“Fishing is fishing, whatever you do” as a friend recently pointed out on hearing that I had been dabbling in the art of fresh water angling once again. I used to carp fish a good number of years ago, and enjoyed it immensely. But being brought up on Anglesey, rocks and boats are where I cut my teeth in angling, spending many a long summer catching all manner of species from the sea. Sea fishing will always be number one for myself but fresh water angling has its place.
In a contrast to sea fishing and certainly fishing aboard My Way, where you’re on the rod all day long catching many different species, fresh water angling and carp fishing in particular is a much more relaxed affair. There is most deifintly something more tranquil about being on the lakeside, surrounded by much greenery.
I used to go to the carp lakes quite regularly over 15 years ago, but not once since. Recently I decided it was high time I started again. Time to relax while still enjoying the sport I love so much.
My equipment needed a spruce up and with My Way being sponsored by Pure Fishing, the worlds largest fishing tackle company, I was in a great position to call upon some expertise, after all Pure Fishing can boast amongst their ranks well respected companies such as Greys, Mitchell, Shakespeare and JRC all of these and others having a very well respected following within the fresh water world.
Buying new equipment can be a minefield especially if you’re new to the sport, or like myself have had a long absence. There is the old saying that if you buy cheap you buy twice. This I guess is true with many things, including fishing tackle. But at the same time, if you pick and choose your tackle correctly and look after it thereafter, there is no reason why you cant enjoy tackle from any price range for many years to come.
Looking at the array of items available in the modern day market, I also wanted rods, reels and ancillary items from all the price ranges, picking out quality products that would be available at no great price and in particular to those who fancied trying out course fishing for the first time.
Starting this new blog on our website, we’ll start by looking at the rods I’ve chosen to start catching more carp.
Shakespeare have been established since 1897, their fishing rods earning thousands of fans from all disciplines, most sea anglers know only to well the quality in the long standing Ugly Stik range, after decades at the top the range recently had a revamp with the Ugly Stik GX2 range of boat rods, a great selection of rods some of which available for use aboard My Way.
Shakespeare have a new range of coarse rods available, the Cypry Carp Rods come in 2 & 3 piece and also telescopic versions. Designed specifically for anglers in the UK & Europe, they are already proving a huge hit with their breath taking prices. I opted for the 2-piece 12ft 2.5lb test curve rod that retails at an unbelievable £34.99.
For a 2nd rod I looked into the JRC range. JRC was established in England in 1992 and was acquired by Pure Fishing in 2007, product design and innovation throughout the freshwater scene continuing the growth of this brand.
I opted for a JRC Cocoon rod at 2.75lb. A 2-piece rod, the carbon composite blank is perfectly equipped with 6 LTS guides and a DPS reel seat. This rod has a retail price of £59.99
Moving on to a 3rd rod, a set wouldn’t be complete without something from Greys. Established in Alnwick in the North East nearly 50 years ago Greys rods have a long-standing tradition on fresh waters. Earlier this year we equipped My Way with boats rods from their GR75s and GR100s ranges, both ranges incorporating the Toreon nano carbon construction offering extremely light and responsive boat angling rods.
The Greys Prodigy range of rods have been around for a number of years. Many of my carp angling friends own one or more of these rods. The Prodigy GT4 is the fourth generation of this popular model. The blank incorporates high modulas woven carbon fibre offering a very smooth progressive action.
With a carbon armour blank finish, Fuji real seat and G Lite guides, this really does look and feel a fantastic rod. With a variety of models the new Prodigy GT4 to join our armoury here at GO Angling was the 3.00lb test curve at a very reasonable £119.99
Next we take a look at reels and partnering each rod adequalty
