Fishing Rods

The term ‘angling’ came from Medieval England, where early fishing rods were known as ‘angles’. Today’s fishing rods are considerably more sophisticated than the ones used in those days of yore, as you might expect, and they come in a dizzying array of varieties. John Norris supplies a huge swathe of different fishing rods, from the relatively basic to the ultra-sophisticated.

An especially striking collection of fishing rods is manufactured by Orvis in its Helios range, all six of which are available from John Norris for between £599 and £629. Helios was the name given by the ancient Greeks to a handsome god who wore the sun as his crown and drove his chariot across the sky every day. NASA adopted the name for a unique lightweight wing, and now Orvis is pinning it to its state-of-the art fishing rods, which it proudly claims are the lightest fly rods in the industry.

Starting at 8ft 6inches and rising to a respectable 10 feet, the Helios series is not only the lightest set of rods ever manufactured by Orvis; surprisingly, they also happen to be the strongest the company has ever produced, too. This is largely due to the high-temperature thermoplastic resins used in their construction, which are lighter and stronger than the epoxy resins used in traditional fly rod construction. It’s a technical innovation which enables the rod to hold its shape better during bending and return to straight more swiftly. With the steeply tapered design, this affords them an amazingly snappy blank recovery, as swift as it is crisp, right through to the butt for superb casting control at both short and long ranges. The recoil guides use memory metal and the rod has nano-light rings which are 45% stronger than ceramic. This rod is so light that it makes many other comparable fishing rods feel like unwieldy broomsticks by comparison. It’s an angling delight, pure and simple.

Beginners, though, might be better advised to build up some experience before investing in a rod like this. For the novice, an excellent fishing rod comes in the form of the Greys G Series Multi Bait Rod, also available from John Norris at £59.99. Designed to be a consummate all-rounder, this fishing rod has a well-balanced, light ‘though action’ making it ideal for light spinning baits, bread flakes or worms. It comes with a double-lined butt ring and single-leg lined intermediates and has a medium action to cover a broad range of fishing techniques. A superb rod for the rambling bait angler on holiday!