The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

The 'Dorset' I did some work on over 3 years ago now (where does time go ???) was 12ft. 1in., though I always referred to it as a 12ft. version. It was unusual as it came with a short tip which made it a 10ft. ledger rod. It had belonged to an angler who had passed away, whose niece told me that her Uncle had used it for barbel fishing.

See this thread :- viewtopic.php?f=197&t=9439&hilit=Dorset

(ps ... There's an 11ft. version too.)

One of the nicest rods I ever had was an Aspindale Suredale that should have been 12 foot and wasn't...it had lost 9 inches from the tip but felt so much lighter than the rod of the correct length that I also had.

At 11'3" it felt just right.....perhaps no coincidence that that's the exact length of a B.James Avocet

Now I made the tip section thin again by re-planing the top eighteen inches but you could do it properly if you wanted with a new tip...it all depends on whether you want to be original or really want a 12 foot rod in cane.

AshbyCut wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2017 7:25 pm

(ps ... There's an 11ft. version too.)

There,s a 10ft 6in version as well. Early model with all script writing.. sections 43in/43in/42in

I am not sure where to post this as I was looking to find a bit about an FTW Dorset rod that I picked up at a boot sale last week. It appears to be a 10ft 6inch version with the name written as a script. I will try and post some pictures later if any one is interested. It requires a refurb as the tip ring is broken and the rings are lightly rusted. I also noticed a binding on the bottom of the top joint. It looks like a delamination rather than a break

I have just unpacked my FT Williams 'Dorset de luxe' and first thing I did after seeing this thread last night, was measure the rod. Each section is 49 inches, so I'm guessing it's probably about 12ft 1 inch. I don't think I have a tape long enough to measure the rod as a whole.

Thanks
BB

It's a heavy, unbalanced rod at 12 ft.
Do you really need it to be 12 ft long?
Shortening it to11 ft with an extended handle totally transforms it. A super barbel rod and underrated in my humble opinion.