Senior Wallis Avon

[J.T]

Fantastic fish badger1 and look at that rod!!!

Well done!

[Badger1]

Hi Lea - yes the ebonite reels are fine but you do need to just be aware of them being....ebonite. But it is a rollerback model and the rollers were in use! Got to use them .

[James]

What a fine day it was,this was fishing at its best. Never mind those long hot sunny days,give me a damp Autumn / Winter day any time.
Great fish Badger1 he/she put up hell of a scrap ,it just didnt like the look of you and Hermit.
Look forward to the next time .
James ps lovely action in that Barbel rod.

[Catfish.017]

Alternatively you may want to consider the 'poor mans' substitute the Sealey Floatcaster 12 ft.mine has given sterling service this summer, loads of tench and several decent carp and it remains arrow straight!

[Paul F]

Fantastic fish on a fantastic rod, and you are using an Aerial rollerback
Fair play that man

[Badger1]

Got to use them Pafpuff - I suppose it's around 100 years old now, I'm 69 years it's junior but very respectful. Not respectful enough to allow it to sit in a glass case like some useless piece of pottery or general tat from a few years ago, which sits gathering dust . I do treat my reels like royalty but then I've had to work to get them.

Hi Catfish.017 - I'll consider it.....but not for along :-). Actually joking aside I've lot of 12' & 11 barbel rods from the other makers, Aspindales, E.Sealey, R Sealey, Millwards, W.A Allcock (think it's W.A....the other Allcocks) etc but they are all fairly poor in some way and in some cases utter cr@p, top-heavy wobble barge poles in some cases. Apart from the R.Sealey 'Festival Avon' which both are belters for barbel or pike, well saying that really the 11' is in a different league to it's contemporaries at the time and the 12' is just a big rod but nothing special really.
I am shameless promoting Andrew's rods as personally they are bloody good value (in my view) considering the work and the thought which goes into a rod, especially making a rod to suit a individual customer. But like everything in life you don't need one to fore fill a function. You can get from A to B in Larda as my Dad done for years but then if you can have a Jaguar or a smooth Jap-motor or a Rolls then you probably would. Maybe not though, a hideous capitalist decadence . It's horses for courses really and up to the individual, alot of waffle and crap has been spouted on the tinter-web about rods and the right rods for certain species etc. The Tinter-web is a hideous soup-box for a lot of fruitcakes and idiots who can annoy everyone by filling it up with opinions and photos (take a look at this thread haha). Right off the soup box and back to work like a chap in a sugar-beat field.

TTFN

[Badger1]

Been a while since this little thread was updated. So some photos of this rod model in action as I am sure some users of this forum have an order in with Andrew for this one. Some pictures from the weekend with the rod taming a couple of barbel from the Wye. A swim which had a deep hard flowing current pushing through…..needed a big /proper rod .

The rod maker & JT were just coming down stream as it was getting too tea, beer, & cake time. They turned up right when needed as I was playing the barbel for a few minutes already.

Anyhow.........some pictures of a 12’er in action.

[Paul F]

Nice rod bending action, and a most capable rod at that, but where's the fish, did you land it?

[Badger1]

Hi Pafpuff, it was a nice barbel. Embarrassingly JT filmed it on his phone....and loaded up to Youtube. I think if you search for "Barbel fishing on the River Wye part 1" you will find it. There is a Part 2 as well. Excuse the......coarse language on occasions.

[Loop Erimder]

Well done I am one of them that have one on order from AJD