By Sean Manning

Modern day carp rods are extremely strong and very light. It is important to use the ‘right tool for the job’ or the correct rod for the correct application and though there are some excellent rods available to the modern day carp angler, there is not one rod that will be ideal for every angling situation….though some come very close !

Each rod will have its own individual ‘ feel’ and ‘action’. This can be broken down into four categories:

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Through action or ‘slow taper’, ‘parabolic’.
Medium action or ‘medium taper’.
Fast Action or ‘Fast taper’.
Specialist.

Through Action

In general the above descriptions are given to the ‘softness’ of the feel of the rod. A ‘softer’ rod would have a through action meaning that when playing a fish the entire rod will curve all the way down ‘through’ to the butt of the rod. These rods are great for playing fish at very close range and absorbing the power of a lunging fish but have very little power to control a fish at distance. Additionally they have a limited casting ability as the rod takes far less pressure to fully compress.

Medium Action

The medium action rod is probably the most common ‘action’ of Carp rods as a generalization. They have good power in the butt section to control fish and are capable of casting medium sized leads to distance, additionally the rod tips are usually still very supple allowing a good action to play fish under the rod tip.

Fast Action

Fast action rods are usually higher in their test curve rating and have significantly more power on the butt and mid section of the rod to control fish at great range. They are capable of casting heavier leads to distance however care should be taken when playing fish under the rod tip as they are far less ‘springy’ than the two previously described actions making it easier to ‘pull out’ of fish under the tip if clutches are not set appropriately.

Specialist Rods

Modern day carp anglers are facing ever changing fishing conditions. They are fishing larger venues than before and casting farther than before. If the fish are at range then you will need to reach them to be able to entice a bite!

Many of the waters found here in the USA are extremely large and though specialist rods are not necessary to fish them all, there are some situations where they are put to very good use. If you do not own a boat then a powerful rod will put a bait out to 150 yards in the right hands.

Years ago this would not have been an option with a Carp rod but with today’s technology and forward thinking rod manufacturers such as Harrison rods and designers such as Nick Buss, rods are breaking new ground in their power yet still maintaining extremely light weights and playing ability.

An example of a specialist rod would be the ‘Parallel Butt’ custom ACS rod made by Nick Buss. This rod is 13ft in length with a 3lb test curve rating and has been designed and manufactured to cast leads to great distances, have immense power to control a fish and yet is a joy to use when playing a powerful fish in the margins as the tip is very forgiving.

POWER RATINGS

Carp rods are rated in something called a ‘test curve’ (tc) There has been much debate regarding the accuracy of the ‘test curve rating’ but it is still the most common measurement used to describe the ‘power’, of the rod.

The test curve rating of the rod is commonly found by one of the two following methods:

•	Hold the rod vertical with reel and line, and hang weights on the line until the rod tip is bent to a right angle to the handle. This is the weight of the test curve.
•	The other way is to pull the line at a right angle to the handle with some scales attached to the line and read the dial when tip reaches a perfect right angle to the handle.

However as there are 3 different rod actions that are commonly acknowledged this isn’t exactly 100% accurate measurement. Many modern rods are now changing their ratings to that of the recommended maximum cast-able weight. For example ‘3-4oz’ or ‘2-3oz’

This may increase with popularity as the years go on.

Choosing a rod

By far the best method for an individual choosing a rod is to actually use it and feel whether or not the action of the rod is one that suits them while playing a fish. This however is not always practicle so some time spent with the rod fully assembled and balanced with a reel of choice will give you a good idea. Remember that not all rods are going to be ideally suited to your individual style of fishing so take some time and make sure that you get a rod that feels right for you. It should be well balanced and have a good recovery action, meaning that regardless of the ‘action’ it isn’t ‘Sloppy’.

Your rod is likely going to be one of the most expensive items of Carp tackle that you own so as with all tackle make sure that you get the very highest quality that you can afford. A broken rod or a lost fish of a lifetime is not something that you will want to experience!