Harrison Acurix carp rods, my fancy set up.

My fancy carp rods…

Carp fishing with carp specialist gear was not something that presented any interest to me as my preferred method is the feeder rods. I was seeing carp rods way to heavy, stiff and uncomfortable to handle so it was never a plan to ever use any.

Fishing various venues, I start meeting carp anglers and we became friends in time, while fishing the same venues. I realized one significant advantage of carp rods over feeder rods: you don't have to constantly supervise them. Thanks to alarms and loose clutches, you can leave your carp rods on the pod and relax with a drink or chat without worrying that they'll get pulled in by a fish. This realization led me to consider investing in a carp specialist setup

During a random browse on Facebook Marketplace, I stumbled upon a set of three Daiwa Black Widow 12ft rods with a 3.5lb test curve. Although one had a damaged guide, I managed to negotiate the price down to £60, which seemed reasonable for my entry into carp fishing. I paired them with some affordable yet reliable big pit Decathlon reels, which also performed admirably on my distance feeder rod. In addition to the rods and reels, I purchased some bite alarms, terminal tackle, and, of course, boilies.

 After a few sessions with the heavier gear, I really enjoyed the social part of it, as I was able to go around, talk to my mates and have brew without the worry of my rods getting puled in. I can’t say I had the same amount of joy playing the fish. Carp rods are heavy and fairly stiff compared to the feeder rods, due to this the main line has to be thicker and the hooks need to be bigger and stronger, so everything is balanced.  Bigger crap still offer o great battle but you can’t feel much hooking a bream or a smaller fish and most venues that I fish have a mixt population of fish.

Again, wondering on marketplace I see a pair of Freespirit CTX carp rods almost new and half price. All my feeder rods are CTXs, I love how they feel and how they look with the cross pattern on the blank. This was my chance to try some higher quality carp rods and see if the fishing experience improves.  Said and done, I bought the rods, the exact model was the 12ft 3.5tc S.U. On this rods I fell that some better reels would be more suitable so shortly after I got this rods I purchased a pair of Daiwa Emblem 45QD. These rods were much lighter than the previous ones  and the reels felt perfect for them. More than anything I was amazed about how powerful they were as well as how good and accurate were casting, being able to easily cast a solid bag with a 3.5oz lead over 100m. The recovery on the blank was extremely fast, and I never had any issues with tangles around the tip. As good and fun they were for casting the exact same opposite was for playing fish. Most of the time If I hooked a bream, I did not even knew I had a fish until It was in front of me so slowly I started using them less and less until I almost stopped using them at all. Also there are not many waters that I fish and require such a powerful rod or casting extreme distances.

It has been around two years since I started fishing for carp with specialist gear. During this I also  I also purchased a set of CTX creepers, 9ft 3lb which were much softer and playing fish was great on them.  Unfortunately, the lakes that I fish the most require casting around 80-90m and I was struggling to reach that with them, so I had to give up on those as well.

These rods felt lightweight and reasonably soft, and upon closer inspection, it seemed they were either modified or prototypes, lacking logos and featuring different guides compared to the original ones. Eager to test them out, I planned several fishing outings, but due to work, studies, and other commitments, I only managed a couple of weekends before being tied up againTowards the end of last year, I stumbled upon another find on Marketplace: a set of Wichwood C301 rods, 12ft with a 3.25lb test curve. These rods felt lightweight and reasonably soft, and upon closer inspection, it seemed they were either modified or prototypes, lacking logos and featuring different guides compared to the original ones. I was eager to test them out, but due to work, studies, and other commitments, I only managed a couple of weekends out and those were matches.

A couple of months ago, while scrolling through Facebook, I noticed a friend of mine who frequently buys and sells carp tackle, particularly high-end gear. I've purchased Freespirit rods and other items from him before, but this time, he was selling a pair of Harrison Acurix custom rods built by Cotswold Rods. These rods looked incredible, featuring a 1k carbon wave blank with K guides and the Waveform ALPs reel seat. What caught my attention was not just their aesthetics but also their specs, 12ft length and a 2.75lb test curve. My friend spoke highly of them, and knowing his standards, I trusted his assessment of their performance. Further research revealed that these rods were designed to provide an exceptional experience while playing fish, unlike many modern carp rods solely focused on casting capabilities,

Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to purchase them as the seller had a change of heart. The price was another hurdle, even though it was fair considering the cost of a new set, which typically runs just over £800 for two rods—still beyond my budget.

Despite missing out, I couldn't shake the thought of those rods. On a few occasions me and my mates discussed about them, and I ended up very curious by their performance. I liked them just for the looks and I had no idea how they would perform but I was hoping that the performance will math the price tag which is just over £400.

Again, on Facebook and I seen the same person  making an auction for the same rods. Seeing this, I knew it was my chance, after a few hours of checking the auction again and again to see where it goes, I was waiting for the last minute to see who will push the highest bid and if I have any chance on buying them. I really wanted this set of rods, but my budget was limited. Less then a minute before the auction ended I placed my last bid, of just a few pounds over the previous bid. I closed the Facebook app. I didn’t want to see how other will bid more than that and not be able to get the rods.

To my big surprise short after I got a message from my mate saying that I got the rods. I was over the moon. This was Friday, I was abroad, and I was only getting back Monday night.  But he sent ma a good amount of pictures to check until I was able to pick them up. I have managed to buy them cheap, much cheaper than I expected them to sell. My mate was quite fair and was no drama about the price.

Last days I finally managed to get them out and they stand up to their reputation. They are light and very soft for a carp rod but strong enough to cast around 100 meters comfortably. In my first day on the bank with them I managed to hook around 9 fish from 7 to 16lb and all felt great to play. The rods have a through action which can take any lounge from the fish.

I have fitted them with my Daiwa Emblem 35 qd reels, but such rods would deserve some high end reels. The only problem is that high end reels cost a fortune and they are way out of my budget. This being said, I know there are a few platforms that do online raffles for even as less as 39p. Looking on the Capital Catch website I seen three different raffles with reels, one was for a set of 3 Daiwa BASIAIR, this would have been the dream reels, a set of three Shimano power aero which are also great reels, and a set of three 23 Daiwa Emblem 45s. For the Daiwa BASIAIR and the Shimano reels I bought a few raffle tickets hoping for the best and I also purchased a ticket for the Daiwa Emblems worth 39p.

This happen at the start of the week, at the end of the week considering the may bank holiday me and my partner went on a mini holiday in Lake district. I totally forgot about the raffles as it is not something that I normally participate to. Sunday while we were having dinner I randomly checked my email and seen in on of the last email received “Congratulations, you are a winner!!”. My first reaction was to ignore it thinking it was a scam Email. But I still opened it and realised that I have won  the Daiwa emblem reels. I could not believe it, I won  3 reels worth around £500 for just 39p.

Even though when I purchased the tickets I was hoping for the high end reels, the Emblems are more than welcome as they are great and reliable reels, extremely smooth and they look great.

Getting these rods felt like meeting a person that you like. Firstly you like the looks after that you find out  certain things about them and finally you end up discovering what it is all about and I was not disappointed through any of these stages. Getting a new set of reels for them just toped up the experience. Now I look forward to some nights out on the bank with them and hopefully to test their limits with some bigger fish.