Mkiv avon

[Beresford]

I had a 1950 onion handle one. I caught carp to 14 1/2bs with it in areas with fairly open lily pads. I had the rod 'restored' many years ago but wasn't happy with the work that had been done so I sold it thinking that I would buy another one day. For a while it was the only cane coarse rod I had. A mint Sharpes Avon came along that I bought and again caught a carp of just over 14 1/2 lbs with it.

Perhaps one day I shall buy another James onion handled Avon – it's actually quite an enjoyable rod to use for fishing for smaller carp as long as there aren't snags around.

[Bamboodle]

I bought a fairly late version of this rod, judging by the handle, a couple of years ago, and used it a lot last summer fishing for carp at a local lake, mostly surface fishing with home-made controller floats. The lake is almost snag-free, so you can let fish run without worrying, which is just as well as the carp are long, lean, very hard-fighting commons (some look very like wildies, but I'm never quite sure - ferals, maybe). Anyway, the best I've had so far on the Avon rod was about 11 lb. I'm planning to resume my campaign there this summer, as it's a water I can easily get to for short sessions, and there are fish there twice the size of my best. The Avon is a great rod for the task, as it's steely enough to play the fish, but casts light tackle really well, too. I have a glass version of the rod as well, not as lovely as the cane one, but still a nice rod.

[Jeremy Croxall]

Excuse my ignorance, but I am a little confused.........What is a MK IV Avon? I know there are many Avon rods produced by many rod builders and they all differ in their respective tapers, lengths etc.
I thought the MK IV designation applied to Carp rods?

[Santiago]

It's just a thinner version of a MkIV Carp rod, both designed by Walker.

[Beresford]

The taper Walker specified was a reduction of the MkIV carp rod by 10%. However, just like the Carp rod the actual tapers used varied from maker to maker. The B. James version has a sort of languid, slow action of action or at least my 1950's onion handled version did.

Of all of the 10' MkIV type in my view Hardy and Olivers produced the best versions, not because they are now the most expensive but both have a faster tip action. Olivers called their's the MkV to acknowledge the adjustment to the taper. Steve Middleton had an absolutely stunning example of this rod whipped in straw silk. I wished I had bought it way back when…

Sharpes of Middlesex did a sort of stepped up version with a 1.25 lbs test curve (The Walker one was 1lb). This Middlesex rod was fabulous – a friend had one at it really was very pokey. Again one I wished I'd bought. His looked a bit odd through with light and dark cane strips that I didn't much care for at the time of being offered the rod.

The rod makers today use Walker's taper so I'd expect a different action rod to the B. James versions.

All are nice rods and worth considering adding to your collection. The Chapman and Alcock Harvet Torbett Avon are similar but they have a straight taper. The Walker MkIV avon has a compound taper giving what I'd call the classic MkIV style heavy tip, making it brilliant at throwing light baits.

[Jeremy Croxall]

The taper Walker specified was a reduction of the MkIV carp rod by 10%. However, just like the Carp rod the actual tapers used varied from maker to maker. The B. James version has a sort of languid, slow action of action or at least my 1950's onion handled version did.

Of all of the 10' MkIV type in my view Hardy and Olivers produced the best versions, not because they are now the most expensive but both have a faster tip action. Olivers called their's the MkV to acknowledge the adjustment to the taper. Steve Middleton had an absolutely stunning example of this rod whipped in straw silk. I wished I had bought it way back when…

Sharpes of Middlesex did a sort of stepped up version with a 1.25 lbs test curve (The Walker one was 1lb). This Middlesex rod was fabulous – a friend had one at it really was very pokey. Again one I wished I'd bought. His looked a bit odd through with light and dark cane strips that I didn't much care for at the time of being offered the rod.

The rod makers today use Walker's taper so I'd expect a different action rod to the B. James versions.

All are nice rods and worth considering adding to your collection. The Chapman and Alcock Harvet Torbett Avon are similar but they have a straight taper. The Walker MkIV avon has a compound taper giving what I'd call the classic MkIV style heavy tip, making it brilliant at throwing light baits.

Thanks for providing all that info, very interesting and helpful.
I have another question: Why do Avon rods need such a large diameter butt ring, the one on my Chapman 500 measures 22mm (internal diameter) does it really need to be this big?

[Shaun Harrison]

Really ! I first saw this rod when Chris brought it up to the Pool, he had just acquired it, if I remember correctly he had swapped it for something not bought it. When he showed it to me he announced it had been made by Richard Walker himself, I was a bit surprised as it had intermediate whipping's and I knew Walker was not a fan of them, it also had a fixed screw winch fitting which again Walker was not fond of. The rod did have quite a bit of crud and grim on the handle and butt and didn't appear to have been looked after however it was straight just the normal droop of an Avon.
When I asked him how he knew Walker had built the rod he replied "the chap I got it off told me" ! I didn't press the point as he also showed me an old Ambidex which he said he intended to use, after looking at I told him he shouldn't, not just yet. The reel was not in a good state of repair, the handle needed a lot of effort to turn it, the clutch or drag was more or less seized and most concerning of all the line pick up point on the bail arm was grooved, any mono line going round it under tension (i.e. a hooked fish) would almost certainly be damaged and weakened. Back in those day's I always kept a small number of reel bits and mini spanners, screwdrivers, plus an old Hardy oil can in my car just in case one of my reels played up. I took the reel from him and over the next day I managed to get it back in working order, including fileing the bail arm smooth, I did suggest he try and find a replacement bail arm as the groove would return in time.
The following June Chris went on to catch the 38 at a new record weight using those two items of tackle. Shortly after this the fish was rejected by the BRCFC on the basis of identification, this causing quite a controversy in the carp world. It wasn't long before Dick Walker got involved offering his support to Chris's claim. Dick wrote several articles in the Angling Times supporting Chris and condemning the BRCFC and in one of the articles he mentioned that Chris's fish had caught on a split cane rod built by him (Walker)! At this point I concluded that Chris was right and my doubts were wrong.
After this I never gave the rod another thought, I was aware that Barry had bought the rod in an auction but that was all. Moving forward a lot of years I became very friendly with the artist John Grant, and after sorting out a little problem for John he asked if I would like a couple of days as his guest at his syndicate water, which I accepted. A week or so before our trip John rang to ask if I would bring my Len Arbury net, when I asked why he said a friend of his was now the owner of the Yates Avon having bought it from Barry and he would like a photo of the rod and net together. When I arrived at the water, John's friend was waiting for us, shortly after the rod was produced and I recognised it straight away although the tip looked a bit shorter. Now the new owner had not had the rod renovated or refurbished but he had had it cleaned, the crud and grim on the butt and handle gone and there just above the handle somewhat faded but clear enough were the words "B James MK 1V Avon" I sort of spurted out "I knew it" John and his friend both giving me a strange look. When I showed it to them neither were aware of the claim that the rod was hand built by Walker (too young to remember) the new owner believing all along it was a James Avon.
I did hear quite recently the owner was thinking of selling it.

I'm really surprised it fetched £7,200.00!

[Shed_Monkey]

Thanks for providing all that info, very interesting and helpful.
I have another question: Why do Avon rods need such a large diameter butt ring, the one on my Chapman 500 measures 22mm (internal diameter) does it really need to be this big?

It depends on the kind of reel you prefer to use with it - when using a fixed spool reel the line comes off the reel in a sort of cone shape. In theory, choking this cone slowly by having a larger diameter butt ring nearest the reel and subsequent gradually stepped down rings results in a smoother flow of the cone of line with less friction/resistance than a smaller diameter butt ring would offer... therefore increasing casting distance (particularly with light terminal tackle).

If you look back at older rods from before the fixed spool design gained popularity you will notice butt rings were generally smaller since the centrepin does not throw line off in the same way when casting.

Cheers
Steve

[Snape]

I'm really surprised it fetched £7,200.00!

plus VAT and fees so probably well over £8000.

[RBTraditional]

Totally nuts!