rod most anglers have owned

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

At one time or another

I'd say John Wilson Avon quiver

What do others think

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I would suggest that it would depend on the age group of those who are asked the question.

Going back a fair bit then a Mk IV Avon would have been a candidate as would a Shakespeare President back in the 80's.

More recently then I'd agree the John Wilson Avon Quiver would be high on the list.

 

[lambert1]

That is certainly the case for me Paul, although I have only had mine for about three seasons. If you have to fish on a budget, it is not hugely expensive and is versatile. I like mine very much. To be honest I probably would not appreciate the finer points of some of the more expensive rods out there, but is it a hell of an improvement on the Daiwa combination rod I had in the 70s

 

[S-Kippy]

If you are of a similar vintage to me then I suggest a Shakespeare International match and the legendary Sigma Wand.

 

[sumtime]

A boss rod in it's time the Match International, loved it.

 

[sam vimes]

The vintage of the angler concerned, and the styles of fishing that they tend to partake in, are large considerations.

The John Wilson Avon is a decent call. However, the fact that it's seen umpteen variations, and been around in one form or another for over thirty years (my one and only was bought second hand in '87/'88, and I hated it), is a distinct advantage. Most similarly priced mass market rods don't last in the market for much more than three or four years.

One of the few I can think of that have lasted a while are the various incarnations of Daiwa Tournament, Spectron or Connoisseur rods. However, much as they've been around, off and on, for a good while, the price point that they occupied means that only relatively well heeled, or very keen, anglers are likely to have owned them.

 

[trotter2]

When I worked at a tackle shop we used to sell up to 30 John Wilson rods a week, nothing else came close, not even the £5,99 kids spinning rods which flew out the door.

They were advertised as the best selling rod of all time by masterline.
and its been a few years since maserline went under, so potentially you could add all the rovex sales to the list.

It was a brilliant concept which carried a respected tv angling celebrity name.
What better way to sell a rod, to shown it week after week on "Johns go fishing" to be the most versatile of any rods.
The master stroke was the price it was affordable

 

[binka]

I don't expect it to be a serious contender but there was a day in the distant past when you couldn't walk too far along the banks of the Trent without seeing a Daiwa Porky Pig feeder rod.

I never owned one but back in the early eighties it seemed that every kid and his dog had a Shakespeare Strike.

 

[Bob Hornegold]

I would suggest that it would depend on the age group of those who are asked the question.

Going back a fair bit then a Mk IV Avon would have been a candidate as would a Shakespeare President back in the 80's.

More recently then I'd agree the John Wilson Avon Quiver would be high on the list.

Agree Peter.

MkIV Carp or Avon in the age of Cane.

Milbro Enterprise or CTM Float Rod in the age of Glass Fibre.

John Wilson Avon/Quiver- first affordable Carbon rod.

Bob

 

[steve2]

Apart from the match international I have never owned any of the rods mentioned here. Wouldn't go back to using it, we do sometimes wear rose tinted glasses when we look back.
Did buy the JW rod with the extension piece didn't think much of that, gave up using after a few outings.
Splitcane MK1V carp and Avons type rods sold in the 10,000"s.
Seen plenty of JW Avons in use so that must be one of the most popular rods of recent years.
So it would depend on the era.

 

[Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC)]

Agree with Bob...the CTM series or the Enterprises....

.and the Ivan Marks Persuaders was also very popular.. shows I'm of a certain vintage

....Taperflash - the orginal tank aerial model

 

[peter crabtree]

The only prize I ever won in a caption competition on FM was a a John Wilson quiver. They were selling at £39:99 having been reduced 50percent.
I unpacked it and inspected it and thought mmmm no.
Fetched £60 on eBay later that week.....
Happy days....

 

[Keith M]

Agree Peter.

MkIV Carp or Avon in the age of Cane.

Milbro Enterprise or CTM Float Rod in the age of Glass Fibre.

John Wilson Avon/Quiver- first affordable Carbon rod.

Bob

I would also agree

• B.James & son RW MKIV Carp rod and the Avon version : Classic split cane rods designed by Richard Walker.
• Mibro Enterprise Match rod - Fibreglass rod used by Benny Ashurst when he fished with the England team.
• Shakespeare Match International - A super light fibreglass match rod with a spliced tip designed by Clive Smith and Ken Giles and used by the England Team.
• Ryobi Masterline John Wilson Avon/Quiver rod - The original versions of these were the better ones.

I have had all of these at some time. The only ones I still have are the first and last in the list.

Another rod that seemed to have had a great following was the Original Drennan Specialist rod; I still have one of these too somewhere.

Keith

 

[Mark Wintle]

Of the popular rods I owned an ABU Mark 6, Persuader Swingtip and Sundridge Kevin Ashurst carbon match. I was never impressed by the John Wilson Avon rod and at the time it came out more into matchfishing with fine lines.

Benny Ashurst never fished for England although he should have done but the teams he fished for were rarely high enough placed to provide an angler for the team. When Stoke won in 1969 they put forward Kevin.

 

[Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)]

Any of the Daiwa Tommy Pickering range of rods.

 

[sam vimes]

Any of the Daiwa Tommy Pickering range of rods.

Was there a Tom Pickering range as such? I remember there being two distinct marks of Connoisseur and two different Matchwinners that bore his name. I did have two different types of Tom Pickering Matchwinner though.

 

[arthur2sheds]

I agree that the age of the user is the deciding factor here.... for myself it was the MkIV Avon or Carp in cane or maybe the Craftversa, or the Avocet, or Wizards....

then in Glass it's the Shakespeare Match international, or the Sealey Blue Match... and latterly the Polystel Shakespeare Alpha range...

in the Carbon world The J Wilson Avon Quiver was a good rod, and lately any of the Carbonactive range.... or possibly the Fox Warrior carp rods (I still have mine) of course nowadays there's just too much to choose from, so it's all down to personal taste

 

[Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC)]

Was there a Tom Pickering range as such? I remember there being two distinct marks of Connoisseur and two different Matchwinners that bore his name. I did have two different types of Tom Pickering Matchwinner though.

There you go then. 2 off of each, so 'a range'. i.e. more than one rod.

I have a TP Connoisseur 'Power Waggler' 13ft that I still use a lot. There were other match rods in the same range in 12 and 13ft versions if I recall correctly. There were also a number of ledger rods in 'the range'.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

....Taperflash - the orginal tank aerial model

. . . still got mine in the corner of my study!

 

[sam vimes]

There you go then. 2 off of each, so 'a range'. i.e. more than one rod.

Yes, but when there are so many different rods, from at least four distinct ranges, at what point does saying "I had a Daiwa Tom Pickering" become pretty meaningless? Are they primarily Connoisseurs and Matchwinners anyway? I'd suggest that is the case as those names have continued beyond the TP association. I know that the Matchwinner went on to have Will Raison's name on a later incarnation. You've had one, I've had two TP rods, not one of them being the same rod from the same range. Mine were from two distinctly different ranges (TP Matchwinner and TP Matchwinner - S), yours from a third (TP Connoisseur).

It's much the same as the situation with the John Wilson Avon (at least six different rods, and a couple of different brands thrown in) but with the benefit of a continuous thirty plus year association. That's why the claim of the John Wilson Avon being the best selling rod of all time may well be true. However, at the same time it's a bit of a nonesense.