on all orders over £50
Carp Rods
Carp Rods have changed massively over the years, and only for the better, in my eyes. Many years ago, people were using split cane rods for catching carp or, should I say, trying to catch carp because back then, they were classed as mythical creatures of the deep and virtually impossible to catch.
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Original price £69.99 - Original price £69.99Original price£69.99£69.99 - £69.99Current price £69.99
Fox EOS Pro Spod n Marker Rod
FoxFox EOS Pro Spod n Marker Rod has been made with higher-grade carbons to which the older EOS model was made using. They come fitted with SLIK Air G...
View full detailsOriginal price £69.99 - Original price £69.99Original price£69.99£69.99 - £69.99Current price £69.99Sold out -
Original price £203.99 - Original price £219.99Original price £203.99 - Original price £219.99Original price £203.99£146.99 - £165.99£146.99 - £165.99Current price £146.99
Nash Scope Cork Handle Rods
NashThe proven performance of the 1K Scope carbon blend blanks, now with classic cork handle style, updated for 2020 and now in a wider range of test c...
View full detailsOriginal price £203.99 - Original price £219.99Original price £203.99 - Original price £219.99Original price £203.99£146.99 - £165.99£146.99 - £165.99Current price £146.99Save up to £68.00 Save £0.00 -
Original price £49.99 - Original price £54.99Original price£49.99 - £54.99£49.99 - £54.99Current price £49.99
Fox Rage Warrior Dropshot Rods
Fox RageThe next generation of Fox Rage Warrior rods offers amazing value for money across a range of 14 models. Highly capable lure rods with a lightweigh...
View full detailsOriginal price £49.99 - Original price £54.99Original price£49.99 - £54.99£49.99 - £54.99Current price £49.99Save up to £0.00 Save £0.00 -
Original price £49.99 - Original price £59.99Original price£49.99 - £59.99£49.99 - £59.99Current price £49.99
Fox Rage Warrior Medium Spin Rods
Fox RagePRODUCT OVERVIEW The next generation of Fox Rage Warrior rods offers amazing value for money across a range of 14 models. Highly capable lure rods...
View full detailsOriginal price £49.99 - Original price £59.99Original price£49.99 - £59.99£49.99 - £59.99Current price £49.99Save up to £0.00 Save £0.00 -
Original price £54.99 - Original price £54.99Original price£54.99£54.99 - £54.99Current price £54.99
Fox Rage Warrior Heavy Spin Rod 240cm/7.8ft 40-80g
Fox RageThe next generation of Fox Rage Warrior rods offers amazing value for money across a range of 14 models. Highly capable lure rods with a lightweigh...
View full detailsOriginal price £54.99 - Original price £54.99Original price£54.99£54.99 - £54.99Current price £54.99Sold out -
Original price £49.99 - Original price £49.99Original price£49.99£49.99 - £49.99Current price £49.99
Fox Rage Warrior Ultralight Spin Rod 210cm/6.86ft 2-8g
Fox RageThe next generation of Fox Rage Warrior rods offers amazing value for money across a range of 14 models. Highly capable lure rods with a lightweigh...
View full detailsOriginal price £49.99 - Original price £49.99Original price£49.99£49.99 - £49.99Current price £49.99Save £0.00 Save £0.00 -
Original price £49.99 - Original price £54.99Original price£49.99 - £54.99£49.99 - £54.99Current price £49.99
Fox Rage Warrior Light Spin Rods
Fox RageThe next generation of Fox Rage Warrior rods offers amazing value for money across a range of 14 models. Highly capable lure rods with a lightweigh...
View full detailsOriginal price £49.99 - Original price £54.99Original price£49.99 - £54.99£49.99 - £54.99Current price £49.99Save up to £0.00 Save £0.00 -
Original price £148.49 - Original price £148.49Original price£148.49£148.49 - £148.49Current price £148.49
Free Spirit CTX Carp Creeper Rod 10ft 3.25lb 40mm Full Cork Matte Finish
Free SpiritManufactured using a complex process that integrates 40t and 30t carbons with a resin content below 25%. Strong, light and slim. Attractive X-Wrap ...
View full detailsOriginal price £148.49 - Original price £148.49Original price£148.49£148.49 - £148.49Current price £148.49Save £0.00 Save £0.00 -
Original price £137.49 - Original price £137.49Original price£137.49£137.49 - £137.49Current price £137.49
Free Spirit CTX Carp Creeper Rod 10ft 3.25lb 40mm Abbreviated Matte Finish
Free SpiritThe Free Spirit CTX Creeper are 10ft in length with a 3.25lb test curve. They come with a 40mm butt ring, Hi-quality Fuji reel seat and an abbrevi...
View full detailsOriginal price £137.49 - Original price £137.49Original price£137.49£137.49 - £137.49Current price £137.49Sold out -
Original price £172.69 - Original price £172.69Original price£172.69£172.69 - £172.69Current price £172.69
Free Spirit CTX 12ft 3.5lb 50mm Matte Finish
Free SpiritThe brand new matte finishes on all of the Free Spirit rods are taking over from the old style of rod. All of the rods mechanics will stay the same...
View full detailsOriginal price £172.69 - Original price £172.69Original price£172.69£172.69 - £172.69Current price £172.69Save £0.00 Save £0.00 -
Original price £170.49 - Original price £170.49Original price£170.49£170.49 - £170.49Current price £170.49
Free Spirit S-Lite 10ft 3.25lb 30mm Butt Ring Abbreviated Handle Carp Rod
Free SpiritFree Spirit S-Lite Rods in 10ft with a 3.25lb test curve built using a 30mm butt ring. These rods have an ultra-slim blank with a matt woven finish...
View full detailsOriginal price £170.49 - Original price £170.49Original price£170.49£170.49 - £170.49Current price £170.49Sold out -
Original price £175.99 - Original price £175.99Original price£175.99£175.99 - £175.99Current price £175.99
Free Spirit S-Lite 10ft 2.75lb 30mm Butt Ring Full Cork Carp Rod
Free SpiritFree Spirit S-Lite Rods in 10ft with a 2.75lb test curve only come with 30mm Butt Rings and not 40mm as the other higher test curve rods in the ran...
View full detailsOriginal price £175.99 - Original price £175.99Original price£175.99£175.99 - £175.99Current price £175.99Sold out -
Original price £269.49 - Original price £269.49Original price£269.49£269.49 - £269.49Current price £269.49
Free Spirit S-Lite 12ft 3.50lb 50mm Carp Rod
Free SpiritSpirit S-Lite 12ft 3.50lb 50mm Carp Rod Free Spirit are always keen to test out new technologies in rod design and in the last 18 months or so one ...
View full detailsOriginal price £269.49 - Original price £269.49Original price£269.49£269.49 - £269.49Current price £269.49Sold out -
Original price £124.99Original price £124.99 - Original price £124.99Original price £124.99Current price £99.99£99.99 - £99.99Current price £99.99
Fox Horizon X3 12ft Spod/Marker Rod 5.5lb
FoxThe new Horizon X3 rods offer unbelievable value for money and are ideal for anglers on tight budgets that still want unrivalled Fox quality High ...
View full detailsOriginal price £124.99Original price £124.99 - Original price £124.99Original price £124.99Current price £99.99£99.99 - £99.99Current price £99.99Save £25.00 Save £0.00 -
Original price £186.99Original price £186.99 - Original price £186.99Original price £186.99Current price £159.99£159.99 - £159.99Current price £159.99
Free Spirit S-Lite 10ft 3.25lb 30mm Butt Ring Full Cork Carp Rod
Free SpiritFree Spirit S-Lite Rods in 10ft with a 3.25lb test curve built using a 30mm butt ring. These rods have an ultra-slim blank with a matt woven finis...
View full detailsOriginal price £186.99Original price £186.99 - Original price £186.99Original price £186.99Current price £159.99£159.99 - £159.99Current price £159.99Save £27.00 Save £0.00 -
Original price £159.49Original price £159.49 - Original price £159.49Original price £159.49Current price £134.99£134.99 - £134.99Current price £134.99
Free Spirit S-Lite 10ft 2.75lb 30mm Butt Ring Abbreviated Handle Carp Rod
Free SpiritFree Spirit S-Lite Rods in 10ft with a 2.75lb test curve only come with 30mm Butt Rings and not 40mm as the other higher test curve rods in the ran...
View full detailsOriginal price £159.49Original price £159.49 - Original price £159.49Original price £159.49Current price £134.99£134.99 - £134.99Current price £134.99Save £24.50 Save £0.00 -
Original price £131.99 - Original price £131.99Original price£131.99£131.99 - £131.99Current price £131.99
Free Spirit CTX Creeper 10ft Matte Finish 30mm Butt Ring Abbreviated Handle
Free SpiritFree Spirit CTX Creeper Rod 10ft with an Abbreviated Handle are not only stunning rods to look at but are also a pleasure to use. They have slim li...
View full detailsOriginal price £131.99 - Original price £131.99Original price£131.99£131.99 - £131.99Current price £131.99Save £0.00 Save £0.00 -
Original price £270.49Original price £270.49 - Original price £270.49Original price £270.49Current price £199.99£199.99 - £199.99Current price £199.99
Free Spirit S-Lite 12ft SL' Ive 50mm Carp Rods
Free SpiritFree Spirit are always keen to test out new technologies in rod design and in the last 18 months or so one has particularly stood out. The material...
View full detailsOriginal price £270.49Original price £270.49 - Original price £270.49Original price £270.49Current price £199.99£199.99 - £199.99Current price £199.99Save £70.50 Save £0.00 -
Original price £270.49Original price £270.49 - Original price £270.49Original price £270.49Current price £199.99£199.99 - £199.99Current price £199.99
Free Spirit S-Lite 12ft 3.25lb 50mm Full Cork Carp Rods
Free SpiritFree Spirit are always keen to test out new technologies in rod design and in the last 18 months or so one has particularly stood out. The material...
View full detailsOriginal price £270.49Original price £270.49 - Original price £270.49Original price £270.49Current price £199.99£199.99 - £199.99Current price £199.99Save £70.50 Save £0.00 -
Original price £248.49Original price £248.49 - Original price £248.49Original price £248.49Current price £174.99£174.99 - £174.99Current price £174.99
Free Spirit S-Lite 12ft 3.25lb 50mm Carp Rod
Free SpiritFree Spirit are always keen to test out new technologies in rod design and in the last 18 months or so one has particularly stood out. The material...
View full detailsOriginal price £248.49Original price £248.49 - Original price £248.49Original price £248.49Current price £174.99£174.99 - £174.99Current price £174.99Save £73.50 Save £0.00 -
Original price £185.90 - Original price £185.90Original price£185.90£185.90 - £185.90Current price £185.90
Free Spirit S-Lite SPM Spod/Marker Rod 12ft 50mm
Free SpiritFree Spirit are always keen to test out new technologies in rod design and in the last 18 months or so one has particularly stood out. The material...
View full detailsOriginal price £185.90 - Original price £185.90Original price£185.90£185.90 - £185.90Current price £185.90Sold out -
Original price £159.50 - Original price £159.50Original price£159.50£159.50 - £159.50Current price £159.50
Free Spirit CTX Matte 13ft 50mm Butt Ring Spod & Marker Rod
Free SpiritFree Spirit CTX Spod & Marker Rods are excellent value for money and will easily compete with spod and marker rods twice their price! The CTX S...
View full detailsOriginal price £159.50 - Original price £159.50Original price£159.50£159.50 - £159.50Current price £159.50Sold out -
Original price £148.50 - Original price £148.50Original price£148.50£148.50 - £148.50Current price £148.50
Free Spirit CTX 12ft 50mm Butt Ring Spod & Marker Rod Matte Finish
Free SpiritFree Spirit CTX Spod & Marker Rods are excellent value for money and will easily compete with spod and marker rods twice their price! The CTX S...
View full detailsOriginal price £148.50 - Original price £148.50Original price£148.50£148.50 - £148.50Current price £148.50Sold out -
Original price £179.29 - Original price £179.29Original price£179.29£179.29 - £179.29Current price £179.29
Free Spirit CTX 12ft 3.5lb S.U 50mm Butt Ring Matt Finish Carp Rod
Free SpiritThese rods come with a slim sleek matte finish to their blanks which are light and crisp with a lovely action even though they are a powerful rod. ...
View full detailsOriginal price £179.29 - Original price £179.29Original price£179.29£179.29 - £179.29Current price £179.29Sold out
The Craftsmanship Behind Split Cane Rods
Split cane rods were made by splitting bamboo (cane) along its length and then glueing and whipping about five pieces together, making a hexagonal shape. They would use wood planes to taper the cane, making it thinner at the tip end and more flexible. The skill that went into making these rods was exceptional, but if you've ever used one, they can be pretty heavy, and over time they can form a natural curve, making them difficult to use.
I'd even heard of some people making rods okeep the oriut of tank aerials. They would build them out of one complete aerial and use them as a one-piece rod, or those with more advanced rod-building skills would make them into a two-piece rod using a metal spigot to join the sections together.
The Evolution to Fibreglass Rods
This continued for years until it changed, and they started making fishing rods out of fibreglass. This massive advancement in fishing rods made the rod a lot lighter and stronger. The first ones had quite a thick blank, but as time progressed and technology got better, the blanks got much thinner. Some of the younger anglers out there might be shocked to hear that the standard length for a rod then was 9 or 10 feet long with a test curve around 1.5lb to 1.75lb. The first proper carp rod I bought in the 80s was from a secondhand shop, and it was a 10ft 1.75tc Silstar Traverse X Carp Rod that was my pride and joy until a few years later when I set my eyes on a DAM 12ft 2.5lb tc rod that I bought brand new. The strange thing was, the 10ft 1.75tc Silstar rod was a lot more powerful than the DAM 12 one, so perhaps this is something to bear in mind when buying a shorter rod that you may need to lower the test curve slightly.
How Test Curves Are Determined
The way the test curve of a rod is determined is by clamping the rod in a horizontal position up off the ground and then attaching a short length of string (or something like that) which won't stretch and attaching weights to it. Once the rod bends down into a 90 degree curve, that then determines the test curve. So if you add 3lb of weight to the blank till it's bent 90 degrees, then that blank ( rod ) will have a three pound test curve. Once the correct sample blank has been made in the test curves needed, this one will become the master that they will copy depending on the test curve needed. Once in production, they may test one blank to every 100 made to make sure it's still the same as the master blank.
Modern Manufacturing and Rod Design
Today carp fishing rods have advanced incredibly, using CAD drawing to design them and machines and people to test them. The materials available today can be used to make the rods so much slimmer and stronger, allowing some of the top distance casters to cast over 200 yards. Some of the top-end rods are made out of the best Japanese carbons available, and once the carbon has been rolled on a tapered mandrill with resin to produce the blank, they are placed into autoclaves to cure the resin and harden it. An Autoclave is pressurised, and this extracts all the air bubbles out of the resin, which, if left in, could be a weak spot in the blank. The blank I keep referring to, to those of you that don't know, is what the carbon sections are called before they have the handles and eyes whipped onto them.
Retractable Rods: A Compact Solution
One massive turning point was when Nash Tackle bought out the retractable rods in their Dwarf and Scope range in 9ft and 10ft. The first foot of the black was able to retract back into the butt section where the handle is. This meant you could pack a 10ft two-piece rod down to around 3.5 feet in length instead of having two 5ft sections. This setup is ideal for people using their cars to go fishing or for someone that wants a compact set-up.
Choosing the Right Rod
Buying a Carp Rod can be quite a difficult decision for some, while others just buy on the looks of the rod or if it's the cheapest or most expensive. Some think that if they buy a cheap rod, it's going to be no good and the more money they spend or if they buy the most expensive rod, it will be far better. This is true to a point, but it's down to your budget. You can buy some amazing rods for under £100 pounds like the Shimano TX2 and Fox X3 Rods, not forgetting the Nash Dwarf range in the retractable rods, but one of our biggest selling rods are the Daiwa Black Widow Carp rods for around the £50 mark. I know people that have bought these rods and love them, so it all comes down to where and what type of fishing you are doing.
I fish with Free Spirit 13ft Hi-'S' ive rods, but I mainly fish in France now, and the average size of carp I'm landing is around the 30lb mark. I went for a 13ft rod because that extra foot makes the action of a powerful rod a bit softer. This helps to eliminate hook pulls, but also, the longer arch in the cast helps with gaining more distance. A very good friend of mine has a set of Daiwa Basia carp rods in 12ft with a 3.75 test curve which is a similar test curve to mine, but the actions of the rods are massively different. When I'm playing a fish on my rods, the tip of the rod bends, then the more power I need, the rods hoops over progressively as I need it. When I've played fish on my mates Basia rods, I noticed that the rod hooped over like a very powerful action rod as I could feel a lot of pressure under my forearm, giving me all the power of the rod straight away loosened the clutch off a lot because I was frightened of a hook pull. When my friend first started using them, he did have a lot of hook pulls until he got used to the rods. Where I'm going with this is that my friends' rods cost nearly twice as much as my rods, but I wouldn't use them as I don't like the way they handle, but my mate loves them, so everyone is different. Just because you've bought a rod for two, three or four hundred pounds doesn't mean it's far better than the person that spent £50 on a rod, it's all down to what you want the rod to do.
It's no good buying rods like mine to fish on a small water for upper double-sized carp. You could use them on there, but if I sat next to a person using, say, Daiwa Black Widow rods, they would no doubt have more fun playing the fish and could outfish me because catching carp comes down to water craft, not how expensive your gear costs. Also, It's becoming a fashion to buy more powerful rods to achieve a longer cast, but this is all okay if you can compress the rod enough on the cast.
What you need to think of when buying rods is what you're going to use them for, as it's no good buying a 2.75lb test curve hoping it's going to cast a large PVA bag 100 yards, you will most probably break the rod as the whole pva bag may weigh 6-8oz, so you need to think, would you happily cast a 6 to 8oz lead out on those rods.
Rods come in three different actions, Fast, Through and Mid-Tip action. Most of the carp rods that are on sale are Mid to Tip action as these are a happy medium, and they sit in the middle of a Fast action and Through action rods. These rods will give you a nice progressive bend from the tip of the rod down to the midsection, where you will have more power if you need it. These rods will cover most of your fishing situation, and they will cast heavier leads and PVA bags a decent distance.
If it's the distance you are going for, and you want to cast heavy leads and PVA bags a long way, you want to go for a Fast Action rod. A Fast Action rod has a powerful butt section with a whip tail tip section which will punch a lead to the horizon. Please bear in mind, though, you will only cast long distances if you are an experienced caster and know how to compress the rod to its max. The disadvantage to these rods are because they have a stiffer tip section than the other types, hook pulls can be quite common until you get used to them.
Also, to bear in mind, when you see these distance casters casting a lead well over 200 yards, that's all they are casting, a LEAD. They will have a heavy distance lead tied to a braided shock leader, to a line of around 7lb or even a thin braid. Once you add a rig, hookbait, leader, and thicker line, the distance of the cast will reduce dramatically.
If you're looking for a rod that's lovely to play a fish on and you're not bothered about fishing at range, then a Through Action Rod would be a great choice. A through-action rod will bend from butt to tip in a nice arch and make playing all-size carp fun. Even though a through-action rod can be quite soft, they can still have enough power to guide fish away from snags depending on the test curve you use. These rods are also great when fishing in the margin, and close-quarter battles as the softness of the rod helps to keep that hook firmly in place. The disadvantage of this action is they aren't the best casting rods, and if you have a big fish on them with a light test cure, they can take some controlling by the net.
CPS Tackle's Range of Carp Rods
Here at CPS Tackle, we have a wide variety of rods for all levels of carp anglers, from beginners to top-flight anglers! Have a look through our wide selection of carp fishing rods and see what catches your eye. Near enough, all of our rods come with a 12 month warranty if the rod is at fault! Please bear in mind if a rod is going to break, it will break pretty much straight away on using it, on your first big cast or playing a fish. If you've had it a few months and used it quite a bit, and then it breaks, it's more than likely your fault, or it may have been damaged somehow. The best way to deal with this is, to be honest to the shop you bought it from, and you've got more chance of resolving the problem because don't forget the shop staff have heard all the excuses.
If you have any questions or would like to talk to someone from our expert team, feel free to get in touch, and we will be more than happy to help you! To pick up a bargain, check out our sale page.