You don’t know what you have got until it’s gone

[Philip]

I had a pair of 11 foot ABU Conolon Carp rods that gave up the ghost and I really miss. Amazingly thin blanks even by todays standards and so through actioned you could literally bend them tip to butt. Terrible casters but great to play fish on.

I always used to put at least 1 out alongside the "proper" rods in the margins with a running rig and it was amazing how often that was the one to go off. I caught some good Pike on those rods too.

I snapped one at the butt playing a fish and the other I snapped as well but I cant recall how. Not the best rods by a long way but ones I miss allot. They would have made great Barbel rods.

 

[108831]

I too had a Shimano XMA, but the 14ft model. It's only problems were it was quite heavy to hold all day and when I was given it the handle was all caked in stale dried on groundbait. I soaked it and wrapped an old dog drying towel around it and poured water over that. 1 day later the groundbait fell off, I washed the corks and polished the carbon and it looked great. I used it a few times then gave it away to a chap that was wheelchair bound after breaking his back on a building site, but I don't miss it.

What I do miss is an old Daiwa 11ft Powermesh 1¼lb TC rod that came in three pieces, two plus separate handle. WHY, WHY, WHY, did I sell that! I'd even changed the reel seat from the two sliding rings to a top class Fuji seat and it was lovely! I shall never find a rod like that ever again.

Thanks for reminding me of it, I'm all tearful now!
View attachment 7077

My mate who has moved away never to be heard of again had one,it was dragged in by a carp at Meadowlands fishery near Coventry,last seen disappearing a hundred yards out with a Shimano Stradic,God he was going to swim after it,he would have had to perform like Mark Spitz to catch that...

 

[John Keane]

I’m a flogger, not a hoarder. If I get a new super-duper 13ft float rod I flog the 13ft float rod that I already have. I don’t need loads of rods the same length that I’m told are ideal for different purposes. As I’ve landed a 15lb common on a Drennan Matchpro Ultralite I don’t need a stepped-up version. Keeps the garage remarkably clutter free and organised. The main things I wish I still had are mainly the odd Sage fly rod and Hardy reels.

 

[bracket]

Is modifying a rod by replacing the sliding reel seats with a Fuji variant worthwhile and will it improve a rod or detract from its originality?

As Sam Vines says, it may improve the rod and will detract from it's originality. That's an individual choice to make. For me, any piece of tackle is a tool to be used and if it's performance can be improved so much the better. In the past I have cut floats in half, broken off the stems of stick floats to get what I wanted. I have removed the handles from centre pin reels, (I will no doubt spend eternity in purgatory for that), extensively modified closed face reels and altered rods. One specific example being this. I have two 13ft Normark Avenger rods I got way back. Not sure when, Mark Whintle will put me right on that. The cork handles were 26in long, with sliding winch fittings. The first one I just replaced the sliding fittings with screw fittings:


I modified the second rod to suit me. From my natural grip, to the point of my elbow, is 16in, so I ripped off the cork handle and positioned the centre of the screw fitting at this distance from the butt end and fixed it there. This gave me a nicely balanced rod with the effective length increased by 10in. I could not be bothered to pratt about fitting a full cork handle so only put a couple of bored corks each side of the winch fitting and a short piece of foam at the butt end:


Looks like a dogs dinner, fishes like a dream and I still use it regularly today. I don't expect either rod is worth diddley squatt, that's not an issue for me, as they aren't for sale. Pete.

 

[Mark Wintle]

As Sam Vines says, it may improve the rod and will detract from it's originality. That's an individual choice to make. For me, any piece of tackle is a tool to be used and if it's performance can be improved so much the better. In the past I have cut floats in half, broken off the stems of stick floats to get what I wanted. I have removed the handles from centre pin reels, (I will no doubt spend eternity in purgatory for that), extensively modified closed face reels and altered rods. One specific example being this. I have two 13ft Normark Avenger rods I got way back. Not sure when, Mark Wintle will put me right on that. The cork handles were 26in long, with sliding winch fittings. The first one I just replaced the sliding fittings with screw fittings:


I modified the second rod to suit me. From my natural grip, to the point of my elbow, is 16in, so I ripped off the cork handle and positioned the centre of the screw fitting at this distance from the butt end and fixed it there. This gave me a nicely balanced rod with the effective length increased by 10in. I could not be bothered to pratt about fitting a full cork handle so only put a couple of bored corks each side of the winch fitting and a short piece of foam at the butt end:


Looks like a dogs dinner, fishes like a dream and I still use it regularly today. I don't expect either rod is worth diddley squatt, that's not an issue for me, as they aren't for sale. Pete.

I'm going to be changing my forum name to 'Hacksaw Harry' at this rate.....

 

[Philip]

I modified the second rod to suit me. From my natural grip, to the point of my elbow, is 16in, so I ripped off the cork handle and positioned the centre of the screw fitting at this distance from the butt end and fixed it there. This gave me a nicely balanced rod with the effective length increased by 10in. I could not be bothered to pratt about fitting a full cork handle so only put a couple of bored corks each side of the winch fitting and a short piece of foam at the butt end:

Love it ! …..thats speaks a 1000 words that does. Only someone who has dangled for years & truly knows whats what would do that. Great job! You improved it for the job in hand and cared more about how it performs than how it looks.

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

Don't be so sure. I have two original 12' Powermesh Avons that are only a few uses past mint. If the cork hadn't aged as much, they'd pass for being a few years old.

I see there's one on fleabay, but it's the longer version at 11ft9ins. Nice one with a sliding lock-down reel seat, seem to remember I had something like that on another Daiwa rod I had. Down side is he wants £90 + £15 postage. I think 'er indoors would eat me alive if it arrived here.

EDIT BIT - found another same as above, but on auction! Now, if only I could get it delivered to a mate's house...

 

[sam vimes]

I see there's one on fleabay, but it's the longer version at 11ft9ins. Nice one with a sliding lock-down reel seat, seem to remember I had something like that on another Daiwa rod I had. Down side is he wants £90 + £15 postage. I think 'er indoors would eat me alive if it arrived here.

It's the later Powermesh-X version. Look a bit more and you'll find another the same that's currently a much more reasonable price. Condition looks equally good, perhaps marginally better.

There was an even later version of the Daiwa Avon in the same configuration. It was the Daiwa Avon Pro-Specialist which had a Fuji type screw up reels seat.

I often keep a look out for the Powermesh rods and prices have been creeping up in the last year or so. They tended to sell for £40-50, but £50-60 is more likely now.

 

[Philip]

There was an even later version of the Daiwa Avon in the same configuration. It was the Daiwa Avon Pro-Specialist which had a Fuji type screw up reels seat.

I often keep a look out for the Powermesh rods and prices have been creeping up in the last year or so. They tended to sell for £40-50, but £50-60 is more likely now.

Downside is that its got that truly awful short butt config, I have a similar one and its possibly the worst rod ever to carry made up & broken down.

The Powermesh rods in general seem to have taken on a sort of cult following. I have some Power mesh X Carp rods that I didnt like that much at first but they grew on me & seem to have gained something of a following.

I dont know them all & I suppose there is going to be some bad ones in there but from what I have seen the Powermesh range seem to represent good value for money for anyone looking for a good all round workhorse rods.

 

[sam vimes]

Downside is that its got that truly awful short butt config, I have a similar one and its possibly the worst rod ever to carry made up & broken down.

They are, but they are also from an era where few anglers carried rods made up. It's no surprise that Daiwa abandoned the configuration, but it didn't make them bad rods, just unfashionable.

The Powermesh rods in general seem to have taken on a sort of cult following. I have some Power mesh X Carp rods that I didnt like that much at first but they grew on me & seem to have gained something of a following.

I dont know them all & I suppose there is going to be some bad ones in there but from what I have seen the Powermesh range seem to represent good value for money for anyone looking for a good all round workhorse rods.

I liked the original 90s Powermesh rods, but not so much the later Powermesh-X (partly due to aesthetics). The original Powermesh Carp rods were the last gasp of ubiquitous through actions in carp rods. The Powermesh-X saw them introduce Long Distance (LD) models with faster actions and higher test curves. The very beginnings (in rods I took notice of) of the mad rush to casting tools over rods to play fish with.

 

[Philip]

I cant remember exactly but I thought their flagship Infinities were their first move into rods that could really cast. Its funny how the Infinities despite being the rods "to have" at the time have sort of fallen from grace now.

Interesting you mention the aestetics of the Powermesh X as thats one thing I did actually quite like. It was the rest of it that took me a while to take to. What didnt you like about the looks ? ...they seem pretty understated.

If you like through action have you seen the Shimano Powerloop rods ? ...I have 2.5 & 2.75 tc versions & they are truly bendy.

 

[sam vimes]

I cant remember exactly but I thought their flagship Infinities were their first move into rods that could really cast. Its funny how the Infinities despite being the rods "to have" at the time have sort of fallen from grace now.

I wasn't suggesting that the Powermesh-X LD rods were the very first of their ilk, just that they were the first in the ranges that I took any notice of and actually had the means to buy.

Interesting you mention the aestetics of the Powermesh X as thats one thing I did actually quite like. It was the rest of it that took me a while to take to. What didnt you like about the looks ? ...they seem pretty understated.

Very understated, they just didn't have the genuine cross weave reinforcement (right through the blank) that the original Powermesh rods did. Whilst no longer a deal breaker, I've always been a sucker for a proper cross weave wrap. They simply didn't look as nice as their predecessors.

If you like through action have you seen the Shimano Powerloop rods ? ...I have 2.5 & 2.75 tc versions & they are truly bendy.

Yes, I've seen them, just never had the need to buy because I have the Powermeshes. For the amount of carping I do these days, there's no point in me buying any carp rods.

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

What I really liked about the old Powermesh specialist rods were the double legged rings, now they're single legged, and the reel seats on the version I've just seen, but I hate the screw-up real seats they fit now. Just daft, to think you're fighting a fish and the threads of the reel seat are against the heel of your hand and it makes it uncomfortable. Something that Mark Wintle and I wrote about years ago on here.

They were impractical when you tried to break them down, but that was easily correctable for future models, but they slipped into the general design that others, Grays, Korum, et al, of using single legged rings and screw-up reel seats. WHY? mg: AND - test curves of 1½lbs. Why not 1¼lbs, or I'd love to have Greys TXL 1lb TC rod but for the above stated reasons. USE A PROPER REEL SEAT, please. Picture of a bad reel seat.


This picture is of my step-grandson (now a 50cal air gunner in the USAF) when he caught a barbel of 9lbs 7ozs (if I remember) and that was on my old Daiwa Powermesh rod.

 

[sam vimes]

I too have always hated screw up reel seats, and have said so on here for years. I'm less concerned about it on carp rods, but they are an utter abomination on a float rod, especially one that's likely to be used for trotting.

The same fittings in a screw down format are absolutely fine. Unfortunately, for some strange reason, manufacturers don't seem to like fitting screw down reel seats to anything but float rods these days.

 

[nottskev]

I've also got one of these original PMS112 rods. A really handsome rod with a beautiful playing action. It has been leaning against a wall for years because I don't know what to use it for. The barbel on the smaller rivers have dried up. It's a bit under-gunned for the fish and the conditions on the big river. It would be good for the chub on the little local river, if a bit more powerful than necessary, but with only a plain Avon top, the bite indication isn't up to scratch. I'd use it for the odd trip to commercials, fishing on or near the surface, but I've a more wieldy and light pellet waggler rod for that. It's such a nice rod that it's irritating that I can't find a good use for it.

 

[valetudoguy]

I've also got one of these original PMS112 rods. A really handsome rod with a beautiful playing action. It has been leaning against a wall for years because I don't know what to use it for. The barbel on the smaller rivers have dried up. It's a bit under-gunned for the fish and the conditions on the big river. It would be good for the chub on the little local river, if a bit more powerful than necessary, but with only a plain Avon top, the bite indication isn't up to scratch. I'd use it for the odd trip to commercials, fishing on or near the surface, but I've a more wieldy and light pellet waggler rod for that. It's such a nice rod that it's irritating that I can't find a good use for it.

Surely a rod crying out for targeting specimen Tench?

 

[sam vimes]

I've also got one of these original PMS112 rods. A really handsome rod with a beautiful playing action. It has been leaning against a wall for years because I don't know what to use it for. The barbel on the smaller rivers have dried up. It's a bit under-gunned for the fish and the conditions on the big river. It would be good for the chub on the little local river, if a bit more powerful than necessary, but with only a plain Avon top, the bite indication isn't up to scratch. I'd use it for the odd trip to commercials, fishing on or near the surface, but I've a more wieldy and light pellet waggler rod for that. It's such a nice rod that it's irritating that I can't find a good use for it.

Any kind of light specialist legering at sensible ranges. I can't say that I do much of that kind of fishing (mainly down to the waters I frequent), but it's the only logical reason I keep my pair.

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

I see another 11ft9ins Daiwa Powermesh rod has gone up today with a buy-it-now price of ... £129.00

Not surprisingly, sold by Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques. No hope of selling it of coarse. Don't know how they stay in business.
Daiwa Powermesh X Specialist Avon rod 11'9" 1-1/4lb test best Ive seen, flat... | eBay