{"id":219,"date":"2008-04-26T10:00:52","date_gmt":"2008-04-26T09:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/?p=219"},"modified":"2013-11-30T09:12:31","modified_gmt":"2013-11-30T08:12:31","slug":"rod-support-systems-pros-cons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/rod-support-systems-pros-cons\/","title":{"rendered":"Carp rod support systems &#8211; the pros &#038; cons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While writing the recent post on carp fishing tackle Icons, I touched on the fact that a battery of parallel rods has become synonymous with carp angling over the years. I got to think about modern carp fishing rod support systems and their pros and cons. A practical, efficient and stable system is essential for good bite indication and thus to catching more fish. \u00a0In days gone by as a boy my advanced rod support system was the bank itself. When I got a run I\u2019d have to grab the rod as it shot down the canal tow path and before it ended up in the drink. Things have moved on since then\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Banks Stick<\/strong><strong>s:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">For years Bank Sticks were the only game in town. I used the first Gardner Tackle version that were available in the 70\u2019s and 80\u2019s right up to my current set of Solar Stainless steel sticks.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/solar_bankstick-vwd1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright alignnone size-medium wp-image-221\" style=\"float: right; margin: 5px;\" title=\"solar_bankstick-vwd1\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/solar_bankstick-vwd1-94x300.jpg\" width=\"94\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Pros:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They are totally stable if you can get them in the ground.<\/li>\n<li>You can point them directly at where you are fishing and thus have more efficient bite indication.<\/li>\n<li>They are relatively cheap and compact to carry to the lake. Mine fit in a Fishrite Buzzer pouch with my buzzers and hangers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Cons:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>As I pointed out in the first point above, you have to be able to get them in the ground. If the ground on your peg is hard or made of concrete (as on some canals and rivers) you can\u2019t use a bank stick easily. Sometimes a small mallet can cure this problem but not always especially in summer when the sun has baked the ground solid.<\/li>\n<li>You do have to buy six or eight of them, depending on the number of rods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-17425\" alt=\"Carp buzz bars\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-buzz-bars-300x300.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-buzz-bars-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-buzz-bars-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-buzz-bars-24x24.jpg 24w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-buzz-bars-48x48.jpg 48w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-buzz-bars-96x96.jpg 96w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-buzz-bars.jpg 336w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Buzz Bars:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">An invention that I first started using in the 80\u2019s and allows you to have two or three rods on a single bank stick. The buzzers are screwed in and usually left permanently in place, and a central screw thread allows you to attach them to the bank sticks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Pros:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keeps your buzzers and visual indicators permanently ready for quick and easy use on arrival at the swim.<\/li>\n<li>Rods are set at equal distances and look pretty cool like that\u2026(Who mentioned Tackle Tarts\u2026????)<\/li>\n<li>Cuts down on the number of bank sticks you need to buy and carry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Cons:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Similar problem to the individual sticks, you have to have a bank side soft enough to allow their use.<\/li>\n<li>The system in not particularly steady if you don\u2019t plant your sticks firmly in the ground\u2026<\/li>\n<li>Often when one rod gets a take it makes the whole set up wobble, setting off all your alarms.<\/li>\n<li>These buzz bars also have a habit of rotating and dumping all your rods on the floor. Various devices were invented to prevent the bank sticks from turning but were not always very effective.<\/li>\n<li>You can\u2019t point your rods where you are fishing, which causes angles in the line and depending on this angle can affect the efficiency of your bite indication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-17428\" alt=\"Carp snag bar set up\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-snag-bar-set-up-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-snag-bar-set-up-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-snag-bar-set-up-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-snag-bar-set-up.jpg 336w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Snag or Stake out bars:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">A Buzz bars system with screw thread at each extremity allowing you to attach a pair of bank sticks thus giving a far more steady set up. This system is a great improvement on the centrally screwed threaded buzz bares, and is one I still use occasionally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Pros:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>As I said this gives you a very steady set up and the double bank sticks means they can\u2019t rotate.<\/li>\n<li>Their inherent steadiness pretty much eliminates the wobble that sets off you alarms together.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Cons:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Well once again you still have to have a bank soft enough to get the sticks in. The harder this job is, the harder it becomes to set them up properly. Getting the system parallel back and front can be awkward.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-17426\" alt=\"Carp rod pod\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/Carp-rod-pod1-300x267.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"267\" \/>Rod Pods: <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The rod pod was I believe invested by Gardner Tackle. The first ones were crude affairs, but since then there have been a huge array of weird and wonderful pods. There are some excellent ones and some frankly atrocious contraptions. I\u2019ll admit here I don\u2019t like pods, but often the are a necessary evil, so I do carry one to a venue where I can\u2019t use my bank sticks. The better designs like the Fox X Pods etc. now use a snag bars set up with a cross shaped central support. These give useful and versatile set ups and would be my choice if I had to get a new pod today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Pros:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Quick and easy to use, they hold all your rods together on a hard surface where planting a bank stick is not possible. I\u2019ve often fished the Seine where the banks are concrete at the edge and it\u2019s impossible without a pod.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Cons:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The early ones had problems with the buzz bars turning. Various companies like Solar have devised version that prevent this.<\/li>\n<li>All your rods have to be parallel, which as I have said already is not the ideal way to set them up. I prefer pointing my rod where it\u2019s fishing.<\/li>\n<li>Once again with a violent take the whole pod wobbles and sets off all the alarms.<\/li>\n<li>Some are less than stable with three rods on and I\u2019ve seen a few go over. They can be pinned down with tent pegs though.<\/li>\n<li>The better ones are costly items a Solar Globetrotter for example costs well over \u00a3200.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Tripod system Rod Pods:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Anyone who has fished in France will have seen these massive stainless tripod contraptions, set up two feet of so off the ground. If ever there was a useless and expensive waste of money this is it. They have to be the most hideous invention in carp angling. I\u2019ve always found carping kind of hip and cool\u2026 paired rods, matt black, camo, carbon fibre etc are all nifty parts of it\u2026 but these aberrations just kill things stone dead.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/2045_0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright alignnone size-medium wp-image-220\" style=\"float: right; margin: 5px;\" title=\"2045_0\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2008\/04\/2045_0.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Pros:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Well I guess they do get over the problem of hard or concrete banks. (that\u2019s about the only pro I can think of!!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Cons:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Well tripods are not very stable at the best of times. Add to this a three or more often four buzz bars set up, two feet of the ground and you\u2019re asking for trouble. I\u2019ve seen these somersault on more than one occasion when the angler gets a fast and violent take.<\/li>\n<li>They are pig ugly<\/li>\n<li>They are also big heavy and awkward to carry. The bags they come in are huge.<\/li>\n<li>Most resemble Meccano kits to set up with so many pieces.<\/li>\n<li>They cost a fortune, the bigger ones costing over \u00a3400. Now you can get a lot of bank sticks for this amount of money, or a lot of gear that will actually catch you some fish.<\/li>\n<li>Oh and did I mention how ugly they are???<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While writing the recent post on carp fishing tackle Icons, I touched on the fact that a battery of parallel rods has become synonymous with carp angling over the years. I got to think about modern carp fishing rod support systems and their pros and cons. A practical, efficient and stable system is essential for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[890],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carp-tackle"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}