long float rod advice.

[dave oates 2]

On the hunt for an extra long float rod.
It will be used for trotting on rivers for Barbel, Chub etc. and also margin fishing for commercial Carp.
I narrowed my choice to either a Tricast triaxial 15' - 17' or a Daiwa Spectron or Connoisseur 17' - 20' which is possibly the same blank?
Any advice or other suggestions would be great
thanks dave

 

[guest61]

On the hunt for an extra long float rod.
It will be used for trotting on rivers for Barbel, Chub etc. and also margin fishing for commercial Carp.
I narrowed my choice to either a Tricast triaxial 15' - 17' or a Daiwa Spectron or Connoisseur 17' - 20' which is possibly the same blank?
Any advice or other suggestions would be great
thanks dave

I have just been using my Spectron at 20' - the action is a bit soft for trotting in my view. I can't comment on the Tricast although they get some good reviews.

 

[Berty]

There are some great long rods about nowadays....the best advice i saw on their use was to remember to get a long landing net handle when using one.

 

[frothy]

Hi, I have the tricast triaxial and at only 200grm for a 17ft rod is by far my favourite trotter, could be a little under gunned for larger barbel and big commies though? I have a 15ft su gti which is far more powerful in comparison...

 

[dave oates 2]

thanks for advice, its a tall order for one rod I suppose.
I notice they do the Tricast in a 13' 15' 17' combination, i guess its the same tip section at all 3 lengths?
ta , dave

 

[frothy]

Hi and yes I do have the 13-15 15-17 it has two but sections and a 2ft extension, covers 95% of my float fishing needs:thumbs:

 

[sam vimes]

An awful lot of the long rods (particularly 17'+) out there aren't man enough for barbel/margin carp fishing. They are often out and out small(ish) fish trotting rods.

At 15', see if you can find one of the Shimano 15' Specimen Match rods. They have appeared in various guises over the years. Look for 450SPC in the rod model code. I have two, one is a Technium DF, the other an Aerocast. Both have extracted a reasonable number of double figure barbel from the Trent. I've also had a 15' Harrison GTi SU that I let go because I found it to be a little too heavy for a full day of trotting.

 

[chav professor]

My 20ft Tricast John Alerton rod has landed an 18lb river carp (40 odd minutes after the float buried)........ but didn't like it much... Copes with big Chub superbly with 4lb line though. Also great for little silvers.

I did have my doubts about buying such a long rod, but my fears have been irradicated.

 

[trotter2]

A Barbel rod at 17ft plus would IMO be too heavy for long trotting spells.
The John Allerton rods will cope with chub no problem. Its all down to how long you want to play a fish

 

[dezza]

And it also depends a lot on your fitness and the strength in your right/left arm.

I have a couple of 17 footers and quite honestly, for me, they are a barstard to use. The longest rod I can trot with for any period of time is a 14 foot Fox match waggler. On the Trent, using this rod, I have caught barbel to 8 1/4 lbs, bream to 6 lbs, perch to 3 lbs 2 oz and numerous good roach and dace. It's a good rod that seems to suit me. If it had a better designed handle I would say it was a great rod.

The best rod I have handled for long trotting on the Trent is the 13/15 foot Daiwa Pro-Match, at 15 feet, which if I had the money I would buy one tomorrow. But at £400.00 RRP, I can almost get a return ticket to SA.

But at 15 feet, this rod feels like a 13 footer. And the full length cork handle is a delight to hold.

Totally exquisite!

 

[guest61]

And it also depends a lot on your fitness and the strength in your right/left arm.

This is a very good point.

It is important to be physically comfortable when using long rods.

 

[Dennis Martin]

I use both Preston sentient 17' and Diawa spectron 17'- 20' for trotting the tidal Trent for barbel. The sentient is lighter on the arm when using it all day, the spectron has a little more power but is a pig at 20'. I've caught up to 18 barbel in a day to 11-3 and believe me the hand and arm hurt at the end of the session. I would never dream of using either of mine for carp, even though both rods take 8 lbs line. Carp are quicker off the mark than Trent barbel and the strain on a 17' rod might be too much. I have friends who have broken both sentient and spectron 17' rods, because they tried to used too much power, you have to ease the barbel up stream keeping the rod low, get them up stream of you and net them aided by the flow.

 

[Terry D]

Have a read here: Long Rods | Total Fishing

 

[peterjg]

I've got two long rods which I am very pleased to recommend. I use them for roach fishing on rivers:

Daiwa Connoisseur 17 -20. At 17ft it is light enough to trot a float with while at 20ft I usually lay-on with it.

Shakespeare 14 - 18 LXL. At 14ft for its length it is a very light great trotting rod and at 18ft I usually lay-on with it. I usually take this rod fishing in preference to the 17 - 20 because with the LXL i have the best of both worlds.

If a 14ft rod is long enough there is nothing to beat a DAM New Dimension 14ft - it's a bit elderly now but superb for light hook lengths. I use it on still waters because it's a bit heavier than the 14ft LXL. It has a superb action - if you can find one buy it.

 

[alan whittington]

To throw a spanner in the works,i spent a fair bit of cash on two long rods,for the purpose you want them for,imo long rods are great for float control,but absolute garbage for fish playing,in fact when you get one(which no doubt you will),try going back to a 12-13 footer and pm me to tell me which you felt you had more control of your barbel on,i'll look forward to hearing from you.

 

[sam vimes]

To throw a spanner in the works,i spent a fair bit of cash on two long rods,for the purpose you want them for,imo long rods are great for float control,but absolute garbage for fish playing,in fact when you get one(which no doubt you will),try going back to a 12-13 footer and pm me to tell me which you felt you had more control of your barbel on,i'll look forward to hearing from you.

Precisely why I don't go longer than 15', a compromise between length and additional awkwardness. However, after recently trying a slightly more beefy 13' float rod in place of my usual (fairly beefy) 15' float rods, I didn't notice any increase in control over the barbel I caught. What I did notice was the increased difficulty in fishing at the distance from the bank that the fish dictated. 15' is the ideal compromise for me.

 

[dave oates 2]

hi Alan, shorter rods do make more sense for fish playing , but you have to catch em first!
and sometimes a long rod helps with that.
I did own a 17' rod years ago but stupidly sold it, due to circumstance I need one again...
Hoping they are a tad lighter now, I thank you all for sound advice.
thanks, dave

 

[dezza]

I use both Preston sentient 17' and Diawa spectron 17'- 20' for trotting the tidal Trent for barbel.

I'll bet you are a hell of a lot younger than me.

 

[tigger]

Personally I dislike rods with extensions. I prefer a rod made to fish at one length. Even for trotting I prefer not to go over 14ft and 13ft is my prefered length.
If I was pushed into using a 15ft rod it wold be the 13 to 14ft Team Normark Titan 2000...a lovely rod but better at 13ft than 15.

 

[Dennis Martin]

I'll bet you are a hell of a lot younger than me.

65 soon Ron, just a little younger than you. About 4 weeks ago you were standing behind me watching me float fish for large Rudd, we were talking about South Africa, trotting the Trent and much more.