The birth of 'Carpathia'

[Beresford]

Very much looking forward to reports of your field testing.

[Northern Eel]

Now I need another rod

Grrrr

Looks stunning.

[AndyB]

Superb, it looks stunning.

[Barbulus]

That is the second beautiful rod I have seen this morning on the Forum. First "Chance" and now AD and SK. The rod looks stunning. A great collaboration. It has made me realise that the shape of the cork handle is an important aesthetic too. I feel I should change mine now ! Thanks for sharing the project Stu.

[Wallys-Cast]

Absolutely stunning. Well done the pair of you. Looking forward to hearing of its adventures..
Wal.

[Hamburger]

Stunning workmanship and very interesting project. When and where do you think you will christen it? Looking very much forward to your full report, SK!
Kind regards,
Jake

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Stunning workmanship and very interesting project. When and where do you think you will christen it? Looking very much forward to your full report, SK!
Kind regards,
Jake

Jake, interesting question.

As soon as I have this rod in my hand I'll be in search for carp. Carp on my local stalking waters, commercial carp in and around the area too, but mostly mobile stalking type carping. This will all lead ultimately to 5 days stalking at Ashmead early September, with the possibility of what could potentially be the biggest UK carp caught on cane swimming around in front of me. Now there's food for thought.

[Nobby]

You know if you were to have shown me those images without me already knowing about Carpathia, I would have said "Andrew Davis??" I'm not sure if its the colour of the cane, the perfect cork, the whipping or what, but Andrew has certainly developed a 'look' that is all his.

Tell us more about the design of the rod SK? stiff butt? through action?? compound taper???

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Yes to a stiff butt Nobby, enough reserve power to stop carp reaching danger such as snags and other underwater obstacles, yet forgiving in the tip section to eradicate hook pulls and to allow casting of softer baits such as meat or soaked mixers. The idea is for this to be the ultimate cane carp rod, to cover all bases. From casting to an island 40 yards away with a ledger rig, to chucking a lump of crust towards sunken tree to creeping up on leviathan whilst stalking the margins. Go carping, grab Carpathia. I'd say it's designed for carp from double figures upwards. The Mark IV is a great rod, but Carpathia takes on and deals with any of its shortcomings. I think the power distribution combined with the extra length will put the angler in total control when playing carp.

[James]

Thank you all for you comments. Nobby the taper is compound, There were various elements i was looking for in a 11 foot carp rod .
When comparing it to a mkiv i was wanting a little more power and an ability to control larger fish and strike more efficiently when fishing a long line. Therefore the action in the rod is mainly the first 3/4, it has tc of 1 3/4 with a reserve of power in the butt. There is a small amount of hollow work on the butt section ,the problem with long carp rods is because of the thickness of the bamboo they can often feel a bit heavy and lifeless and i do like cane rods to have a little finesse so i haven't made it to powerful. I am looking forward to here how the Kid gets on with it ,i am sure its going to tame those large carp with style.

Stuart's description is much better than mine. A J Davis