Bolo rods

[lutra]

Had one of them mad angler moments on flee bay and bought a 5m - 7.75m carptek bolo rod. I tried to buy one in January when i was freezing my duds off standing in a freezing cold river and a long rod might mean i didn't have to, but i didn't win it.

 

I've had a bit of a wave about with it in the back garden and I'm think this is going to be a bit of a handful with a good fish like a barbel on.

 

Anyone used one of these? or got any tips on landing powerful fish from a river with a 7.75m rod?

 

 

[Dick Dastardly]

Before they were revamped and renamed "Bolognaise" rods were very common with German anglers in the 80's when I lived there. We called them "Big Bertha's" They were heavy telescopic afairs of around 7m. BUT were very good for controlling a heavy trotted float on the big powerfull rivers such as my then local Weser. We (Brit squaddies into match fishing) soon (despite taking the pee out of them) saw what an effective tool they could be. We made our own out of early Shimano EX poles by whipping rings on and Fuji plate reel seats. We usually coupled them with pins and fished them held across the knees "Pole style" to take the weight the pin would be mounted quite low on the butt and controlled with the bottom hand as opposed to the top. Playing fish was a pain for sure if you hooked into a barbell or big river carp rather than the normal target bream or roach.

 

Our versions were certainly easier to fish with BUT the old Kraut "Big Berthas" with fixed spools and traditionally placed reel seats were a lot easier to play big fish on. With a modern Bolognaise rod using decent modern carbon I wouldn't expect (longest trotting rod I own is 17') them to weigh anywhere near the weight either the Big Berthas or our converted poles did however (I think) what your getting at is more the problem of leverage? For this I would suggest the Germans method of putting the butt into the groin and holding the rod (with the non winding hand) as far up the blank as possible would help. Keeping the rod at a low angle also helps reduce the leverage against the angler as you are (once bent) effectively shortening the length.

 

So no answers as such Im afraid but hopefully some things to consider and work with!

[Tigger]

So Brian...you've finally lost the plot altogether then .

 

Might be worth investing in a couple of these....

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cralusso-Surf-River-Floats-/141233387780?pt=UK_SportingGoods_FishingAcces_RL&var=&hash=item20e22a7904

 

I think there's a few places where it would work well Brian and I can't see any problem if you hook a decent fish.

Check out the vids on youtube where they're using bolo rods and those floats.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Tigger

[lutra]

Before they were revamped and renamed "Bolognaise" rods were very common with German anglers in the 80's when I lived there. We called them "Big Bertha's" They were heavy telescopic afairs of around 7m. BUT were very good for controlling a heavy trotted float on the big powerfull rivers such as my then local Weser. We (Brit squaddies into match fishing) soon (despite taking the pee out of them) saw what an effective tool they could be. We made our own out of early Shimano EX poles by whipping rings on and Fuji plate reel seats. We usually coupled them with pins and fished them held across the knees "Pole style" to take the weight the pin would be mounted quite low on the butt and controlled with the bottom hand as opposed to the top. Playing fish was a pain for sure if you hooked into a barbell or big river carp rather than the normal target bream or roach.

 

Our versions were certainly easier to fish with BUT the old Kraut "Big Berthas" with fixed spools and traditionally placed reel seats were a lot easier to play big fish on. With a modern Bolognaise rod using decent modern carbon I wouldn't expect (longest trotting rod I own is 17') them to weigh anywhere near the weight either the Big Berthas or our converted poles did however (I think) what your getting at is more the problem of leverage? For this I would suggest the Germans method of putting the butt into the groin and holding the rod (with the non winding hand) as far up the blank as possible would help. Keeping the rod at a low angle also helps reduce the leverage against the angler as you are (once bent) effectively shortening the length.

 

So no answers as such Im afraid but hopefully some things to consider and work with!

Interesting stuff Budgie. As you say its more the leverage that is bothering me. Yes carbon is nice and light to fish with, but once you have a few pounds of lively fish on the end it doesn't help that much.

 

At 5m (16.5ft) it doesn't feel to bad, but at 7.75m (25.5ft) it feels long and by that length I'm thinking you may well be right and sitting down with it across knees like a pole may be the way to go.

[lutra]

So Brian...you've finally lost the plot altogether then .

 

Might be worth investing in a couple of these....

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cralusso-Surf-River-Floats-/141233387780?pt=UK_SportingGoods_FishingAcces_RL&var=&hash=item20e22a7904

 

I think there's a few places where it would work well Brian and I can't see any problem if you hook a decent fish.

Check out the vids on youtube where they're using bolo rods and those floats.

Yes interesting floats them Ian, I've played with them and even tried to make my own. They do work, but because you need to hold back quite hard to make them kite, you often need to fish a heavy one (10 - 20g) to keep your bait down. Ok if your just after chub and barbel, but in winter I often want to catch a mixed bag with faster, shyer biting dace and roach in there. Not great with a very heavy float IMO.

[gozzer]

An old guy I used to match fish with, made up a 'rod' similar to the one Budgie described. It was a 7m fibreglass pole with a rod top blank fitted. It had old 'high bell' rings, and cycle inner tubes for his centre pin. The finished length was just over 7m. He mainly used it on swims with nearside weed beds, and laid on over the edge. If he decided to trot, he had an extra long rod rest that allowed line to pass through. He used it to take the weight of the rod when trotting. He was only about 5' 4" tall,and the sight of him playing a decent fish was unbelievable, with the butt stuck into his groin. I tried it myself a couple of times, and it seemed to weigh a ton!

Your carbon one will be lighter, but I suggest a few sessions in the gym working on upper body strength if you are targeting barbel, Brian.

Good luck.

 

John.

[Rusty]

Yes interesting floats them Ian, I've played with them and even tried to make my own. They do work, but because you need to hold back quite hard to make them kite, you often need to fish a heavy one (10 - 20g) to keep your bait down. Ok if your just after chub and barbel, but in winter I often want to catch a mixed bag with faster, shyer biting dace and roach in there. Not great with a very heavy float IMO.

 

I've seen these Cralusso floats in my local tackle shop and can think of a few swims where they'd be perfect for the job. If I understand them correctly they allow you to hold back the float without it arcing back towards you even if you're totting well past the rod tip? Do you have to keep the line out of the water for them to work properly?

[lutra]

I've seen these Cralusso floats in my local tackle shop and can think of a few swims where they'd be perfect for the job. If I understand them correctly they allow you to hold back the float without it arcing back towards you even if you're totting well past the rod tip? Do you have to keep the line out of the water for them to work properly?

No it doesn't make much difference if your line is on the water or not, it will kite either way when you hold back.

[lutra]

An old guy I used to match fish with, made up a 'rod' similar to the one Budgie described. It was a 7m fibreglass pole with a rod top blank fitted. It had old 'high bell' rings, and cycle inner tubes for his centre pin. The finished length was just over 7m. He mainly used it on swims with nearside weed beds, and laid on over the edge. If he decided to trot, he had an extra long rod rest that allowed line to pass through. He used it to take the weight of the rod when trotting. He was only about 5' 4" tall,and the sight of him playing a decent fish was unbelievable, with the butt stuck into his groin. I tried it myself a couple of times, and it seemed to weigh a ton!

Your carbon one will be lighter, but I suggest a few sessions in the gym working on upper body strength if you are targeting barbel, Brian.

Good luck.

 

John.

Thats it then John, I'll send the closed season in the gym.

[Vagabond]

LOL

 

Try landing a 300 lb plus bronze whaler on a 14 ft beach-caster . That will tell you something about leverage !

 

Still, I was mere stripling of 74 when I did that, so you strong young men ought to be able to handle a barbel !

 

Seriously, though, I have a 20 foot Bolo, and use it for trotting the Upper Medway - it enables you to trot under the bushes on the far bank (wading a Wealden river is out of the question - clay banks and silty bottom) On the Bolo, a three pound chub feels like a monster ! It is also a bit difficult if it rains - the line will tend stick to the rod if you are using light gear - happens with any float rod, of course, but you get the problem in spades with the longer rod. I still prefer it to the pole though.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Vagabond