Harrison float rods

[Steve Walker]

(which isn't to say that you need to spend £180 on such a rod - you can buy a decent 13' float rod with the right sort of action and some backbone for less than £50. But not some godawful stick that might just work chucking a bobber for bluegills)

[Matthew Simmons]

The Shakespeare Mach3 13ft is bang on for about £50on ebay - new. I got one on Tigger's recommendation and it dealt easily with trotting for barbel on the Wye last year as well as trotting for dace and roach on the Thames with a 'pin. Its lightweight and comes in a zip up sleeve so you can keep it set up and ready to go. The other rod to look at is the Drennan MatchPro 13' - its a stepped up version of the Ultralite. You'll find them occasionally on ebay 2nd hand and its more refined than the Shakey but not quite as powerful - better for roach, chub, perch but while it bends alarmingly it dealt with barbel up to 7lbs when the kennet still had any.

[Rusty]

The other rod to look at is the Drennan MatchPro 13' - its a stepped up version of the Ultralite. You'll find them occasionally on ebay 2nd hand and its more refined than the Shakey but not quite as powerful - better for roach, chub, perch but while it bends alarmingly it dealt with barbel up to 7lbs when the kennet still had any.

Good shout, I hadn't thought about the older Drennan rods. I have a 14' DRX Ultralite float rod which is about 10 years old and would be perfect for the job.

[Sportsman]

Thanks for all of the advice and the excellent suggestions.

I have ended up buying an ABU Garcia Suveran 11'-12' 6" float.

It is a rod I have been looking for for a while and it will be a great match for my Suveran Feeder rod, which is superb

[Phone]

Steve,

 

Since sportsman has made his decision a little off topic humoUr.

 

International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) best of show 2016

 

 

Maybe the world doesn't know how to fish and the British are right.

 

Phone

[Steve Walker]

Hmm, I get the impression that international is to ICAST as world is to Series

 

It's not that the Brits know best, it's that different countries have their own localised methods and appropriate styles and tackle. In the UK, we adopted continental style pole fishing. We are currently moving towards continental style long (15-16 foot), soft actioned beach fishing rods over our traditional 12-13 foot models. Over the last few years there has been an explosion in light lure fishing using styles imported from the US. There is some adoption of Japanese style Tenkara fly fishing. We're quite promiscuous when it comes to stealing fishing ideas. Is the US importing styles from overseas, or is ICAST about foreign manufacturers trying to export US style gear to the US?

Edited June 28, 2017 by Steve Walker

[jaypeegolf]

The Shakespeare Mach3 13ft is bang on for about £50on ebay - new. I got one on Tigger's recommendation and it dealt easily with trotting for barbel on the Wye last year as well as trotting for dace and roach on the Thames with a 'pin. Its lightweight and comes in a zip up sleeve so you can keep it set up and ready to go. The other rod to look at is the Drennan MatchPro 13' - its a stepped up version of the Ultralite. You'll find them occasionally on ebay 2nd hand and its more refined than the Shakey but not quite as powerful - better for roach, chub, perch but while it bends alarmingly it dealt with barbel up to 7lbs when the kennet still had any.

I have a Harrison 13' SU and a Mach 3 13ft Match. Unfortunately the Mach 3 snapped whilst trying to tame a barbel a couple of years ago hence why I purchased the SU. The Mach 3 is much lighter and easier to hold for longer sessions but as my boredom threshold is usually about 3 hours I can cope with the added weight of the SU. I love the Mach 3 but as the majority of my fishing is now in barbel territory I feel more confident with the SU. Good thread guys.

Edited June 28, 2017 by jaypeegolf

[barbelbarmy]

I have a Harrison 15ft SU and wouldn't dream of using it for silver fish. It is far to unforgiving and has the wrong action. You can use it but it is the wrong tool. Like said earlier, you can use pliers to tighten a nut but you should really use a spanner.

 

New rods are great but they are produced for what is required in the market. So, yes new carbon can give an action like a spliced tip but how many are actually produced with this action?

 

I have been experimenting a lot recently, with new and old rods, and have come to the conclusion that an older blank, specifically designed for river work, is far better than a modern general or carp puddle rod. I like the Acolites, but the guides cause wear with my style of cast.

 

By far the best rod I have picked up recently is a Harrison Evolution which i got as the only bidder. This is a beauty but even so might have guides changed to larger stand-off guides to suit the pin (line off bottom).

 

I have got the Youngs, too stiff for me, bumps too many grayling off, so if anyone wishes to buy it let me know, only used three times.

 

Rods are personnal things dependant on style, type of fishing, the fish expected etc.

[phil dean]

What real are you pairing it with? For the trotting you have to try a pin and that will marry well with an Avon.

[phil dean]

Reel