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I just bought some of the latest small Abu cardinals to see what they are like loaded up with braid for chucking lures after the bass of the back of the boat. for 20£ each can’t complain if they are plastic then at least they can’t rust lol Dam rod the kids are currently chucking the older version of this around the rod is fully orange that were bought from AD and they get sling in the bilge when we leave the boat. the only problem so far on one reel the handle rusted so didn’t spin properly wd40 sorted that out

Was a time when you could get lower poundage rods, now 3lb seems the minimum and to be honest for a lot of waters it just isn't needed... My 9' Dwarfs are 2.75lb through action, lovely playing rods for small waters, and I think they are a bit heavy... But the "Stars" as you rightly say advocate heavy rods to cast big weights a long way... for goodness sake a 3.75lb rod (4lb Kaizens... really...????) They are beachcasters or light spod rods fer crying out loud... these rods have no business on a carp pool in the UK... and I don't care what others think, these rods in the wrong hands are prime suspects in mouth damage...

old school Pay the lake … 👍👍

The problem is the “distributors” (I use that word as most are made by someone else anyway) are telling us that’s what we need so the lower test curve rods are just not available anymore because the “celebs/stars” are using heavy rods whether that be 6 footers 10 footers or 13 footers. I don’t have a problem with higher tc rods per se but the action isn’t kind on them as most are fast to enable distance casting. Couple that with the modern reels that the clutch is either tight or loose because everyone of the “stars/celebs” and their dog are using quick clutch reels.

One of my pet peeves is anglers using rods far too heavy for a water... I was on a small clubbie a wee while ago, and a lad was using a pair of 3.5lb rods and big pit reels on a small water with fish of less than 30lbs... probably using 15-18lb line where you can quite happily land a 20 on a light 1.5lb/1.75lb rod and 8-10lb line... balanced tackle is far better than overgunned rods... I appreciate that it may have been that he can only afford one set of rods, but I think a chunk of the blame has to be laid at the feet of the media for advocating heavy gear on their videos, and not making a point in telling folks the heavy gear isn't required for a large majority of UK carping. Unforgiving, heavy poundage rods are just not required and in the hands of the inexperienced can and will cause mouth damage, especially in conjunction with a tight clutch...