Good morning from a wintery Foxford. Frost overnight and showers of hail now, the first cold snap of winter. Not looking great for any fishing this weekend. We managed two short sessions last weekend  but still remain no threat to pike stocks!. I am getting some good feedback on the Friday blog and actually had a visit from an angler who said he reads it every week and finds it enjoyable. We had a brief chat about Hill loughs and the benefit a “hike to solitude” is to ones mental health.

This evening at 7pm we will go live on Facebook to draw the winner of our like and share competition. You still have time to get your name in the hat, entries close at 5pm. Follow this link and like and share https://www.facebook.com/tiernanbros.foxford/photos/a.847545105320706/4581936668548179 . Your name will then be matched with a number in the draw for a Tiernan Brothers “Moy All Rounder” 11 foot spin/bait rod

On a daily basis throughout the season we are asked to suggest or recommend fishing rods. People have come trust that we know what we are talking about and that we will give good honest advice. Here’s a little piece about rods in general and how we came to have our own Moy All Rounder

My first rod was a one piece fiberglass rod given to me by my uncle Paddy. It was about six feet long, a transparent green colour with a short cork handle, sliding reel seat and steel guides. I was no more than four but I can still remember him handing it to me. I can’t remember why but I was in the shop with him. He was talking to customer in the shop and I was obviously getting under his feet. He handed me the rod and said something on the lines of “now that’s your rod”. It served me well to learn and was adequate. The next rod I remember owning was a blue two piece solid fiberglass rod which was about eight foot long. Looking back now it was heavy and just not long enough to be ideal but it did the trick and I fished with it for many years. I have gone through many rods since, some broken and some just retired but most of them now lying in the attic collecting dust. I sometimes look at them and wonder why did I at some point consider these to be good rods and now I wouldn’t fish with them.

The main reason is that as time went by rods improved. These improvements were largely to do with the materials the rods are built with. From Greenheart to fiberglass and on to carbon and graphite, rods have become lighter, thinner and stronger. Computer aided design and a degree of science has led to the development of rods with controlled tapers, test curves and guides that aid casting and reduce tangles. Have a look at one of your old rods and compare it to something from 2020.

While our perception of what is a good product has a lot to do with where we are in life and what we can afford there are some characteristics in a Good fishing rod that will always be the same. Its finding the rod with the most of these within our budget that is the challenge.

Weight: Weight of the rod is an important factor especially if we intend to fish for long periods or like me you have shoulder issues. Modern graphite is going to be lighter than fiberglass

Strength: When we speak about the strength of the rod we are referring to its ability to cast the weights we want and play the fish we hope to catch. Again modern graphite is extremely strong and even rods with slim blanks and fine tips are very capable of doing what they are designed for. Most rods are broken by misuse

Length: Largely a personal thing but there is definitely optimum lengths for different methods and styles of fishing. On the river Moy the most popular length of bait/spinning  rod for salmon fishing is 11 foot (3.3m).

Flexibility: The whole angling experience from casting to playing the fish depends on the flexibility of the rod. We have all heard the term “it feels like a poker” meaning the rod is very stiff with no feeling or sensitivity.

Backbone: The power needed to maintain control, a critical factor in successfully landing our catch.

Cosmetics: Not a huge concern to everyone but none the less it’s nice to have a rod that looks good. The whippings should have a nice finish and the reel seat and handle should be comfortable in the hand.

Feel: The feel of a rod is an indescribable gut instinct that every angler who has wiggled a rod in a shop understands. If it doesn’t feel right it’s not for you.

Components: Of all the parts of a rod the guides are the most important. High quality guides are essential both as an aid to casting and line protection.

The River Moy All Rounder

There are many rods on the market made by several different manufacturers. Some are good and some not so good. From what I can see it either goes right at design stage or it goes wrong. The ones that go right are designed by people who know what they are talking about, experienced anglers. It’s a sad fact that most of the old trusted brands are now owned by large corporations who are only motivated by money.

I can honestly say that in our time as anglers, guides and tackle dealers. We have handled hundreds of different rods, spoken to thousands of anglers and fished with some of the best anglers there are. Having taken all the knowledge we gained from this, four years ago we set about designing our own rod. We worked closely with one of the top rod designers and manufactures in the world to come up with a rod that we think is equal to any multipurpose salmon rod on the market. The Moy All-rounder is our baby and is proving to be popular with lots of anglers who are now using them on a regular basis. It has been put through its paces on the Moy and at this stage we have sold them to anglers in every corner of Ireland. They have been used in the U.K , Norway, France, Sweeden and Denmark and all with positive feedback.

Available in 3 or 4 piece it comes in a tough cordura tube (Although  An-Post  managed to crush one)

Features

Sea guide Hero Hi Grade guides

IM12 Graphite

Slim Full Cork Handle

Warm feel reel seat

Affordable Price.

Buy Yours today  https://themoy.com/product/river-moy-salmon-all-rounder/