I've a couple of 1.5lb tc specialist rods and was wondering if members
think these are ok to use for Barbel in a regular river flow,ie;not in flood.

It depends on the situation, but i think a good 1.5lb tc rod is a cracking barbel tool

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I've done all my Barbel Fishing on the Trent so the weakest TC I've used is 1.75

I think however for a normal stamp of Barbel on a less powerful river 1.5 TC would be perfect

I think it is a bit suspect to quote test curves. I know they are supposed to give a general indication, but I play all my barbel much further down the rod than the test curve area. The "test curve" was invented generations ago. Surely it is time for a more appropriate measure or measures? One that reflects how the rod will actually be used.

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Originally Posted by JayZS

I think it is a bit suspect to quote test curves. I know they are supposed to give a general indication, but I play all my barbel much further down the rod than the test curve area. The "test curve" was invented generations ago. Surely it is time for a more appropriate measure or measures? One that reflects how the rod will actually be used.

Please explain/enlighten further........thanks

Test Curve of Harrsion Fishing rods

OK Riverside: Here goes:

That's a fairly good article on test curve Peter. I suspect that Richard Walker might even have invented the idea, for he designed rods at the time ( possibly more accurate to say he colluded with a manufacturer to design them) .

I used to see anglers back in the 60's dangling spring balances from their rod tips. They would hold the rod handle horizontal and pull down. Sadly if you do that you never quite get the rod tip to reach 90 degrees. The physics prevents it from getting completely there. 85 degrees yes, maybe 87 or 88. But never the full monty 90. The rod would break first! The problem is easily solved however. All you do is to define the test curve as the minimum pull needed to get the tip to 90 degrees. But that pull will not be at 90 degrees to the handle. It will then be at somewhat more than 90. This approach would get rid of all the problems quoted in the article about TC measurement and interpretation. It would give a precise TC for a particular blank.

But such trivial considerations are all rather theoretical, because no two blanks will ever be exactly the same and there will always be minor manufacturing differences blank to blank which will lead to minor differences in test curve.

The problem with test curve is that a 1.5 TC rod is probably going to be used with say 10 pound line, not line of 1.5 pounds. Working out such a rod's TC is a bit like road testing a Ferrari at 40 mph.

The deflection test used by Harrison's is also flawed. It still tells you nothing about how the rod works when you are heaving away trying to slow down a big carp in full flight. Very similar to a TC and with similar limitations. Who in hell cares how much line is "given" when the line has a kilogram (2.2 pound) pull on it? Instead: How easy is it to pull back at 8 or 10 pounds with the 12 pound line I have loaded on the reel using this rod?

Coming up with something better is probably more difficult, and I might suggest something like a statement: "This rod has been designed to work best with lines between 7 and 10 pounds" or similar. Add that to a more descriptive line like " This is a heavy feeder rod" or "This rod has been designed for big river barbel" and I think we may have progressed somewhat.

But best of all is picking up your mate's rod and saying "I like that, I'll get one".

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No trees were damaged by this e-mail, but a hell of a lot of electrons were severely disturbed by it.

As said, test curves really tell you nothing about a rods capabilities. For example I have a fast taper 13ft flood rod with an "old school" test curve of 1.5lb which will comfortably launch a 6oz loaded feeder a long, long way. I also have a through actioned rod of 1.5lb test curve which is happier with two ounces or less. If you buy on test curve alone you could end up buying completely the wrong rod for the job.

As JayZ says, the best thing to do is try other peoples rods, preferably in the situations that you intend fishing.

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Angus Rae

For me people do get hung up on the Test curve and not the action of the rod as this is where the main characteristics of the rod are and its down to personnel choice.

I prefer a through action rod as I like the rod to act like a big long spring and if the fish decides to make that last lunge the rod (I feel) has the forgiving nature to cope with this as appose to a tip action where the “spring” is only in the top 25% of the rod.

I’ve fished with a good friend for 18 years had he prefers a tip action rod as he feels the back bone of a tip action rod give him that edge to put more pressure on the fish to “win the fight”.

His typical one liner when he comes to net my fish is “Bloody ell Pete next time I’m in the supermarket I’ll get you a new banana cost the one you’ve got in your hand would be banned by the E.U its too bent!!!” my reply is “go and stick that poker you fish with up ya bum!”

To me action is more important than T.C

But the best advise is what the other guys have said go and try your mates or have a play with a few in the tackle shops

See,I told you I'd have some daft questions...........

Thanks for the explanations and I understand your points about the actual
action and feel of the rod as opposed to just its tc.

I guess I'd liken it to the bend I get in my JW Avon rod with a 5lb chub on the end.

The 2 rods I'm starting with are the Daiwa Whisker spec and the Korum
twin tip and I'll approach the job in hand with confidence and I'm sure that
that is probably more important than tc's.