Mark or spod

jake182 · Apr 23, 2014

This has been an on going "discussion" between me and a friend about which is more important, I would rather know what I'm fishing over than be able to put out a load of feed, he disagrees, just an argument for arguments sake I guess

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robtherake · Apr 23, 2014

You don't need a dedicated marker rod. A 1.75lb tip-actioned barbel rod/braid combo seems to work just as well. Assuming you have a barbel rod!

It's difficult, however, to do without a dedicated spod rod to put out lots of particles accurately at any distance in a short time. This is where they excel, for me. Unless you're lucky enough to have a bait boat, of course, and you're permitted to use it at your chosen venue.

jake182 · Apr 23, 2014

But if you could only use a marker or a spod, I'd go with the marker ever time, you can alway pva your bait out or feeder it, at least you know what your fishing on,

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robtherake · Apr 23, 2014

Got you now. Yes, you're probably right - no sense in lobbing out a bed of bait unless it's in the right place.

paul1234 · Apr 24, 2014

I personally would choose spod,as i never use a market float setup,I'm sure they are good for some unknown waters that are weed choked etc,but for me i as a general rule,i do not have any need for 1,

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reeds · Apr 24, 2014

A marker outfit tells you how deep it is, what the bottom is made of, where the weed is and what type of weed it is, even where the bloodworm beds are if you use a knobbly lead, and gives you a very accurate target to aim at.

A spod outfit is a bait delivery system - a very effective and efficient one, but there are alternatives like feeders, catapults, PVA.

So if I had to choose, it would be the marker.

Having said that, on some waters and for some species both could just as easily be renamed 'fish scarers'

cal_sutt · Apr 24, 2014

robtherake said:
You don't need a dedicated marker rod. A 1.75lb tip-actioned barbel rod/braid combo seems to work just as well. Assuming you have a barbel rod!

It's difficult, however, to do without a dedicated spod rod to put out lots of particles accurately at any distance in a short time. This is where they excel, for me. Unless you're lucky enough to have a bait boat, of course, and you're permitted to use it at your chosen venue.

What about spodding with a 2.75lb carp rod? I simply dont have the money to buy a dedicated spod rod, would I be able to effectively use a spod/spomb effectively on this sort of rod?

flightliner · Apr 24, 2014

Cal sut, just buy a good old fashioned glass fibre pike rod with a TC that suits, cheap as chips on flea bay , Steptoes second hand shop in nearby worksop sometimes has one or two for sale, a mate of mine from ollerton got one from there and swears by it--- and the fish will never know.
mine also does it equally as good as a dedicated spod rod. You can then buy one later when you aquire a bit more money.

cal_sutt · Apr 24, 2014

flightliner said:
Cal sut, just buy a good old fashioned glass fibre pike rod with a TC that suits, cheap as chips on flea bay , Steptoes second hand shop in nearby worksop sometimes has one or two for sale, a mate of mine from ollerton got one from there and swears by it--- and the fish will never know.
mine also does it equally as good as a dedicated spod rod. You can then buy one later when you aquire a bit more money.

.
Thanks flightliner, have you been in that shop? Drove past the other day and the window was just covered in fishing rods so as you can imagine I was quite intrigued! LOL

jake182 · Apr 24, 2014

What sort of test curve could you get away with for spodding then?

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terry m · Apr 24, 2014

The functions of marking and spodding are so different I am not sure why one would need to be chosen?

If you are only going to buy one rod then I would go for a spod rod as some markers do not have the muscle needed.

As for spodding with a 1.75lb tc rod, I can only assume that would either be using a mini spod, or very short range. A fully loaded large spod cast medium to long range would break a rod of that size.

jake182 · Apr 24, 2014

It's just a conversation, it's an arguement for banters sake, that's all,

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cal_sutt · Apr 24, 2014

jake182 said:
What sort of test curve could you get away with for spodding then?

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On a rough guess probably something towards the 3lb mark, as for the original question I'd rather use spods than markers... It gives you access to fish a swim that you'd struggle to get bait to usually and, after using a spod for a while, your casting will usually improve.

cg74 · Apr 24, 2014

cal_sutt said:
What about spodding with a 2.75lb carp rod? I simply dont have the money to buy a dedicated spod rod, would I be able to effectively use a spod/spomb effectively on this sort of rod?

You can spod effectively with pretty much any rod but your limitations will be greater regards size and distance. I certainly wouldn't try casting a large spomb or spod any further than about 40yards with my 2.75lb carp rods.

But a medium sized one might be good for 80yards+.

A cheap option for a spod rod is a 4-8oz beachcaster rod, you can get a new one for £10-£15. But they are quite heavy,

---------- Post added at 22:28 ---------- Previous post was at 22:14 ----------

robtherake said:
You don't need a dedicated marker rod. A 1.75lb tip-actioned barbel rod/braid combo seems to work just as well. Assuming you have a barbel rod!

It's difficult, however, to do without a dedicated spod rod to put out lots of particles accurately at any distance in a short time. This is where they excel, for me. Unless you're lucky enough to have a bait boat, of course, and you're permitted to use it at your chosen venue.

I'd say a soft tipped 1.75lb barbel rod is about as poor a compromise for a marker rod as you can get.

In answer to the original question, I'd prefer to know what I'm casting at, rather than pile a load of bait on top of a huge great weed bed.
Of course some lakes are a lot more uniform and so you can skip markering...

robtherake · Apr 25, 2014

cal_sutt said:
What about spodding with a 2.75lb carp rod? I simply dont have the money to buy a dedicated spod rod, would I be able to effectively use a spod/spomb effectively on this sort of rod?

I've done exactly that, and still do on smaller waters. Use a small spod - I have a couple of little dayglo ones; Gardner, I think, that are maybe 1/3 of the capacity of a standard spod and cast for miles on a 2 3/4lb rod and braid. The mini Spombs look the business and I expect to be getting one soonest.
If you only have standard sized spods, just half-fill them.

Bear in mind that even the Gardner mini-spods will hold maybe 15 feederfuls of bait, so you can still get a lot of bait out far more quickly than by using a feeder on it's own.

---------- Post added at 17:03 ---------- Previous post was at 16:20 ----------

cg74 said:
I'd say a soft tipped 1.75lb barbel rod is about as poor a compromise for a marker rod as you can get.

Worked fine for me, cg, but that was at a maximum range of about 50yds and I probably should have said so. Rod was/is a Shimano Hyperloop Power.

flightliner · Apr 25, 2014

Cal sut, yes, been in the shop about three years ago, unloaded a few items of gear ( not fishing tackle) and walked out with a nice Whychwood bag that I use for my winter pike fishing, it was a bit like new lamps for old.
My ollerton friend did the "spod rod n reel" , it was him that told me about the " sometime" bargains to be found in the place.
Check it out.Nothing to lose.

Mark or spod

jake182

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robtherake

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jake182

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robtherake

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paul1234

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reeds

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cal_sutt

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flightliner

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jake182

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terry m

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