, but can soak up an incredible amount of pressure without breakage.

I had a Shakespeare Boron float rod, back in the day. It was lovely and responsive but went back to Shakespeare three times after the tip section broke during use. The rod wasn't being horsed, and they didn't come up with an explanation, but subsequent conversations with other owners confirmed their fragile nature.

Come on, Andrew, that rod's never seen daylight! I have a couple of kevlar rods; it's their elasticity I like - very few hook pulls and breaks. You can go surprisingly light with complete safety. A recent purchase - a Silstar Diaflex float rod from the late nineties - is already a firm favourite due to its forgiving nature.

There are several reasonable feeder rods for between £20 and £25. Below this price point it's a case of "you get what you pay for". What about this one? http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/affiliate-offers/cheap_feeder_rod.html Just don't expect it to perform like a thoroughbred.

Yes, you could get away with it - hell, my first rod was used for everything - but it's not ideal, and you risk having it broken on a savage take. You can pick up a Garbolino Rocket feeder for around twenty notes, and it won't be the only decent deal if you shop around. Budget (and not so cheap) feeder rods on Ebay go for peanuts - well worth a look.

I once had a whopping great fantail from Hemlington Lake, Teesside. It was like an orange football in a tutu - maybe 3 pounds, at a guess. It's right in the middle of a council estate, so you'd expect the odd unwanted goldfish to find it's way in there.

Excellent write-up. Love the bream episode - pure class - no wonder it battled so hard!

I stipulate UK only, Peter, but for guys with good feedback I will occasionally make an exception on request and have yet to be disappointed. It's a shame, because these customers are usually as keen as mustard and are always incredibly grateful.

Wow! That old guy's as hard as nails. Justice is served.

I'm selling a couple of rods on the bay for a friend who, sadly, is too infirm to continue his angling pursuits. A fella from Croatia messaged for a postal quote, but when I checked out the potential cost it seemed sensible to look in the list of prohibited items first. It's a long list, but you could have knocked me down with a feather when I saw fishing rods were one of the items in there. I know that there are fellas on here who have vast experience in this field and hoped someone could clarify for me before I message the guy back.

As it happens, a mate is selling his gear due to ill health and has a rod which may be exactly what you're after. It's a Shimano Aero medium feeder; 11' 6", 3 piece with 2 original tips; tip to middle action with plenty of power in reserve; pristine, almost unfished condition with original bag (although this has discoloured in a couple of places); original retail price £110, yours for £40 plus postage. There's one on Ebay now, so you can have a look and see what you think. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400541799455?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649