Advice on a decent barbel rod please

[Down-the-drain]

Hi , I'm new to the forum but not to the sport. I'm interested in starting fishing for big barbel and chub again but have found most of my kit is pretty out dated and in bad repair.

I'm looking for a decent rod which will handle big barbel well for as little dosh as possible. I'll upgrade to something better later if needs be but for now it's just to get me back onto the rivers quick as possible.

Any advice would be great as I'm fairly bemused by the selection available.

The section of river I plan to fish is a fairly fast moving storm drain , about 2 meters deep at its deepest point that was stocked with barbel a few years back.
I already had some success down there with a 9lb barbel being the best catch to date , with plenty of 5lb plus chub too.

My method of choice is legering.

I've been looking at a few rods on a well known auction site , namely a Shakespeare Xcede 10ft carbon leger rod and the Chub outkast 10ft. Any good or no ?

Cheers in advance

Gary.

[fullcreel]

Last year, as a birthday prezzie to self, I treated myself to a John Wilson Barble Avon, which came with an extension, so I can choose between 11 and 13 feet. 3 quivers or the avon top. Its in the ads in IYCF for under 70 if you look around, making mething that masterlne are going to introduce a new version soon. It may be abit more than you intend to spend, but it has dealt with some decent fish, carp to 17lb, chub to over 5lb, sadly no barble, yet.............

[Down-the-drain]

Cheers , i'll take a look.I've also stumbled across a maximus 12ft camo carp rod that looks fit for the job. Good luck with the barbel !

[CLOMP]

the rods you mention do not seem right for your needs, check out the Wychwood 1.5tc BARBEL rod, at under 50 quid it is a good buy if on a tight budget,

[Down-the-drain]

Originally Posted by CLOMP

the rods you mention do not seem right for your needs, check out the Wychwood 1.5tc BARBEL rod, at under 50 quid it is a good buy if on a tight budget,

Thanks , funnily enough I'm going to look at one tomorrow morning at my local dealer , a Wychwood rogue barbel 13ft for around £55.00. I'm a little confused as to what test curve actually means. I've been told its the amount of flex a rod has so will a 1.5lb test curve be too flexible for fishing a fast shallow stretch of water ? giving false bites etc. I'm keen on a more rigid tipped rod to make indication easier when legering.

[manu31999]

Hi down-the-drain

Myself i would pay a little bit more and get a better rod altogether,go for the Drennan specialist barbel 12ft 1.75lb.
Like every thing i live you get what you pay for.

Here a few good site to have a look at.

http://www.marktunley.com/
http://www.anglinginnovations.co.uk/
http://www.peregrinerods.co.uk/

Hope this help's and tight line's for the new season.

[BoldBear]

I use Greys Prodigy Barbel Rods for rolling meat/Pellets and a 13ft Drennan MKiV Tench Float Rod for trotting for Barbel. (the Drennan MKiV float rod handles mono/braid up to 8lb).
Both of these rods are around the £130 mark and are truly fabulous rods. My mate uses Harrison rods which cost twice as much but he doesn't have a wife nagging him when he spends too much.

All of the Specialist Barbel rods mentioned by others above are good rods so you are not short on choice.

[rob@home]

Test curve on a rod is how much weight a rod takes, to take on a 90 degree curve & if its a fast stretch of river your fishing I'd say you'd probably be better off getting a 1.75lb test curve. Doing what manu31999 says by putting some more money towards it would be a very good idea if you want the rod to last. Greys are lovely rods bold bear your a lucky man


Rob.

[Down-the-drain]

I ended up getting a Wychwood rogue 1.75tc in the end , with a Shimano aero 5000 baitrunner reel. I'm pretty pleased with the rod although I would like it to be a bit more responsive when getting bites on the ledger.
I'll probably upgrade to a prodigy soon if they are as good as I have heard.

[jamie g]

get the new greys rod. comes with 1.5 tc and 2.0 tc or 1.75 tc and 2.0 tc.

plus comes with a spare for 3 push in tips