BIG WATERS Longer float rods are good for tackling larger venues, such as the River Trent in this instance, where a 14-footer provides that vital extra reach to help mend the line when trotting a stick float at distance. This type of rod works well in deeper stillwaters too, especially when launching big wagglers and […]
Tag Archives: Dave Coster
18
Nov
Nov
VERSATILE RODS A 12ft quivertip rod covers lots of water, comfortably dealing with casting distances from 30 to 60 metres. Any shorter and 10ft bomb design takes over, while for further out a longer 13-footer can come into play. The new Thomas Turner 12ft Classic+ Quivertip is often the first rod out of my holdall […]
Dave Coster's feature articles, Thomas Turner blog, Thomas Turner Classic+ blogs
A DIFFERENT KIND OF AVON
18
Oct
Oct
THE BEGINNINGS When I first met John Bailey we were working on Hardy Marksman rods and I remember he was particularly passionate about Avon designs, which he uses a lot, particularly on his favourite River Wye. Many years later I joined John on the Wye near Hereford at the famous Red Lion Hotel. The plan […]
Dave Coster's feature articles, Thomas Turner blog, Thomas Turner Classic+ blogs
THE ENDURING MAGIC OF A 13ft FLOAT ROD
06
Oct
Oct
EVOLUTION My first proper float rod was a 13ft Hardy Matchmaker. It had a brown finish, orange whippings, metal line guides, old style aluminium reel collars, and was made from fibreglass. The blank was heavy by modern standards, but at the time it was state of the art for a budding young angler. It went […]
25
May
May
NOT QUITE GOLDEN OLDIES You might be surprised to hear that iconic rods from the seventies, eighties and nineties are becoming popular again, especially after the pandemic brought many people back into coarse fishing. Thomas Turner sees huge demand for the Hardy Marksmans I was involved with developing only a decade ago, but perhaps because […]
18
May
May
THE GREYS FACTOR During my days as Product Development Manager at Hardy and Greys, apart from the second coming of Marksman Supero rods, I was also involved in a massive launch of Greys Prodigy gear. This included everything from rods and reels, to floats and line. I got all those involved out on the bank […]
28
Apr
Apr
FROM ESSEX TO ALNWICK I began working for Hardy and Greys while living in Essex. One of my favourite haunts at the time was Gloucester Park Lake in Basildon. Mick Toomer ran regular matches there throughout the winter and the roach fishing was superb. This massive haul of red fins even beat the carpers. Only […]