rods and reels?

Hey all - only my second post so bear with me!

Looking into starting some carp fishing this season - not something I've ever had too much to do with bar the odd commercial. And even then I've had around 5 years out not fishing.

I've had 2 original fox warriors 2.5lb for around 10 years now, not used too much and still in good knick! And for a budget rod... Actually one of my favourites!

My question is that they are 2.5lb and when I bought them 2.5lb was a 'stiff' rod but it now seems that 2.5lb is considered light and everyone is suggesting you need heavier rods. How much truth to this is there? Bar the obvious advantage of casting distance is there a real necessity for 3/3.5lb rods? I'm not someone who will be casting to the moon?

Also, in the same vein I have a pair of daiwa regal 3500 reels which I have always found more than adequate, however, if I start to target larger carp and the odd cat am I going to have issues with cranking power and reel strength with reels of this size? I don't need big pit reels for the line capacity but was wondering if I should invest in some for the larger gears etc. For strength?

May sound silly to some but not too familiar with carp fishing!

Thanks in advance!

A 2.5lb TC rod should be capable of landing pretty much any carp swimming in British waters. The only thing lacking will be if you try to launch big PVA bags or are attempting to cast great distances. Whilst it's true that few manufacturers bother to produce a 2.5lb rod, and very few people actually seem to want to buy them, they still aren't desperately light.

I thought as much, thanks for the reply.

PVA bags aren't so much of an issue as I am looking into buying a spod rod for that purpose, I just didn't want to have to buy stiffer rods if they weren't required as I like to play a fish and not skull drag it! Most fun I've ever had were carp to 11lb on a float rod and 4lb mainline.

Any thoughts on the reels?

Thanks,

Ben

I find that cranking power really comes into play when retrieving bigger leads greater distances. I don't wind against fish myself. Small reels should survive landing big fish without failling apart, priovided you treat them sympathetically. Bigger reels also play their part in long casting, which sounds like it isn't an issue for you. I'd probably choose to use a bigger reel than you currently have, but there's nothing stopping you using them if you feel they are up to the job. I doubt that they are much smaller than the 4000 sized Shimanos I'll occasionally bring out to play on a small water set up.

Nice one, thanks for the advice!

Don't need new rods mate, those are perfectly fine.