River feeder rod

[Golden Eagle]

Hi guys

I’m an occasional river angler.

The fish I target are generally small, roach, dace, etc.

What factors should I look for in a river feeder rod?

Cheers

 

[markcw]

Depends on which river , and how wide flow etc

 

[nottskev]

Which rivers do you tend to fish? You might get more suitable advice if people know whether you're on a big or small river, a streamy, pacey one or a slow, canalised one..... You're in the Northwest, but the Weaver is a different proposition to the Ribble, for instance, and the Dane different to both, and so on. You might find a really light action 9 or 10' rod for casting small bombs and little feeders, with glass tips of 3/4, 1, 11/2 oz would be great on the slow river. But a faster water might need something to cast a bit more weight, that's longer to keep line out of the flow and has stiffer carbon tips that work better in a current. There's no shortage of feeder rods out there, if you can work out the best fit for your fishing.

 

[Golden Eagle]

Thanks fellas, I anticipated those replies.

I fish the Dee, Dane and Teme on a break.

If I was fishing the Weaver I’d use a still water feeder rod.

Is there an all rounder you can recommend for those ones?

 

[nottskev]

Ok. Here's a suggestion. Look out for a used Daiwa Connoisseur 11/13 Stillwater CN-XL 11-13 SWQ, but don't worry that it's labelled "Stillwater", the fish will never know. It will work very well with a wide range of lines, and will play big fish and still make catching small fish feel good. I've used mine at 11' for delicate fishing for skimmers and roach on bomb and light feeder; I've used it at 13' with 6lb line and 2.5oz feeders for bream on the local Trent. If you're wanting to hold out in a bit of flow, the 13' option will cast as far as you want and hold the line out of the water - I used to use mine at Eccleston on the Dee, if you know that stretch. I've put 5lb or 6lb line on it and used it for chub on the smaller rivers around here, and again, it works well, and I'd happily use it like that on the Dane. I'm not sure what tips you'd get with it - depends what the seller got or added - but Daiwa tips remained standard for years and years, and you would have no problem getting a range of tips to suit various circumstances. There's loads of feeder rods out there, but for versatility and quality I can't think of a better one.

 

[mikench]

Good advice there and the upshot is you are going to need more than one rod. Blame me if er indoors objects.

On a serious note you wouldn't go far wrong with a Darent Valley .75 11' Avon rod. It will suit most smaller rivers where heavy feeders are unnecessary and remains a delight to use on stillwaters for any species you care to mention. Best of all it will cost you about £42. The Tackle Box in Dartford sell them and they are an excellent company to deal with . I have two and I'm not alone in liking them a lot. It's the cost of a few bottles of wine or a couple or takeaways so you can't go wrong.

 

[Golden Eagle]

Do you think my Stillwater feeder rods would be of any use?

I have a 10ft acolyte ultra

And

A milo Helios Prestige (Steve Gardener) multi feeder, 10-12ft (I think).

Cheers

 

[nottskev]

Why not? Don't bother what the labels say - try them out and see.

 

[d.owens]

I don't do a lot of river fishing unfortunately, but I would have no concerns about taking my TF Gear Compact All Rounder rod.
I put a short review in the tackle review section on here with some product blurb from Go Outdoors.
Maybe more competent river anglers than me could offer their views, I've caught everything from small roach to 15lb carp on mine and its proved to be a great rod. Supplied with 3 quiver tips 2 to 4 oz, it has a nice through , Avon rod type action.
It may not be a specialist rod but it's a very adaptable tool.

 

[103841]

It’s very adaptable, I caught my first bass on the rod a couple of years ago.

 

[The bad one]

For those rivers I'd go for a 1.25 lb test 11 ft Avon rod with twin tops.

 

[markcw]

What part of the Dee and the Dane ? Both have slow stretches as well as what could be called fast stretches . And what is your Budget ? Give the Mersey a go around Victoria Park and Kingsway allotments in Warrington,
WAA will say its members only, but it is through council owned land and day ticket, if bailiff comes asks for day ticket, he cant do a thing and will walk on.

 

[Golden Eagle]

I fish the Dee at Chester City Centre and Farndon and the Dane in Northwich, close to where it meets the Weaver.

Never fished the Mersey!

 

[Golden Eagle]

In terms of budget I’m not sure as I don’t know wh a t I’m looking for!

I’m hopeful the Milo will be up to the task?

 

[markcw]

So you are in Northwich or Winsford anglers for the Dane, and as far as I am aware the city centre is free fishing, Give Eccleston Ferry a try, that is free as well. Your milo rod should be ok but I dont think its powerful enough for a far bank cast on the Dee and for it to hold bottom,
See if you can source a Shakespeare Agility Continental feeder rod, Its the Continental version you want, if you google it you will get stockists, retail around £60, brilliant rods ,different lengths, the 14' will cast 5oz. Shorter lengths such as 12' will be ideal for the Dee, keep milo for Dane and Teme,

 

[nottskev]

You've got a couple of decent rods already - what makes you think they won't be perfectly ok? I'm wondering why you seem so unsure. The rivers you mention , plus your saying you fish for roach and dace, point to a match-style rod rather than an Avon, if I can say that without contradicting other posters, as you'll be using lines and weights/feeders at the lighter end of the spectrum.

A match-style feeder rod will be quite capable, with a line of 4lb or so, of getting any Dane chub out, but using an Avon rod to catch mainly smaller species will feel a bit over-gunned and lack fun/feel. You'll probably be catching roach, dace and perch on the Dee, and, imo, unlikely to be using the rather beefier gear that goes with Avons.

There are some feeder rods that would be out of their depth for some river applications. I have the Trent at the bottom of my road these days, and the flow, and species, like barbel and chub, and the size they grow to, mean your average general feeder rod can be inadequate. But for what you describe there's no reason to think you need some specialised "river" feeder.

I looked up your Milo rod, and found a post on FM about something similar from a few years back. Someone obviously likes it!

"If any ones thinking about buying a quality feeder rod then i can strongly recommend the milo helios steve gardener feeder system. For your money you get 4 rods in one. 10' 11' 12' 13' this includes 2 handles and 4 push in carbon tips which have no hint of a flat spot which a lot of feeder rods do have that i have seen.It is a perfect bream/skimmer /roach rod and no doubt would handle carp although i don target carp myself.It has a ultra slim blank.I paid £140 for mine which isnt bad considering you ara getting 4 top end rods for £35 each.The only downside is you can only set up one rod at a time."

 

[Golden Eagle]

I fish the Dee in Chester which is free as is a section at Farndon, I’ve fished the Northwich section of the Dane on a day ticket. My in laws live in Leftwich, so I fish there when I stay with them.

Last time I fished at Eccleston was about 30 years ago!!!

As I said I’m only an occasional river angler, since returning to fishing I’ve concentrated on commies. On the rivers I prefer to fish a float, but like to have a feeder as an alternative.

The milo is a really good quality rod, fishable at 4 lengths, but I wouldn’t fancy chucking a 5oz feeder with it!!!!

 

[nottskev]

I fish the Dee in Chester which is free as is a section at Farndon, I’ve fished the Northwich section of the Dane on a day ticket. My in laws live in Leftwich, so I fish there when I stay with them.

Last time I fished at Eccleston was about 30 years ago!!!

As I said I’m only an occasional river angler, since returning to fishing I’ve concentrated on commies. On the rivers I prefer to fish a float, but like to have a feeder as an alternative.

The milo is a really good quality rod, fishable at 4 lengths, but I wouldn’t fancy chucking a 5oz feeder with it!!!!

A 5 oz feeder! I fish a flooded Trent for barbel with no more than 4oz. You won't need anything like that for the fishing you describe.

 

[Golden Eagle]

I think my issue is about stiffness of the tip in flowing water. The two rods I have are pretty lightweight, even for commercials, though I’ve had decent weights and double figure individual fish on both of them.

I tend to fish pretty light generally and would probably only invest in an Avon if I was targeting big fish or a big feeder rod if I was going to use it regularly.

The milo is a superb rod, as that review says.

Thanks for the replies so far, what strength tip would you choose for a river like those mentioned above?

 

[Golden Eagle]

There’s a pretty slim chance of me me chucking a feeder of that weight, as I don’t possess anything close to that!