Hi all,

I am going to buy three carp rods that will be used with bite alarms in an attempt to cross a 30lber of my bucket list and it will also be used for general carping across the uk my biggest carp so far is 27.4lb.

I have a question do I purchase the same three test curve rods say 3x 3lb test curve.

Or should I mix up tc for example 2x3lb and 1x3.5lb.

Maybe different lengths but like I do the idea of three 12ft rods.

What three lengths and test curves would you recomend?

In reply to Post #1
If you ain't fishing massive big waters and not needing to cast over 100 yards or casting big heavy pva bags get yourself some 3 x 2 3/4 lb tc rods you don't need heavy test curve rods to catch big carp

In reply to Post #2
What he's said....sound advice

You don't need 2.75lb to cast far - good 2.25lb will cast absolutely miles
Test curve doesn't mean more power, all it is is an indicator of the rod's action and tells you what strength lines to use and what casting weight is optimum - there is a big trend for high test curve - it's a macho thing people mistakenly think its about rod power
In fact 2 or 2.25lb rods often have a higher actual pull strength than 3.5lbers, because more of the blank is applying force through the action

In reply to Post #4
This is all a bit misleading. While I agree that a 2.75 tc rod is an excellent choice for a lot of English fishing most of which is 100 yds or less you need to be clear what distances you are talking about.
Test curve does not describe the action of the rod it is simply the weight required to bend the rod so that the tip is at 90 degrees to the butt.
With a 2.25 tc rod you could indeed tune your set up to cast a long way in tournament conditions using tournament techniques. In a normal angling situation using 15 lb line or worse, fluoro, with an overhead cast most of us would struggle to get 80 yds.
By all means use light tc rods for your fishing and enjoy them, but they are not the tools to use for long range 100/140 yds or extreme range 140 plus.
Its horses for courses and its governed by physics. Some people may be overgunned but it's their choice.

Test curve is an indicator of the rod's action - a softer test curve is far more likely to be through action, and it is also an indicator of whether it is more of an out and out casting rod or not and gives you an idea of what line strengths suit the rod - but that's about it, it is fairly meaningless and anglers focus on it far too much

Most good carp rods around 2.5 to 3lb tc tend to be ''bouncy'' action which means tip to middle with lots of power in the handle section

You can cast a light lead of 2 or 2.5 ounces absolutely MILES on a 2.25lb tc rod if you just change the casting technique a little bit and load the rod up more progressively

I haven't used anything over 2.75 in 25 years now. I used to use 2.25lb on big waters.
Higher test curve does NOT mean more power. The actual pull strength of my (excellent) 2.25lb Shimanos was phenomenal, and much higher than a lot of 3.5lb rods

If you need further proof of how meaningless test curve is, remember that Yates caught the Bishop at 51lb 10oz on a ONE POUND test curve rod - did his split cane lack power? (Don't think so somehow)..

In reply to Post #6
I don't think anyone uses high TCs for power as in pull strength. They are solely for casting bigger distances.

A LOT of people think a higher test curve means more power
The Tacklebox would know mate they get customers making that mistake all the time

In reply to Post #6
Test curve is not an indication of a rod action. They are 2 different things

This is pointless, as most casting discussions on here tend to be. The guy asked for advice and received a sensible reply.
So yes buy 3 12ft 2.75 tc rods, the best you can afford, the better quality rods with anti twist are more accurate, and learn to cast with them. Good luck.

In reply to Post #1
Get yourself a set of 12footers, anywhere from 2.75lb upto 3.25 lb and you won't be far out, on a budget you'd do well to get better than the sonik range. Fantastic vfm

Don't just get any old rod - some of them are VERY overpriced (despite being cheap) - a lot of the blanks are very thin walled and this means the rod is fragile and prone to breakage after getting (even quite slight) knocks here and there

Get either higher end far Eastern, or UK made - Daiwa Whisker DF is the best value carp rod on the market, UK built, a dream to play fish on. The blanks are in a different league of thickness and strength to cheap, paper thin Far Eastern ones

I would happily use a set even though I use Infinity. The Infinity give me better casting recovery and sharper pickup but the Whisker are just as nice to play fish on
Whisker DF 2.75 can be found for as little as £100
Rods are an investment for big parts of your fishing life. I would never spend under £100 each unless they were very good used ones which I could test and then rebuild myself.

OK. more advice, contact the Tacklebox, Dartford, have conversation with them, ask all the questions you like and you will end up with the best you can afford for what you want. End of. They will supply it and customer service is great. Even better if it is one of their SAH branded products you get a lifetime warranty.

Yes that S.A.H is great and they are an wonderful outfit but they are not the only authority in the country on rods mate

It pays to clue YOURSELF up, but beware there is a LOT of bovine digestive activity written about rods on the net

Best thing ever, if the subject really interests you, is this: http://www.stlegercustomrods.com/courses.html
It is the ONLY rod building course in the UK, (trust me it took me AGES to find it)

In reply to Post #14
Absolutely agree. Knowledge is power and experience can't be bought. Angling is a lifelong learning process that everybody does at their own level. From my own experience can't think of a safer or better starting point than a top notch angling shop and they are increasingly rare.

Yes a good tackle shop is priceless mate but fishing is a huge subject and, while the tackle shop is certainly useful to get you started, it would be sad if the individual didn't learn that everything is opinion based conjecture at the end of the day and they can have decades of fun tweaking their kit.
If I could go back in time I wouldn't buy half the rubbish I had, but that's life
The biggest mistake with carp I made was fishing too light (I started the traditional way, as a roach angler)
I learned over time that there is no need for too much finesse with carp and that strong and robust is the way forwards.
(That said, every serious carp angler should have a light setup with barbel type rods for having fun with small carp on light lines - runs waters - that is where you learn and re-learn things, get the confidence going again after stints on hard venues, and especially test baits if you are into DIY).

In reply to Post #11
What ones? I'm hearing the Vader's aren't great

In reply to Post #17
They aren't bad from what I've seen mate. The dominatior range too. Or some places still have s3 and s4. Loved my old sk3xtrs, a hell of a lot of rod for not a lot of money

In reply to Post #18
Interesting your opinions on rods and cheap thin walled blanks and UK made. The infinity rods you use were designed by a Japanese designer employed by daiwa and were a high diameter thin walled blank.

In reply to Post #14
I know our friend is no longer in the building but I googled ‘rod building courses uk' and this was the top result... Not sure how it took AGES to find

In reply to Post #20
you get what you pay for the sonik Rods where just that, they do a job however they don't do it particularly well nor poorly, an average blank for the money.

In reply to Post #20
I will be upgrading next year and did look into sonik but I get the feeling from reviews etc they aren't what they used to be. Think I've settled on shimano tx2

In reply to Post #23
Sorry but from my experience thats utter rubbish

In reply to Post #24
I have a set of TX2 13ft Extremes for my distance fishing, great rods for the money and cast brilliantly and can cast huge distances

In reply to Post #26
Haven't heard a bad word about them tbf. I'll probably go for 3 or 3.25 12ft

In reply to Post #27
Absolutely they were recommended to me during a casting lesson with Terry Edmonds, my other casting rods are free spirits xs ives, the Tx2's are a better casting rod in my opinion.

So many replies it took me 3days to read them all lol,

Lots of good rod suggestions made and plenty of food for thought wasn't expecting a manufacturing science lesson thanks guys, what you all think of fox Horizon X4 carp rods?


I always like to get a better quality rods over the years i have found it pays for its self in time as the few budget rods I have over the years have fell apart.

I don't like Fox
Up themselves and think they are more than what they are - overpriced
Their hooks aren't bad, useful if you want something brutally strong but they are not my main choice of anything