The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

..Didn't someone say that EB was doing a limited edition run of KP's to Oliver tapers? I have a standard James version and one with 4 inches off the tip..I tend to grab them for Chub and Perch fishing but have used the standard length for Tench and Carp (bycatch) to double figures. They take on an impressive curve and can be exciting to use... I like them as they are as close as I've found to a general all rounder for my type of non-predator fishing up here.

Andrew’s Kennet Perfection (well this one) also doubles up as a Pike rod. Been sometime since I’ve taken the rod out, it needed a airing and I had been meaning to catch a pike on it. Probably not too wise to take the James KP out after pike though . Not a massive beastie but went like a rocket in a good flow.

A nice bend in the photo below.

Great stuff and well done again, she was a beauty!

I've landed carp to 14b on my B James version, whilst tench fishing on the River Beult in Kent and moderate barbel on the kennet....no problem. Not a bad word to say about it, it's an early one and fairly recently restored very sympathetically by Wal. I have a Paul Cook, Fred Crouch barbel perfection (No. 1) and this is a much more powerful rod,much more suited to bigger barbel and moderate sized carp.

Crumbs a good James KP, a real find then. They are just not my cuppa tea usually, almost everyone I’ve seen are wobbly spineless things; although one dark cane early one with a ink name rather than transfer on the blank was very nice but I suspect that was more the quality of the cane.
They give you quite an all-through/soft avon action so usually quite capable rods. Oliver’s KPs are usually top-notch but I they can vary a bit too in action and length.

The earlier B James badged rod/blanks seem to be the nicest, an very early MKIV Avon and 22lb pike from the Kennet below. It coped with this one……hell of bend, but survived straight and set free. Easicast being used, the wrong way around .

And she didn't even eat the smelt.

Wheeled this rod out last night for a couple of hours. Well yesterday evening, I missed a number of bites/pulls where I was looking at emails on my bl00dy phone and not concentrating on the rod in hand. Just as darkness was creeping in I felt a very distinct barbel bite which developed into a run into some over handing tree branches, I was temping fate fishing very close to the fish holding spot. I did have to sit it out for 5/10 minutes with slack line waiting for her to come out, which just lead to a heavy battle to pull her away from the snags.
I must just give the old Aerial a bit of a mention, a very early ebonite Allcock Aerial, a few little features on the reel put it very early around 1900 according to some people more experts than I. The drum is obviously light yet sturdy and quite capable of tackling good sized fish. Casts wonderfully well with a rod such as this one Andrew makes.

i found a chapmans kennet perfection last year, never seen one before, any one else own one? its a 3 piece 11ft-6 rod , nothing like a b james.

Cor, rod,reel,net,barbel

Lovely.

Wonderful stuff!!

Andrew made a KP for me and I've been delighted with it - a most versatile rod. I've found it sensitive enough for chub and tench yet with plenty of back bone when needed for barbel on the Dove and Derwent. And it has coped ably when tested with barbel from a flooded Wye.