Rod recommendations

Can anyone recommend a beginners rod for under £100 that I could use for both float and ledger fishing, if there is one on the market?

[PlanktonBoy]

The Masterline John Wilson Avon Quiver System Rod sells at about £60 ish.
I have been told this can be used for most situations even light deadbaiting.
I think it has a few different tips so it is a pretty versitile rod.

[Simon TorbayFishing]

I think the abu garcia equalizer is an amazing rod and with a price tag of around £30 I feel it's one hell of a bargin.

Had mine a year and use it only for feathering and float fishing. It's lightweight, responsive and pulls larger fish up pier and rocks really well.

I did a full review near the bottom of this page:

Equipment reviews

[fishypaul]

wait a minute,are you talking about sea or freshwater lee ?

Freshwater

[fishypaul]

a difficult question to answer lee,i am not too familiar with whats on the market,but i started out many years ago with what was called a general coarse rod,this would be a rod with enough action to float fish and still with enough meat in it to cast a swim feeder,
i would avoid any match rods,they are generally too soft for ledgering,
as i said before,a tackle dealer worth his salt will advise you without fleecing you.
you must have some angling friends to point you towards the best tackle shop in your area.

[>((PDM))'>]

Lee,

I would recommend you dont buy a single rod to do two jobs. With a budget of £100 you should be able to get a reasonable 13' match rod for around £40. Look for one that is carbon fibre and has at least 12 or 13 rings. This should be adequate for a beginner and handle anything but the largest fish.

Then find a budget range feeder rod, preferably one with a selection of tips to suit different waters, ie a fine one for small fish on lakes and a heavier one for use on rivers to combat the flow, or on carp lakes. The type of feeder rod you choose would depend on the type of waters you intend to fish. If you plan to fish for carp consider a medium feeder rod, but remember to suit the line to the rod or you will loose a lot of fish. i personally think a lighter rod would be more suitable for beginner

Finally you would need a reel to suit. Good hint here. if you buy one that includes a spare spool and a realr drag setting, you can set up one rod with the reel, then open the bail arm and take off the spool. Put on the spare spool and tackle up the other rod, hey presto two rods set up ready to use (but DON'T try to use them both at once)

Both spools should be full to just below the lip with line. I use 3lb line for general float fishing (bayer perlon is cheep and sinks well) and 4 or 5lb line for ledgering (maxima is my choice, not cheep but takes the constant rubbing on the bottom better than most). You will probably find one spool is "shallow" and takes just 100 yds of line, use this one for float fishing, use the deep one for ledgering but prefill the spool with a cheep 8 or 10lb line (most tackle shops have a bagain basket of line) then add 100 meters of a good quality 5lb line and join them using a suitable knot ( i'll try to find a link to knot tying sites)

Sorry I cant recommend any particular makes as I havent been rod shopping for ages and you also give no idea of the type of fishing you are intending to do. If you post further details of your intended venues I will help where i can, although i am not sure the forum allows me to name names. Just one final hint, when you go to purchase this stuff make sure you take someone who knows what they are talking about because although most tackle shops are reputable they can spot a beginner with cash to spend a mile away and you could end up with a load of carp the shop has been unable to sell for ages!

GLHF
Paul

[>((PDM))'>]

Link for a suitable knot is here

http://brmrg.med.virginia.edu/knots/barrell.html

This may not be the easiest knot to tie and there are loads on the net if you search. Also remeber this knot should never take any strain, if the knot ever appears while fishing you need to replace the end line, so it is not a critical part of the whole setup.

The John Wilson avon quiver is an excellent rod for the money( I have one and use it regularly) and is tempting because it comes with a standard top and also a quiver tip top section. But this is a specimen rod designed for heavy feeder fishing in rivers and large lake, if this is not the kind of fishing you intend doing you will probably find it is too heavy for general coarse fishing.

GLHF
Paul