Carp Rod?

Dose anyone a good carp rod I could buy for spinning and float fishing for sea trout, wrasse,pollock etc........

shimano, daiwa,and fox all make quality carp rods......my only critism is i find the handles on all carp rods too long for spinning and float fishing. i find that spinning rods around 10 ft are far more comfortable to hold and constantly cast with, but that's just a personal preferance. if you are getting a spinning sod, look for something that can cast between 30-60 grammes. there's still plenty of back bone to bully fish, but plenty of give to feel a 2 pound pollack. but if you want a quality carp rod, you really can't go wrong with the daiwa whisker
http://www.daiwasports.co.uk/proddetail ... 212&cat=43

penn and shimano also have some really decent rods but their sites are either down, or under constuction.

what about downsizing to an 8ft uglystick spincast. Great little rod. Only problem is the triggergrip - it's best used with a baitcaster as the trigger can get in the way when casting with a fixed spool - though it doesn't bother me that much anymore.

I use greys prodigy 12ft 2 1/2tc rods for bass fishing and they're quite nice for spinning. Shimano exage travel rods are also well worth the money and great action for multi section rods.

I use a Drennan Pike float for fishing off rocks over sand. It is 12ft [I think] and is classed 2lb test. It has a removable butt piece which is great for leveraging out 35g lures or part filled bubblefloats with eddystone eels in tow. Designed for dead-baiting pike it has the muscle to deal with bass and decent sized pollock. Being light it can be used for hours. It probably has more spine than a carp rod but this is useful if you get snagged or pick up floating weed.

I have tried but never been successful in catching a seatrout in open water with floated strip bait. I believe it is important to know where the fish run on the tide and to fish at the appropriate time. Local fishermen may be able to help. The Moy estuary tactic is to fish close to sandy bottom - almost free-lining with a couple of lead-shot, sand-eel and tiny treble.

The idea of using a Carp rod seems to make sense as it has the size for leverage but is "soft" enough for sport, though it would hardly stand up to a visit to a kelp bed. Unless you are going to specialise it may be a luxury cost-wise.

Stick to a spinning rod made for the job and dont try to use a pike or carp rod. You will cast further and easier, there is better feel and a good rod made by any of the main dealers will be OK.

On the subject of the trigger grip on some rods, with a little careful work that can usually be cut off .

I believe that 8 ft is too short for most shore situations and 10 ft should be minimum.

Good luck