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35mm is what the butt rig on my rods looks to be...maybe less. Also, one of the rods is a bit softer and less powerful then the other, and often get mixed up between the two, which is a pain sometimes. Being accurate with my cast is something I really need to work on. I was decent with the much shorter, often 7ft rods I fish for other species with, but have a bit more trouble with the longer rods.

TBH Tn, I'm up there with the worlds worst casters compared to most. Think it's years spent on small waters where 40 to 50 yards is enough.... And the kit I was using was geared up for this kind of fishing and with my bad casting technique, I struggled to hit 80yds, with a rig attached..... I had Shimano XTC 5500 reels and some old Fox Aquos rods that had softened up over time and had a 35mm Butt ring, great for playing fish on, but not great for casting too far.... I then went on to purchase some Shimano Tribal Velocity 3.25tc, with a 50mm butt ring and a larger 16mm tip ring, they were not expensive , around £50 at the time...And even with the small reels, the difference in distance was noticeable with the larger ring set, gained 20 odd yards without much effort.... Also switched to using a helicopter set up,with a 3oz zip lead which is designed with distance in mind. I was getting more distance with the Shimano rods, but went through a run of blank sessions, which in hind sight, could of been down to the heli set up affecting the sort of bite indication I was used to, I should of hit more of the single bleeps I was getting.... The run of blanks, got me all superstitious (madness I know).. So ditched the rods for some discounted Sonik S6, pretty much identical, same ring set and tc, got hold of some larger reels and can hit 100-120 yds now, purely down to a change of kit, my technique still sucks...... The next step for me is to improve my technique and then start going through some different mainlines, hopefully with some advice on the forum, having learned that most of the fish coming out on one of my water's are getting caught at 150yds. And only by a couple of guys that can hit that range. The fish have yet to really start moving around and are showing around a snaggy island at about 170 yrds..... A clear indicator, that having a long chuck in your armoury, is a definite edge over most anglers in certain situations..... Something I'll be working on this year.

The reels I have on them are Nash BP-6s, which are nice reels, but I certainly should have got a bit bigger reels, and I do like baitrunners better. The line is Gardner Hydrotuff in 15Ib, which is a good line for my case, as there are gravel and rocks galore in some places in my nearby reservoirs, and that style of line stands up to them a bit better. The leads I use tend to be both inline and swiveled pears, 1.5oz for running rigs, and 3oz for bolt rigs. Also use a varity of method feeders from less than a ounce, to 3oz. While I admit I'm not the best and most accurate caster in the world, I certainly get the impression they aren't the most accurate rods in the world. They are also thick, clunky, and heavy compared to a carbon rod. I actually had NGT's entry level carbon rods before I got the even cheaper glass ones, and they were good....until one shattered when I was making a cast with a mere 1.5oz lead and small pva stick....🙁

Thought it was

I had those rods at one time, used them once and bought new rods immediately. For a newer angler, 50 yards sounds about right for keeping it accurate. You definitely can cast them further, but the rod is not stable enough to keep it very accurate.

What B.C. said. I found that every time I tweaked my gear, (filling the spool almost to the rim, wetting the spool of line before casting, switching from #15 to #12) I gained a little distance and using a 3oz lead could usually hit my spot at around 100 yds. Buying a 3 lb rod or 2 didn't really buy me any more distance (neither did a 13' rod), but my casting with bags or stringers is so pitiful I wanted to try them anyway.

50 yards?..... Are you sure it's just the rods that are letting you down on distance? Sounds quite a short distance imo. Could also be spool size, type of mainline, or the sort of weight and shape you are trying to cast..... .... Just a thought, and a few things that you could tweak to gain a bit more distance.... All the best

For the budget you mentioned, the Wychwood 101 or 201 range are worth a look. A friend has some 3.25 tc, for a couple of seasons and they do the job. Atm, over here , you can pick them up for around £40 with Duplon handles, slightly more for cork handles....(101's). The 201's come in a bit dearer at approx. £50 I can't vouch for any that you listed in the OP.... But I've used budget Fox in the past and found them to be ok too.....

Both 😊