24 Carrot Fishing Rods Win Best of the Show at ICAST 2007

24 Carrot Fishing Rods Win Best of the Show at ICAST 2007

The carrot and stick has long been the way to make things happen in this world. Two Scottish scientist have taken this ancient philosophy a quantum step forward by developing a material from carrots called Curran, which can be used to build fishing rods. The rods are sold under the name 'Just Cast' and are available in shops now. Carrots

There's no need to check the date, I did that and I haven't had a Rip Van Winkle event and slept through to April Fools day nor have you. This is real cookie science from a couple of scientists, Dr David Hepworth and Dr Eric Whale, working from their base in Burntisland in the Kingdom of Fife. Over the last five years they have invented a process that takes carrots and reduces them to nanoparticles which are combined with resins to produce a revolutionary product called Curran that could rocket Cellucomp to the top of the tree in new technology materials. The carrot composite has a diversity of applications from rod making and the production of golf clubs designed to reduce tendonitis to use as a building material and in the construction of warships, in short, anything carbon fibre can do.

For those of you who might be sceptical that Bugs Bunny's favourite snack might become your next treasured and revered fishing rod here are some facts. The rods are made up of 50% Curran over a core of carbon fibre. The resultant combination ensures that rods made with Curran are lighter than their pure graphite counterparts and are as strong as fibre glass, more able to take a good bend because of the capacity of Curran to stretch. Many anglers will know to their cost how easily carbon rods can break, which is something you do not want to happen when you are playing the fish of a life time. Curran combines strength and lightness which is what you want when you are tangling with quality, hard fighting game fish.

The stiffness of Curran and the computer designed profiles of the blanks also improves casting performance with fly rods, which proves positive that your mum was right - carrots are good for you. Curran has a dampening effect on the rod tip when used in fly rods, this effect reduces tip vibration. As we have all observed, when the rod vibrates during casting the can line rattle off the rod rings and the rod itself during the delivery stroke, increasing frictional resistance to the passage of the line. With its dampening effect reducing vibration at the tip of the rod Curran makes it easier to shoot line which is bound to improve not only the distance you cast for the same effort used with a graphite rod, it must improve the accuracy and presentation of the fly.

The environmental impact of using Curran rather than carbon fibre has to be considered too and there Curran is more than one up on graphite. This development has far reaching implications for root vegetables for it will be possible to use turnips and parsnips in the same way as the carrots are being used to produce Curran. Root veg are a totally renewable resource, unlike oil, which is used to produce carbon for carbon fibre and carrots use up as much atmospheric carbon whilst growing as they would produce if the rod were destroyed by fire. A null environmental impact give or take the peripherals such as manufacturing and distribution. Just plant a seed, let it grow and harvest it, year after year after year. Carrots at 69p per kilo in Tescos used to produce a material similar to carbon fibre that can be used to build fishing rods, wow!. Two kilos of carrots makes one fishing rod and a 5m row produces 6kgs of carrots or 1 fishing rod per 1.6666 metre of growing space, a lot of fishing rods from an average sized field! Now that has to be good news for the environment given the dwindling oil supplies, pollution and potential for WWIII associated with the politics attached to oil. There's no drilling, no flare offs, no major construction projects being driven through environmentally sensitive terrain, no Torry Canyon or Exon Valdiz disasters caused just to give you a fishing rod. Pity Cellucomp can't get cars to run on carrots, for as we all no, no one has a monopoly on carrots.

Curran Rods voted Best in Show in the USA at the ICAST Covention.

Just Cast rods are now available in the UK however Cellucomp has entered into an arrangement with the Element 21 Golf Company in the USA who have branched out to produce fishing rods. Ken Whiting of E21 Fishing has adapted some of his designs for fishing rods to produce a range of rods for both fresh and salt water. At the American Sportsfish Association 50th annual convention, ICAST (International Convention of Allied Sportsfish Trade), the E21 Fishing rods scored major brownie points taking Best of Show for their E21 Carrot Stix and the E21 Fusion surf fishing rod won best salt water rod. That is quite a performance in the face of very stiff international competition.

Rods manufactured from Curran will cost about the same as their carbon fibre counterpart but the scientists recon that the cost will come down once they are able to scale up the manufacturing process. I can't wait to try one out, the powers that be may even have to change the rod rating system from ATFM to 24 Carrot in due course! If these rods do what they say on the label I just wonder what a 15 footer would be like for Spey Casting.

Now on Sale

The revolutionary new Just Cast Curran rods are now on sale through FMTC at £325 for the 7'6" #3; £350 for the 9' #5; £375 for the 10' #6/7 and £375 for the #8/9

ROD FEATURES:

Mid – Tip action rod but very powerful – distance casting is achieved with ease as is casting into the wind.
The rod blanks behave in a very unusual way with super fast dampening allowing the rod blank to settle almost immediately after casting.
Rod Blanks – Lighter stronger materials allows the rods to have thicker walls giving more strength and protection to everyday knocks
Rod eyes – Large chrome single leg rings hold the lines away from the rod blank and allow faster line speed with less friction
The handle is made with the finest cork and features a wood (yew) insert with pewter style fittings and a removable fighting butt to allow more control on larger fish

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