Chris Yates "Bishop" rod

[Aaron1976]

I was reading through a chapter in Chris' Yates excellent book 'The Secret Carp' last night; there is a story about Chris having a rod made that was planned to be released commercially. It was a split cane beastie (11 ft) and christened the 'Bishop' in reference to his previous record carp. He also mentions a smaller version called the 'Carpcrawler'.

 

I can't quite recall when 'The Secret Carp' was first published but I've never heard nor seen any mention of these rods, I quite imagine the 11ft Bishop is quite a nice rod (and rather expensive!). Has anybody ever seen one or better still actually owned one? I'm rather tempted in a split cane rod...

 

Aaron

[Steve Walker]

Made by the Edward Barder rod company. Here you go:

 

http://www.barder-rod.co.uk/

 

http://www.barder-rod.co.uk/coarse%20rods/the%20Bishop.html

 

(The website doesn't work in Firefox)

[Aaron1976]

Blimey, £1000 for a rod!

 

I'm assuming these are the Rolls-Royce of carp rods; however there must be other companies that make traditional split cane rods at prices your average working man can afford....I must investigate further!

[bluerinse]

Blimey, £1000 for a rod!

 

I'm assuming these are the Rolls-Royce of carp rods; however there must be other companies that make traditional split cane rods at prices your average working man can afford....I must investigate further!

Why not buy an old split cane rod, normally there are plenty on e-bay at good prices. I have found some in excerlent condition

[Steve Walker]

They are horribly expensive, but it's a niche market, selling bespoke, beautifully hand-built rods to a tiny number of traditionalists. More like a Morgan or an Aston Martin than a Rolls Royce. Barder claim that it takes a craftsman 60 hours to build one of their rods. Taking VAT off the price, that works out at 14.18 an hour. Then there's the cost of raw materials, of premises and heating, lighting and maintaining them, financing, powering and maintaining the tools, administering the business, paying for the accountant, the website, the taxman, the office cleaner, the development of new models... I'm actually surprised they can make a profit at that level, especially given that they aren't based in one of the cheaper areas of the country.

[Kappa]

They are horribly expensive, but it's a niche market, selling bespoke, beautifully hand-built rods to a tiny number of traditionalists. More like a Morgan or an Aston Martin than a Rolls Royce. Barder claim that it takes a craftsman 60 hours to build one of their rods. Taking VAT off the price, that works out at 14.18 an hour. Then there's the cost of raw materials, of premises and heating, lighting and maintaining them, financing, powering and maintaining the tools, administering the business, paying for the accountant, the website, the taxman, the office cleaner, the development of new models... I'm actually surprised they can make a profit at that level, especially given that they aren't based in one of the cheaper areas of the country.

 

I've been to Barder's premises and my friend has a Bishop rod! It is a thing of absolute beauty, however I was to afraid of it to do anything with it! If you have the money go for it, if not get yourself a older cane rod, make sure you get a nice one though!

 

Rich

[Aaron1976]

They are horribly expensive, but it's a niche market, selling bespoke, beautifully hand-built rods to a tiny number of traditionalists. More like a Morgan or an Aston Martin than a Rolls Royce. Barder claim that it takes a craftsman 60 hours to build one of their rods. Taking VAT off the price, that works out at 14.18 an hour. Then there's the cost of raw materials, of premises and heating, lighting and maintaining them, financing, powering and maintaining the tools, administering the business, paying for the accountant, the website, the taxman, the office cleaner, the development of new models... I'm actually surprised they can make a profit at that level, especially given that they aren't based in one of the cheaper areas of the country.

 

Yes indeed - they are beautfully made and I appreciate the craftsmanship that must go into making one, the old adage of 'you get what you pay for' is certainly true in this case, what a lovely rod. I wonder how many they've produced over the years? I suspect it will become something of a collectors item (if not already!).

 

I suspect I'll end up buying a used Avon MkIV - but even these can command hefty prices, time to raid the piggy bank again!

[Elton]

(The website doesn't work in Firefox)

 

Even their website is 'traditional', then

[Steve Walker]

Even their website is 'traditional', then

 

Or "Wooden". It's certainly peculiar, and does some weird things. Using radio buttons as navigational links is, erm, idiosyncratic. Idio-something, anyway.