What compact carp rod?

[Steve Arnold]

By compact I am thinking of the two piece types where the butt section is telescopic.

My ideal would be a fast action 10' with a not overly long reach from butt to reel.....and absolutely NO to any 50mm butt ring!

It should cast three ounces a long way and be safe lobbing 5 ounces occasionally.

That would probably mean a 3.5 lb TC. For me and river fishing I still need the last 2' of the tip to be reasonably soft.

Bit of a tall ask, anyone know of any brands that fit that spec?

PS - if I could get a suitable blank I would finish it myself.

 

[mikench]

Have a look at the Nash dwarf/ scope rods Steve as one of those might be suitable. I never use the carp rod I have ( a chub 11’ small water 2.75tc) and if you are ever passing you can have it. I have a 9’ one too .

 

[Steve Arnold]

Have a look at the Nash dwarf/ scope rods Steve as one of those might be suitable. I never use the carp rod I have ( a chub 11’ small water 2.75tc) and if you are ever passing you can have it. I have a 9’ one too .

We will be in Tilston, Cheshire on the 15th June. Only there for one evening and night at my brothers. How close are you to that? We then move on to Anglesey for a couple of nights at his holiday home.

That Chub 11' sounds interesting, the rod I broke was 11' and 2.75 lb rods have been useful for me here. Had several good carp on them but they are 12' and 13' and a problem under the trees.

 

[mikench]

That’s about 39 miles away or 45 to 60 minutes drive depending on traffic and time of day. Head for the A556 to Knutsford and then take the road to Wilmslow. I can meet you en route or you can stop by for a coffee or glass of wine. If you plan to come I will verify the details with you by PM and get the rod/ rods ready. It will cost you a bottle of your local red.

 

[mikench]

Just checked I still have it and I do. It’s a 2.25tc.

 

[Steve Arnold]

That’s about 39 miles away or 45 to 60 minutes drive depending on traffic and time of day. Head for the A556 to Knutsford and then take the road to Wilmslow. I can meet you en route or you can stop by for a coffee or glass of wine. If you plan to come I will verify the details with you by PM and get the rod/ rods ready. It will cost you a bottle of your local red.

We will be at friends near Bakewell for 1-2 nights before heading for Tilston. That does not look like a huge diversion!

As long as we travel in our car (still in garage!) we can work that out and hopefully hide a few bottles for you and my brother later.

If my car is not sorted we will have a last minute car to hire! Probably smaller than our Peugeot Partner, but will still take some good local wines for you. Will PM you when we are more certain of our arrangements.

 

[mikench]

Sounds like a plan. Bakewell to Macclesfield and then to Wilmslow. After it’s only 8 miles to pick up the A556 to Chester from Knutsford. Or you can take the M56 to Frodsham which is what I would do. Tilston isn’t far from Frodsham.

 

[Steve Arnold]

Just checked I still have it and I do. It’s a 2.25tc.

Still useful enough for many situations. I have had carp to 29 lbs here on my 1.5tc Prodigy barbel 3-piece. Only works in fairly clear swims and with a little luck!
2.25 should be good as long as it will lock-up in the butt third. Some rods have a stiff tip and soft butt which is often referred to as a "players" rod. They have the action which takes on a banana curve and does not progressively add resistance. With them you quickly find the rod almost pointing directly at the running fish, not great playing fish directly off the reel!
Anyway, would be good to meet up no matter what the rods are like. You will get some wine whatever!

 

[Steve Arnold]

Just found a video of that Outcast rod tested to destruction. Actually looks to have a very good curve - at least until it is totally overloaded!

 

[mikench]

Interesting Steve. I cannot imagine a swim or a fish creating a curve like that in a consistent and linear way. You use it how you wish.

 

[nottskev]

It didn't break until the fish had climbed on the bank and was running away from the water. Looks as if standing on it would be the only likely way to break it. -)

 

[@Clive]

Steve, if you can find one while in the UK I would recommend an Ugly Stik Uptide rod. The butt is short leaving a one piece blank that you could stop a train with. It will easily cast 6 ounces and the tip is sensitive too.

22lb catfish, barely took an inch of line

 

[Steve Arnold]

Steve, if you can find one while in the UK I would recommend an Ugly Stik Uptide rod. The butt is short leaving a one piece blank that you could stop a train with. It will easily cast 6 ounces and the tip is sensitive too.

22lb catfish, barely took an inch of line

Thanks for that video Clive. We are so lucky with our rivers here in France, so many species and some so big!

.....and we often have the river to ourselves

Uptiders certainly have their uses here...though mine has yet to be tested. I have an uptider based on an old Century blank with two butt sections. one butt gives me 10' for distance casting and the shorter butt gives me about 9' when on smaller boats. I made that video of guide selection using it in 10' mode. I am pretty sure it will cast 4 ozs about 140 yds and will stop most creatures in this river, one day I will get a silure big enough on it to find out!

 

[mikench]

An Okuma Trent proving its worth.

 

[henrysnatch]

Hey there! So, when you say compact, are you talking about those two-piece rods with the telescopic butt section? Cool! My dream rod would be a 10-footer with a fast action, but not crazy long from butt to reel, and definitely without any 50mm butt ring! It should be able to cast three ounces really far and also handle five ounces when needed. I guess that means a 3.5-pound test curve! And for me, fishing in rivers, it would be awesome if the last 2 feet of the tip were somewhat soft. It might be a tough find, but does anyone know of any brands that fit that description?

 

[@Clive]

The Ugly Stik Uptide rod that I have matches all those criteria, albeit a bit heavy. They occassionally come up on auction sites. It is the rod I used in the video above. Plenty of backbone and a fairly sensitive tip.

 

[chrisjpainter]

@Steve Arnold Did you get anywhere with your search? I've just picked up a couple of Sonik Insurgents in 10ft 3lb TC rods. RRP £170 but I found them new for £55! Overpriced at full RRP but MASSIVELY underpriced at what I paid! This model got blind tested by CarpologyTV against six others and came out top - including above the Nash Scopes that two of the testers use as their rods!

They might be worth a look. One tester commented how soft he found the tip before casting - and then punched it out easily hitting the clip to 75yds with plenty to spare. That was a 3.00, but they do a 3.25 and a 3.5 in both foam and cork. If the characteristics of the 3.5 are similar to the 3.00, then it might suit the bill? The video's below if you want to have a look. Spoiler: The Insurgent's rod 4!

 

[Steve Arnold]

@Steve Arnold Did you get anywhere with your search? I've just picked up a couple of Sonik Insurgents in 10ft 3lb TC rods. RRP £170 but I found them new for £55! Overpriced at full RRP but MASSIVELY underpriced at what I paid! This model got blind tested by CarpologyTV against six others and came out top - including above the Nash Scopes that two of the testers use as their rods!

They might be worth a look. One tester commented how soft he found the tip before casting - and then punched it out easily hitting the clip to 75yds with plenty to spare. That was a 3.00, but they do a 3.25 and a 3.5 in both foam and cork. If the characteristics of the 3.5 are similar to the 3.00, then it might suit the bill? The video's below if you want to have a look. Spoiler: The Insurgent's rod 4!

Thanks for the info. I am back in France now but will check what offers there may be on those rods in EU.

I did pick up a Kodex Kompressive T9 3lb tc from a carp tackle shop in Ramsgate. When i got back home I found it was 5" short of 9', making it a super short rod indeed! But the handle length was a bit short for casting and I have added those 5" which makes it more comfortable to use. Not fished with it yet but have had a few casts and it does manage around 80 yds with a 3 ozs weight - quite impressive!

The problem I find with such short rods is that the action is so condensed as to feel rather abrupt. I think having the reel drag set spot-on will be very important! Maybe the 10' rods will suit me better?

 

[chrisjpainter]

Thanks for the info. I am back in France now but will check what offers there may be on those rods in EU.

I did pick up a Kodex Kompressive T9 3lb tc from a carp tackle shop in Ramsgate. When i got back home I found it was 5" short of 9', making it a super short rod indeed! But the handle length was a bit short for casting and I have added those 5" which makes it more comfortable to use. Not fished with it yet but have had a few casts and it does manage around 80 yds with a 3 ozs weight - quite impressive!

The problem I find with such short rods is that the action is so condensed as to feel rather abrupt. I think having the reel drag set spot-on will be very important! Maybe the 10' rods will suit me better?

Yeah that'd be my worry with such a short rod that casts so well! I went for these because it seems a genuine replacement for 12ft rods, but with the fishing convenience of only being 10ft. And there's that softer tip, which would be forgiving for those last minute lunges at the net.

 

[seth49]

The last fishery I used to fish didnt have a lot of room to cast, so I bought a couple of 9ft kodex stalky rods, they are very good handled fish well, and cast 80 yards comfortably, probably cast further with more room, not expensive either.