Chris Yates’s № 1 Bishop MK II 11’ 2-piece carp rod.
aka The Pope Joan. Built in 1996. SOLD.
£3,500.00
The MK I Bishop was designed with traditional carp fishing in mind and named after the fifty one pound carp Chris caught from Redmire Pool. The MK II version came about when Chris fished the Jade Lake, a large water containing some enormous and very strong carp. Staying with the ecclesiastical theme, we called this rod the Pope Joan, after the mythical 9th century lady Pope. From 1996, it was Chris’s regular carp rod. He landed good numbers of impressive fish with it, culminating in a catch of three twenty pound plus Leney carp in one day using floating baits.
You will come across Chris using the Pope Joan in the following places:
– The Rod Hutchinson & Chris Yates Legacy, on page 417.
– The Compleat Angler video with Geoffrey Palmer and Rae Borras.
– Hugh Miles’s DVD Caught in Time.
– The Hunter’s Moon video with Martin Bowler.
The rod remains straight and true and it has the attractive patina of honest use. The cork handle is, understandably, somewhat soiled but the cork itself, the finest grade available, is sound.
It has its original cloth bag and it comes with a letter of provenance from Chris, written on Golden Scale Club headed paper.
Specification.
Hand-made split cane blank built to a tolerance of +/- one thousandth of an inch from the best flame tempered and straightened Tonkin bamboo.
Snug fitting nickel silver waterproof splint-end suction ferrule with its hand turned Poplar wood & cork stopper.
Hard chrome plated stainless steel bridge rings throughout. A hook keeper ring is whipped on above the Indian ink inscription.
Pearsall’s bottle green whippings with fine cane coloured graduated intermediate whippings.
A hand applied marine grade varnish finish.
The initials CY are inscribed in black Indian ink on the split cane on both sections close to the ferrule whippings.
Flor grade 26” cork handle with an elongated onion shaped top and finely knurled nickel silver reel bands and butt cap.
Test curve: 2 pounds. Reel lines: 8 -12 pounds breaking strain. Casting weights: 1½ ounce +.