This rod is for those anglers who prefer a barbel rod with a quivertip option; not all barbel anglers do, considering a quivertip to be totally unnecessary when barbel usually take the bait with such aggression. Most of the time I would agree with them, but for those odd times when the barbel are biting far more warily than usual the quivertip can be a distinct advantage.
It helps when watching for ‘the knock’, that subtle sign from the barbel that they’re sniffing around the baited area and causing the line to move. No matter how careful you are to pin the line to the bottom, barbel will still give you a few lines bites.
Fitted with the 6oz quivertip
They do this because, unlike most fish, they take food directly off the bottom rather than sucking it from the bottom from a few inches away. They brush along the bottom with their barbules and they mouth the bait off the deck. As they brush along with their barbules they move the line, maybe only a little, but enough to register on a rod with a soft tip and especially on a quivertip.
FishingMagic Verdict
This rod goes a long way to settling the argument about buying a rod with a quivertip or with a plain top – it’s got both. Which means you can flit between one or the other, as the fancy takes you, or as conditions or species dictate.
10lb 10oz barbel on the Neoteric 12ft Quiver
It’s a rod I enjoy using very much, not too stiff and therefore dealing with loose weed in rivers much better than a stiff rod, the bait staying in place for much longer. With the heaviest, 6oz, quivertip fitted, it’s almost like fishing with a plain topped rod with a softer tip. The options this rod offers between its plain Avon top and it’s quivertip options makes for a very versatile rod indeed.
