Pete M

I've been looking for a short pellet waggler rod to use on commercials, and had this rod reccomended to me by Dave Brittain, a Shakespeare sponsored angler who had a hand in the development of the rod, so I asked my local tackle shop if they could get one in for me to have a look at.

It's a dark ultra slim blank that's rung with 14 genuine Fuji Alconite guides, all single legged apart from the 1st. Whippings are an understated dark colour finished with a gold tip. The butt is pleasantly short ending at my elbow, part cork, part duplon with a decent screw reel fitting with gold collars.
The whole lot comes in a decent cloth rod bag with 2 neoprene rod bands and a nicely padded ready rod sleeve allowing you to keep the rod set up.
I've teamed it with a Daiwa Capricorn 2000 series reel which seems to balance perfectly with the rod. It states on the rod that the maximum line rating is 6lbs which indicates to me that there some pretty serious reserves of power,
The Price??? From my local tackle shop, with all the peace of mind that goes with it............ £70 .
For a rod of this quality, I just don't know how they do it.

I decided to give its 1st outing on a match at Rolf's. I must admit that I had my doubts about whether the rod would be suitable for Rolf's given the size of fish present, but was so keen to try it out that I took it anyway as I felt that if it could handle the fish at Rolf's it would probably handle anything that I could throw at it. As a concession to the venue the reel was loaded up with 0·20/5lbs Ultima PowerPlus, a bit heavier than I would normally use for the pellet wag, but the rod does state that it will take lines up to 6lbs.

My 1st fish was one of Rolf's superfit Commons that gave the rod a great work-out, trying to find the sanctuary of the lilies on peg 34. The action is unbelievable!!!! it just keeps on bending without a hint of a flat spot or feeling that the blank would lock up. I felt that there was a surprising reserve of power available and at no time did I feel that there were any concerns that the rod wasn't up to it. The shorter length definitely made it easier to net and on the scales it weighed 14½lbs. I also had a couple of 6lb'ers that gave it a more gentle work-out.
I've since used it at Monk Lakes and had a lovely day catching carp in the 3-5lb range and Barbel to 3lb without a single hook pull.

I think it's a smashing little rod, in fact I can see myself using this rod again and again because it just feels so right.

If you're in the market for a rod like this, have a look at one before you leap in for anything else.

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MattMatchMan

£70 for it ?

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Pete M

Yes, £70 I've supported my local tackle shop for over 30 years. I get a minimum of 10% discount on all my purchases as a matter of course and they're happy to compete with the internet boys when they can.
The service they've provided over the years however is worth more than any extra few pounds that I might save using the net.

They have even on occaision dropped bait round to my house after hours if I haven't been able to get there before they shut on a Friday.

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MattMatchMan

lucky sod

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