Synonymous with that master tackle builder B. James, the Avocet is, for many, the perfect all round river rod. Typically eleven feet in length, the rod has a lovely through action that can tame big chub and barbel, and though a little stiff, is still soft enough to contend with the headshakes of perch and the twists of grayling.
Three sectioned, the top and middle are split cane, but on some the butt section is whole, meaning the rod is lighter in weight and far easier to wield on a river where it spends so much time in the hand. Bernard Venables (see People we Like) was a famous Avocet advocate, (though he would more often reach for a softer actioned Craftversa) and though the B. James models are thin on the ground, a handful of modern rod builders will match the specification.