'Avon Style' Angling & Avon Rod Comparison.

[willyjohn]

Greetings Lads,

Thank you all for the excellent response I received re. my 'What is an Avon Rod' thread, some good stuff there was there.

Now, here I am once again with my questions. Has anyone had experience of either [maybe both] the following two Avon/Quiver type rods.

1] Rod No. 1 - The Drennan Series 7 12'0" Avon Quivertip Rod, retailing at approx. £90.00. There are, so it so appears, two rods in the range, one with a 1.25lb test curve, the other with the 1.5lb option. Which one would the 'them that know about these things' recommend for general coarse fishing?

2] Rod No.2 - The John Wilson 'Rovex' Avon Quiver Tip Rod retailing at approx. £70.00, both plus postage.

If you don't fancy either of the above which other rod would you recommend as being suitable for a relative amateur & 'pleasure' angler?

Also, at the risk of being a bore, can someone [again] briefly explain the 'why do it'/necessity/mechanics etc. of 'Avon Style' coarse fishing.

Thank you, & regards anall

WJ

 

[Fred Blake]

Personally I'd go for the 1.25lb Drennan. The heavier one will be too brutal for smaller species like perch and roach, and nigh on useless for any float fishing. However, it's probably a better barbel rod if big leads and feeders are your thing.

Avoid the Rovex Wilson Avon - utter rubbish. Try and get hold of an original Masterline Wilson Avon/Quiver - the ones where the rod had one butt and two tips - one with built-in quiver (not interchangeable) and the other a 1.25lb test avon top. These were made from 1987 until about 2002, when they changed the design to include a separate handle with a horrific real seat, an extra extension piece and multiple quivertips. In short, they ruined it. The Rovex version is exactly the same, but even cheaper and nastier.

Forget avon-style coarse fishing - it doesn't exist. In fact, forget everything you've ever read or been told about 'styles of fishing'. There are no styles! You may choose to fish a particular type of water, or concentrate on a particular species, but style doesn't enter into it. As soon as you start to worry about style, you'll find yourself worrying about all sorts of things that aren't important, like 'what reel should I use for this style of fishing' or 'what chair do I need for that style of barbelling' - all of which is utter nonsense.

Too many people these days fish by numbers. If you simply follow instructions and fish according to a prescribed procedure, you're nowt but a robot with a fishing rod. Mind you, who needs a brain when they've got the internet?

Edit: before anyone gets upset, that last bit is a general moan at the inability of people to make their own minds up about things these days, not a personal slight at anyone in particular - least of all WJ.

 

[willyjohn]

Dear Fred,

Yet another excellent & informative response; as before, thank you.

I hear what you say regarding 'style'. I'm a coarse fishing 'amateur', but have long been of the opinion that the manufacturers, retailers & 'magazine people' have made it too damn complicated by far. To this day I don't see the reason for spade-end hooks, ditto the mind boggling choice in the bait market, these to mention only two.

You're correct, getting oneself bogged down in the intricacies of angling is akin to getting ones knickers in a tizzy over a golf swing or tennis stroke, not necessary when you think about it.

Regards,

WJ











In erm

 

[Neil Maidment]

Excellent response from Fred.

However (!), it used to amuse me, when fishing with "out of town" mates, when they first clapped eyes on the Hampshire Avon - it is the Hampshire one that the style refers to! - all that weed and the pace! Impossible!

Running a big multi SSG float through did require something a bit more meaty than their standard stick float set ups. Big heavy bait droppers to get the feed down where it should be, feed by hand and it would end up somewhere near Mudeford Beach!

But Fred is right. An open mind and a willingness to adapt to what faces you, experimentation is good. Strangely, I've got a couple of "Barbel" rods but they've helped me catch Chub, Roach, Eels, Carp, Bream, you name it... even Bass and Mackerel!

Tomorrow I'm fishing for Mullet, I've got a couple of rods, a "Power Float" and a "Medium Float" but I might settle for the "Puddle Chucker". The Harbour is just a big puddle anyway!

 

[Nigel Connor]

I think the idea of a fishing style is largely historical now.It derived from the time when anglers rarely used to travel far and fished their local waters on club excursions, hence the developemnt of the "Sheffied" style and the "Nottingham" style. Funnily enough the Avon style of big floats and heavy line largely evolved from the likes of anglers such as FW Wallis visitng occasionally from the Trent and bringing their methods with them.

Nowadays with ease of travel and widespred media the disemination of various styles of fishing is much easier and therefore there is less geographical distinction.

 

[sagalout]

I don't know where you are going to fish or the style of fishing you are wanting to do but......

I fish still waters and use a 1lb test curve avon rod for feeder fishing (a bait runner and the alarm deal with bite indication). I would only step up from this to cast longer distances (I would guess 30yards is as far as I currently want to chuck a feeder) and I use a match rod (11 or 13 foot depending on swim) for float fishing. Modern match rods seem capable of handling carp to mid teens.

 

[Paul Morley]

WJ I'd need to know more about your fishing,as Mr Flake says it's easy these days to get hard wired in the thinking - what do you want to do? Chub fishing a medium sized river? There is so much you can do with an 'avon' rod without a quiver tip, it's well worth getting this choice right. I'm just about to fork out for a very posh custom job, but I will use it a lot over the next (I hope) 30 years.....!

 

[Mark Wintle]

Just to confuse things the Avon float got its name from the Warwickshire Avon!

 

[the indifferent crucian]

I'd second the thoughts of Fred on the JW Avon/Quiver. The early ones seem the best, indeed I'm fond of all the early Ryobi Masterline John Wilson rods.

It would appear that many of us struggle with the reel clamps that are black 'graphite', but I'm sure they could be replaced. The earliest versions didn't have them, I'm told.

The later rods had a two foot extension and were a grey blank, as opposed to the earlier rods green blank with brown whipping and gold highlights. A rather dead rod was not helped by making it two foot longer and a whole lot heavier!

The first of these grey rods had a bad down-locking reel clamp that wouldn't take older reels with a big foot and had a tendency to split. They did fix this before the Rovex models appeared, which I haven't handled.

As Fred said, the main differences are that the later rods seem to be a heavier test curve and have push in inserts of three different strengths.

Not too bad a rod, and good for big chub in a fast flood, but they just aren't as good as the early ones. Definitely a step backwards.


Consequently early JW Avon Quivers always fetch a good price on eBay and rarely sell for under £40.

Having bought both rods and still owning them both, I can't remember the last time the grey one came with me to the bankside. I DO remember the last time the green one came, though.

The reel fell off!:wh

 

[jef bertels]

Has anyone had experience of either [maybe both] the following two Avon/Quiver type rods.

1] Rod No. 1 - The Drennan Series 7 12'0" Avon Quivertip Rod

WJ - I have 2 of the Drennans Series 7 12 foot Avons. I bought the first and after one session went and bought another. Have had them both out for roughly 30 sessions and if one broke I'd go out and get another.

Nice soft action, lovely curve with a fish on. This weekend I used the 2oz tips - had bream to 6lb on the tidal Thames turning their flanks against a hard spring tide and the rod had no issues. Have float fished from a boat with them and the rod absorbs lunges under the boat really well.

They're not supposed to be float rods and I wouldn't use them for trotting work from a bank as not tippy enough but their soft action is ideal from a boat for close in work.

If you're after dace, roach, rudd, grayling, perch, bream, chub, small carp, medium tench the rod would be spot on. If you're after barbel, big tench, carp etc then you're best off with a beefier rod.

Just one thing, depends on how much of a tackle ta* rt you are but they have a stupid amount of writing on the rod about the tips, TC, recommended lines etc and it's in a massive font - only cosmetic though and they're good to fish with.

 

[willyjohn]

Dear Bread Flake,

I'm not even going to try to cut through the chat re. nom-de-plumes & 'spoonerisms' & all the rest. Being from N.E. England & thus 'direct of manner, I'm going to ask you straight out, wots yah real name? I might get lucky inasmuch as you might be my 'favourite fisherman', one Mick Browny, Matt Hayes ever polite & affable mate.

Come on now, it's 'show & tell time' for you.

As ever, regards

WJ

---------- Post added at 04:14 ---------- Previous post was at 04:05 ----------

Dear TS,

Thanks for the response, some good stuff in there there is, in fact its ALL good stuff in there. Have to admit I do that, yes, I am bit of a 'tackle tart'. In fact I'm a 'tackle tart' in everything I do; 'in' angling, & 'out of it' if you get my drift? But, I love the term, I'll never forget that one.

Regards,

WillyJohn

 

[Fred Blake]

Dear Bread Flake,

I'm not even going to try to cut through the chat re. nom-de-plumes & 'spoonerisms' & all the rest. Being from N.E. England & thus 'direct of manner, I'm going to ask you straight out, wots yah real name? I might get lucky inasmuch as you might be my 'favourite fisherman', one Mick Browny, Matt Hayes ever polite & affable mate.

Come on now, it's 'show & tell time' for you.

As ever, regards

WJ

The name's Graeme.

 

[Tee-Cee]

...that should start the tongues wagging.........................

(I knew I was right-but as my other half says"you always think that"!!))