In reply to Post #64
I had / have the same issue with a pair of RH burgundy rods I picked up, very little information online about them.

I picked up a pair of Rod Hutchinson Intuition 2.75lb rods (late 1990's?) for £35 off Gumtree and have used them almost exclusively this year, they've been lovely rods to use and the burgundy blank looks great. It's definitely made me start looking to older gear again.

I'm tempted to dig out my old swingtip rod that's not seen daylight in 30+ years for a bit of nostalgia.

I've not had the exact setup but did have the Sonik Recon 8fts with Okuma INC 6000 reels and they were absolutely fine.

In reply to Post #1
Last year i swung a solid bag into a likely looking spot under an overhanging tree at the start of a session, in around the 3 seconds it took to put my rod down on the rest the line was ripping off the spool, the fish must have tore the bag up while it was still melting.

Definitely caught me off guard that one!

In reply to Post #1
I just ordered two casting cannons from Aliexpress for less than £5 for my beach rods when braid fishing straight through, might be a worthy alternative to a finger stall if you don't like using them?

I know they're not the most desirable rods in the carp fraternity, but i bought a pair of Sonik Xtractor cork 9fts in 3.25lb for £39 each from AD as my caravan / stalking setup and i'm very pleased with them.

They look nice, can punch a pva bag as far as i'll ever need them to, and at that price they're an absolute bargain.

In reply to Post #1
I've had a set for maybe three years, bought them for piking due to them connecting to the rods as it meant i could drop my rod back on the rests knowing they would line up perfectly with the drop back indicators, since then i've used them for all carping and piking, even snag fishing (but I only fish days and sit on top of my rods). My thoughts:

Pros:
- rods line up perfectly every time just by putting them back on the rest;
- solid rod hold on pod or sticks but easily releases on the pick up;
- only once seen them detatch on a run due to a full wraparound while fishing under the tip, they've held strong every other time

Cons:
- you can lift a lightweight pod easily on a strike if you forget you are using them;
- if you place the rod onto soil or rough ground while unhooking you can pick up stray ferrous in the soil with the magnets;
- although still going strong the rubbers are perishable and will need replacement at some point.

I'll happily buy more if and when the time comes to replace my existing.

In reply to Post #1
I used to sell a few tackle bits on eBay 7-8 years ago and bought bulk lots of buoyant corn in various colours to sell, I still see the exact corn (search ESP big buoyant sweetcorn) rebadged and branded and on sale now, don't think I was paying much more than a penny a piece at the time.

It's always worth a look on the chinese shops if you can stand the wait time.

Ear Plugs are all different, you need to look at the SNR rating which is the basic ratings system they use; the higher the SNR the more protection they offer, but also the more noise they block. SNR is the noise reduction they offer, so if the background noise is 100dB and the ear plug is rated to 30SNR this should reduce noise levels to ear to around 70dB.

Personally I'd start with a lower SNR (20-25dB) and if they don't cut it work your way up, if you go straight to a high rating it's likely it'll overcompensate and you'll struggle to hear bankside noise, alarms etc.

If you want to get a little more technical you can get free noise monitoring apps which I have found reasonably accurate; take an average noise rating for the traffic while there, then deduct 70 (this is the lowest you want to reduce your hearing levels to, more than this is overprotection). the end figure is the SNR number you want to look at buying.

Hope i've not bored you

I've owned many Okuma reels over the years, not a fanboy but always appreciated the quality against cost when compared with other brands.

My first carp reels were IBF50 Interceptors (still in my garage and still going strong after 20 years), after that i've owned the sublime Okuma Sheffield centrepin, Carbonites bought for my daughter, Pulzars, Surf 8K's, Inceptions, and my most recent purchase a pair of Okuma Aventa baitrunners.

Aside from the Aventa not one of those reels ever missed a beat, and I rate the Inceptions as one of the best reels I've ever owned. The Aventas however don't give me the same confidence as previous reels; the reel feels stiff to turn and the clutch not as smooth as the inception, and the baitrunner on one doesn't disengage on a handle turn.

I'm hoping my experience with the Aventas is just a blip and not a sign of things to come with Okuma, as for Okuma carp tax most of their range sit in the sub £100 bracket, I can't see a flagship model in the Obsidian doing anything but broaden the range offered from budget to premium.