The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Just bought one myself. Thickest butt section of any cane rod I have, yet with a sensitive tip and at 11 feet I think it'll do for all but the biggest carp and barbel, and as you said...not silly money either....yet.

In some way the company morphed into the East Anglian Rod Company and went on to make rods for
others too.

Now that's interesting, Nobby. As well as the three rods that I've uploaded pictures of, I do actually own a fourth Rodrill. This last one differs from the other three which, incidentally are all identical. The odd one, I have to say is a bit of a pig. It was another cheap eBay rod but I'm not going to restore it; it has the thickest butt section i've ever seen and the action is far from being as nice as the other three. Oddly, it came with two tip sections that both look original, one slightly shorter. Some sort of combination set-up perhaps?

Nobby, not wanting too pee on your bonfire but does yours have red anodised reel bands and butt cap? If so, it might be one of these. I'll take some readings with the verniers later on that thick butt section.

PM sent to you Haydn.

I've just checked the butt measurements of some all-split cane float rods:

Rodrill 13.5
Priory 14.0
Adonis 14.1
Black Cat 14.25
Lindop 14.3

All in mm., across flats on the first un-whipped bit of cane above the handle.
Be warned, I only have yellow plastic vernier calipers from a pound-shop, and have to add 0.5 mm to all readings...
The Lindop is longer than the others, about 12', I think.

The Black Cat is a beast; it sorted out a foul-hooked high-teens carp for me with plenty to spare.
The Rodrill isn't exactly short of muscle, but more of a bream/tench/chub rod, I'd have thought.
I appear to be wrong (as usual) about it being an Adonis clone, though I think there's more varnish on the Adonis...

The Rodrill is certainly the nicest to hold for a while.
The Priory is incomplete and the Lindop awaits salvage/ refurb, so I can't comment on them.

My Rodrill has a measurement of 14.9 at that point!

That's thicker than my Burley pike rod. It seems to be a straight taper all the way to the tip though, so should have a fairly 'through' action at only 11 feet long. Very dark cane, clearly heavilly baked culms.

Bit of a beast, but it'll do far carp around the edges without worrying about something pretty getting broken.

Below are a couple of pictures of my fourth Rodrill. It is a very different beast to my other three. Much thicker throughout and with much poorer fittings.

Ok, so I just got the calipers out and on the butt sections. The most recently restored Rodrill I have measures 14.4 at the shoulder collar whip and obviously on a varnished rod. I must add that due to removing the silver thread I had to do a couple more coats on the butt section so I'd guess that mine is not much different from yours, Vole.

Now, the beast in the pictures above... Nobby, you need fear not, for I don't think you have the same monstosity as this because this one, if you can belive it, comes in at a whopping 16.3mm, and that's with what looks like a thin varnish. Crusty, on his blog refers to a rod with the ability to "pull a donkey out of a carrot field". Well, this one would do a brace of donkeys, no trouble.

As I said, I shalln't be restoring it anytime soon.

Good grief....do the Post Office know you have one of their telegraph poles?

Whats the danger that any of these are hollow-built?
My Forshaw's Goldcrest, an 11ft. bottom rod tapering down to .095 at the very tip of the top joint, hollow-built butt and middle joints, measures exactly 0.500 (12.7mm) at the same point above the handle.
The Goldcrest is effectively an 11ft. Hunter: Mr. Chapman told me that they, in every probability, built the blanks for Forshaws - they built hundreds for them. It weighs 11 oz, all-up inc. butt button. My 12 ft. Hunter weighs a neatly symmetrical 12 oz!
These Rodrills, Black Cats and other beasts sound like monsters, so ?hollow-built?. What do they weigh-in at?
Re. the Rodrill/East Anglian Rod Co. conundrum raised by the Nobster: I remember a couple of years ago in another place, that the former Owner/MD of the EARC was active for a while and gave some history of the company 'til the time that he sold it to A N Other.
Anyone remember that discussion and who he was. He gave a valuable and interesting insight into the history.

Now that does ring a bell.....what forum was that on? PP ?

Funny that Forshaws should do a Goldcrest, didn't the later 'glass Rodrills all come under the Goldcrest Brand, with each model getting another bird's name allocated to it?



I was fiddling with the Rodrill this am. and wondering if the butt is hollow-built as it really isn't that heavy.

It's got more elbows that an elephant though.....never seen such a twisted up rod. I'd never tried heating and bending the thick end of a middle section before over a night light candle....it took a long time to get hot enough.




Ah..this is why it sounded familiar...Maggotdrowners


http://www.maggotdrowning.com/forum/top ... _ID=113644


The poster mentions Bob Draper who is the chap making EARC rods and some of the early Bob Church rods, I believe he only retired about 5 years ago.


S.Norris, (Sue) never posted again on the MD forum, but what a priceless bit of history. Mabel and her pal in the shed, whipping on the rod rings.