B.James & Sons Avon -Maximum Line Strength

[Wild Duck]

Well I use my pair of B James Avons for carp, and have my reels loaded with 6 and 8lbs line, as the water is fairly snag free. must say they are a delight to play carp on!!

[Kevanf1]

I'd use braid in 8lb BS. That way, if you are unlucky enough to get in those weeds you do have some way of getting out of them. With mono it won't 'saw' through the stems as well as braid will. I have to qualify this with the fact that I am a braid fiend. I rarely use mono. My thinking is that braid is closer to traditional line than mono is and I prefer to use it anyway.

[Beresford]

If braid will saw through weeds it can also saw through fish and rings. I've seen evidence of both. I used line up to 8lb on my Avon.

[JerryC]

in my opinion 8lb line works well with a MK1V BJ Avon - I use up to 8lb Pro-Gold for carp which I believe has a true rating of about 10lb.

[RBTraditional]

If braid will saw through weeds it can also saw through fish and rings. I've seen evidence of both. I used line up to 8lb on my Avon.

I'll second ALL of that Beresford.....sound advice

[Dave Burr]

Personally I think an Avon is too light for big carp, it will mean more fish lost in the weeds or having to be played for too long which does them no favours. I would use a MKIV carp as a minimum but still prefer something with a little more back bone.

I know this is a traditional site and I know Chris Yates tended to use some ultra light gear on Redmire but he also lost fish and did a lot of punting, wading and swimming to recover stuck fish, I prefer to avoid such shenanigans. There, I said it.

[Nigel Rainton]

Mk IV Carp with a 1.5 lb test curve was designed for 6lb line (4lb bs for each pound of test curve).

Therefore a MkIV Avon with a test curve of 1.0lb should be balanced with 4lb bs line.

I think 8lb bs line is pushing your luck a bit.

[Carp Artist]

I would go for 6lb B.S. mono. Not Braid as it will damage the rings, and also for the reasons Beresford described.

[PershoreHarrier]

Mk IV Carp with a 1.5 lb test curve was designed for 6lb line (4lb bs for each pound of test curve).

Therefore a MkIV Avon with a test curve of 1.0lb should be balanced with 4lb bs line.

I think 8lb bs line is pushing your luck a bit.

That's interesting - 4lbs for each pound of test curve but I am quite pleased as my set ups are not far off that balance -

MkIV Avon with 5lb mono, MkIV Carp with 8lb mono and MkIV SU with 12lb mono. I don't use any sort of braided line and never have done.

[JerryC]

Just to clarify one issue in respect of the BJ MK1V Avon, the 1lb t/c applied to the earlier models (up to and including the onion handle) the 'doughnut' was a stepped up Avon, approximately 1 1/4lb t/c.