what a disaster

Went fishing with my fishing buddy who has fished for a few years but only for carp using 2.5lb test curve rods and heavy line.

Since he has been fishing with me i have been introducing him to more general coarse fishing.

He wanted a float rod and a feeder rod and was going to get some of the avanti stuff from dragon carp.

I told him that by the time you pay postage i could probably get you a couple of maver rods on offer for not much more.

I showed him my maver abyss x float rod fantastic rod i had for just over £30 superlight carbon and good quality.

Went out yesterday with the rods only second time he used them and he pulled the line to hard on his float rod and bent the tip right round and snapped the tip. (i warned him a few days earlier when i saw him do this that the tackle s much more delicate than the heavy carp rods he used to and to be careful or he might snap it).

I was gutted for him.

Whilst still reeling from this disaster ten minutes later he went to cast his new feeder rod didnt check behind him and feeder caught on a fence and almighty crack and his new feeder rod lay snapped in half i just couldnt believe it.

Now under any other circumstances i would have laughed cause it was funny but it was so bad i just couldnt laugh i just looked at him dumbfounded.

I have broke many a rod in my time but not one so new and never two within ten minutes.

I wonder now whether he would have been better off with the avanti stuff whilst heavier and less responsive would probably have been made of carbon composite / fibre glass and been much more durable.

He complained after that the rods seemed very weak and thin to what he was used to i tried to explain thats what carbon is like wish he had just got the dragon carp stuff instead now.

Pulling tips down like that (column loading) will break any rod, as will getting feeders jammed in fences.

An expensive lesson indeed.

This is the problem these days, anglers going straight into carp fishing.
Most of us oldies started off as youngsters catching minnows and worked our way up,
learning different tactics and methods on the way.
I feel sorry for anglers who missed out on that.

beerweasel said:

This is the problem these days, anglers going straight into carp fishing.
Most of us oldies started off as youngsters catching minnows and worked our way up,
learning different tactics and methods on the way.
I feel sorry for anglers who missed out on that.

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Can understand why folk, especially the ''instant fix'' young ones want to get in to carp fishing, it's all that media stuff put about by the big carp companies that catching big fish is all that matters...Advertising does really work on peoples minds!!

Hes really enjoying catching other species but that was a real kick in the teeth.

He got an old feeder rod which is of much sturdier design hes going to stick to that for the time being.

He just managed to cut down the float rod to accommodate a quiver so i suppose hell be able to use it as a light quiver so some consolation i guess.

I think the same you see a lot of anglers who look down at me because they see me fishing with my float rods and quiver tips although i do have a go with my carp rods, yet while they may be proficient with there carp gear they probably havent got a clue how to do anything else

i'm going back to coarse fishing again after a long break doing carping etc,main thing to remember is how delicate the float rods can be,i've got 4 float rods for different occasions,both my sons have recently broke tips off their float rods through being clumsy,and both had those new style commercial rods,mine all from the 80's and early 90's and all kevlars but i'm still very gentle with them,that's the fun of coarse fishing,your mate will get his head around it in the end,people don't realize the big change when going from carping to coarse fishing.

Well whatever you do dont buy the end of line normark feeder rods,or garbolino's either,their carbon quiver tips are so fine you'd snap and not know it,its easy done,though luckily not something ive done,apart from two tips(right at the very end),caught on branches whilst moving...plonker.:wh

Had a mate once who went from sea fishing to coarse fishing. He had hands like a bunch of bananas and just couldn't get used to light gear. So, his tackle was like shark gear. A float that was not far off a pike bung, big hook and heavy line. He never hooked any fish and I tried for months and months to explain why but, he wouldn't have it.

One day on a commercial I was catching lots of really good fish and he was swearing and muttering in the next swim, plenty of bites but, no fish.. Then a bloke came up with a big bream in his hand. Could I take a photo. I asked what he was using and he was on a 3lb line and a 14 hook. The same as me more or less. Said he had been catching decent fish all morning the same as me. All within earshot of my mate. I thought this should persuade him. Never did, just carried on all day muttering and swearing while everyone around was catching. I gave up on after that. Great bloke mind you. Departed now and very much missed.

Tell him to stick with the Maver. Once he gets used to using a 'decent' rod, he'll get more pleasure from it and find it more easier to use for it's intended purpose. Try and get him to let someone show him how to fish with it properly as well.

Would it be worth contacting Maver? They might be able to supply a new tip section for the float rod.

I would give it a try. You never know, a nicely penned letter may get a replacement gratis.

Mmmm, I wonder if all of the above is a pointer to why so many carp get pulled mouths?
If you start your angling career, say, on roach and tiny hooks and work up, it may make you a better angler than if you start with a barge pole and develop no idea of what a fighting fish feels like when it's being played considerately.

Your right on the nail mate with that comment.

p.s i started with gudgeon on the canal,taught my son's the same,and teach my grandchildren the same,the granddaughters p.b is a 12 1/2lb carp,it was my proudest moment watching her enjoying playing the fish to the net,brought tears to my eyes,but she's my regular sidekick lol,the other grandkids wont fish with her as she's spot wherever and whatever she fishes for.she's 10 next month.just brought her a lovely 2nd hand tom pickering kevlar rod to match my 14 footer.

Some folks are just born clumsy, I used to work in medical equipment maintenance and you would not believe the damage some of those nurses doctors and even surgeons inflicted on the equipment. I now rent houses and have the same problem, how people can trash a house in 12 months never ceases to amaze me, in all my days I have yet to have a kitchen cupboard door 'fall off' though for some people it's a weekly occurrence.

waggy said:

Mmmm, I wonder if all of the above is a pointer to why so many carp get pulled mouths?
If you start your angling career, say, on roach and tiny hooks and work up, it may make you a better angler than if you start with a barge pole and develop no idea of what a fighting fish feels like when it's being played considerately.

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That is a good point, I had not considered that before. Could be the root cause of many, but certainly not all, skulldraggers ethos.

skullsat said:

Your right on the nail mate with that comment.

p.s i started with gudgeon on the canal,taught my son's the same,and teach my grandchildren the same,the granddaughters p.b is a 12 1/2lb carp,it was my proudest moment watching her enjoying playing the fish to the net,brought tears to my eyes,but she's my regular sidekick lol,the other grandkids wont fish with her as she's spot wherever and whatever she fishes for.she's 10 next month.just brought her a lovely 2nd hand tom pickering kevlar rod to match my 14 footer.

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I'm the same Skull, I started mine off on small perch and rudd and they're coming along nicely.