John Wilson Avon Rod

[kleinboet]

I have a JW Avon rod that I haven't used in earnest yet, preferring to use my two 18 year old JW match rods.

Can those who use this rod, tell me how they find it?

[Kappa]

I have a JW Avon rod that I haven't used in earnest yet, preferring to use my two 18 year old JW match rods.

Can those who use this rod, tell me how they find it?

 

I'm planning to buy one tomorrow! So I too will be interested! Matt Hillman said it wasn't great for trotting as the rings were too close to the blank!

 

Rich

[Janet]

I'd be very interested in hearing about it too, as I'm intending to buy one next week.

 

Janet

[Houseplant]

A souless length of green carbon, sorry!

[kleinboet]

I have the JW siggy match Feeder rod which is about 18 years old, but it is a GOOD rod. I have just compared the Avon rod with the "old" one and I see a lot of similarities.

Edited June 13, 2007 by kleinboet

[Mat Hillman]

I have one of the old style JW avons, the twin tip with single quiver and full cork handle version, and IMHO it knocks the socks off the newer "system" rods. I ebayed the system rod and kept the old one!

 

I found the system rod fine as a ledgering rod, mainly used it quiver tipping for chub on the chelmer, and had no complaints with it used that way with a fixed spool reel. I did however have a lot of problems trying to float fish with it, especially using fairly light floats when margin fishing for tench, and trying to cast light rigs from the reel when using a 'pin, in both cases the wet line was constantly "sticking" to the rod and cutting down on distance, and in the case of the 'pin causing me loads of tangles as the reel ended up overrunning. I tried a couple of different brands of line to cure the problem with no luck, and so gave up and switched rods.

 

Mat

[Guest Rabbit]

I use them for river work, and I love them. Not the most fashionable of gear I suppose, but for me they are the perfect chub / barbel roving rod. The guides are very strong, and for crashing through overgrown banks they are well suited. Would think twice about using them on still waters, although JW used them for just about anything on the telly.

[Steve Burke]

The John Wilson Avon has been much discussed on the Forum, with varying views. However there are at least 2 completely different versions.

 

I won a Mk.1 John Wilson Avon some years ago for some catch or other. The quivertip top was fine, but I found the hollow Avon top stiff and lifeless. Some other posters did too, although a few did like it. Rod action is a personal thing, but I suspect that at least some of the latter hadn't handled similar rods.

 

Certainly it wouldn't have been covered my ledgering for the smaller species such as roach and perch, and would have been most unsuitable for the float fishing I do. Despite being rated for 3 to 6lb line, I reckon it was more suited to barbel fishing and 5 to 10lb line.

 

In fact I disliked it so much I gave it away to a friend, who I hope liked it more than I did!

 

The Mk II I haven't used but have handled. It's a more versatile rod, but not as powerful and with a tippier action than I remember my MK I was. It's certainly more suitable for perch and roach, although not for big barbel.

 

In fact the Mk II is such a different rod that the only thing it has in common with its predecessor is the name!

[Ian FG]

Make sure your reels fit the JW handle before you buy. Not all do.

[WickerDave]

Yes, I use the green Mk II 1¼lb every fishing trip and did post this on a general Avon rod topic with this in mind...

 

Do a search on the site and you'll find lots of related topics. This was my contribution to one of them at

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=62495

. I use size 30 reels on these rods and it's a nicely balanced set up.

 

A good compromise is a 1¼lb TC Avon rod with an additional quivertip top section for versatility, there are lots to choose from. This won't overpower any smaller fish caught when floatfishing but gives you enough power to deal with carp to 15lb+. About the only disadvantage with this type of rod is that the rod rings usually have no legs and are close to the blank, so if you are using very light float gear in the wet then the line can stick to the blank, making casting difficult. They also won't cope with heavy feeders or leads.

 

If need be you could step up to the 1½lb or 1¾lb TC "barbel" variants as suggested by DavyR.

I use mine with the Avon top for surface controller work and margin freelining or floatfishing, or with the quiver tip for method feeder work and like it. It has enough backbone to be able to put a lot of pressure on 10lb+ carp to keep them out of weed or snags. I don't river fish so I can't comment on that.

 

One problem with the earlier Mk II versions was that the reel seat wouldn't take reels with a wide foot, such as the old Mitchell 300 and a lot of centrepins. I think they have corrected that now.