Commercial Feeder and Waggler Rods

[Nipps]

After 20 years of carp fishing and due to suffering from arthritis I am gradually leaning towards natural venues and commercials again where I can just turn up behind a peg and fish for a few short hours.
I’m looking for a feeder rod for method/ hybrid feeders and bomb fishing ( possible 2 rods) and a pellet waggler rod. Probably looking for 10-11ft rods but, due to being away from this discipline for a while and lockdown, I have been unable to have a look at any rods in person. After plenty of research it seems there are a few that stand out so seeking advice from people’s experience.

Price wise the Drennan Vertex and Guru N-Gauge seem to tick the boxes though price isn’t really a major factor. Would be happy to spend more if the rods are right. With that in mind I am being drawn towards either the Preston Supera rods or possibly the new Matrix Horizon Pro Commercial rods. The Daiwa N-Zon look interesting too but obviously it is only a feeder rod range. Thoughts please. Are they worth the extra, any other options people recommend etc? Thanks.

 

[Silverfisher]

What sort of fish will you predominantly be targeting?

 

[Nipps]

Will be mainly targeting carp mostly between 4-8lb although some of my local waters contain carp upto mid doubles. Also a couple of lakes are predominately bream, skimmers and tench although I do have rods suitable for this and they are mainly targeted using the pole anyhow. I should mention that I have fished for nearly 50 years, 20 of which were match fishing so I do have a good background. It’s just that I’m not familiar with the current range of rods having laterly been a carp angler.

 

[Mike atkinson]

11ft acolyte plus is a very nice rod

 

[Nipps]

Thanks. Have owned a few Acolyte’s albeit not the feeder rods and as you say nice rods. Could be a possible. Any feedback on the Supera’s or Horizon Pro’s anyone?

 

[Silverfisher]

Yeah if carp of that size range are your target the acolyte plus for both float and feeder of whatever lengths you’ll need for your venues should do the job well

 

[Nipps]

Thank you. I do and have owned several Drennan/ ESP rods over the years and have never had a bad one yet. Food for thought.

 

[Reuben]

The Free Spirit CTX Carp Waggler rods get good reviews. I’m thinking of giving an 11ft one a try myself.

 

[Markywhizz]

Sorry to throw in a curved ball but I wouldn’t discount Garbolino rods. I have both feeder and pellet waggler rods and they are excellent. They are all discontinued ranges and I’ve not tried the current ones but I’ve never found a bad Garbo rod yet.

 

[nejohn]

You are obviously an experienced angler and probably know what to look for in a rod that suits you and the best bit of advice is to take on board the recommendations and then get out and try the main contenders, unfortunately not so easy at the minute due to stocking levels being very low in most tackle shops.
You have already been recommended a few good rods but there is an abundance of good tackle out there from many manufacturers and sometimes going 'off piste' will throw up some real gems. So to that end I will make some more recommendations for you to consider, 1st stop for me for commercial rods would probably be the Tri-cast web site as they really do make some nice rods and in my opinion you would go a very long way to better their commercial feeder rods and the float rods are not to shabby either, also as Mark says above take a good look at Garbolino offerings the essential range is particularly good, also the Sensas Black Arrow rods are pretty good too with the 800's being very nice indeed, The Maver signature Pro's and MVR's are also very good along with the MAP parabolix and to a lesser extent the dual range, then you could also look at the Team Daiwa commercial range and if you can find any have a look at Rive rods (I have just taken delivery of an RM6 and R127 both 11ft commercial rods one quite powerful and the other with a nice soft action and less power) the Shimano aero X5 range looks pretty good but I haven't seen one yet so can't comment either way, the same goes for the cadance products they get good reviews but unless you know someone that has one you are buying blind.
I would recommend going for an 11ft float rod as it is a little more versatile than a 10ft (personally I prefer 11'6'' or 12') you can always cast short with a long rod but casting long with a short rod is much more difficult, also you tend to end up playing carp around your feet with a shorter rod which is not a problem until you are sat on a platform and for me it brings the fish a little to close to the platform legs (I have seen a few rods broken when fish have gone under the platform and the rod sort of doubles over).
which ever you choose make sure it is right for you and not just what someone else says is a great rod as to many rods find their way onto ebay as a result of buying blind.

 

[Nipps]

Thank you, some good suggestions. I have definitely considered Garbolino and particularly Tri-cast but, as you say, once I have narrowed it down I will try and go and test a few out. Was hoping to attend a few shows allowing me this opportunity but obviously that is not happening anytime soon! The problem with both of the aforementioned brands are that they are not ‘popular’ in my area (Dorset) and therefore not available to test in any of my regular shops whereas Preston, Drennan, Matrix etc. are. I know the reputation Tri-cast have for strength but would be buying blind so to speak. I’m still wishing I had my old Carbotecs and Normark’s from 20 years ago ?

 

[nejohn]

Thank you, some good suggestions. I have definitely considered Garbolino and particularly Tri-cast but, as you say, once I have narrowed it down I will try and go and test a few out. Was hoping to attend a few shows allowing me this opportunity but obviously that is not happening anytime soon! The problem with both of the aforementioned brands are that they are not ‘popular’ in my area (Dorset) and therefore not available to test in any of my regular shops whereas Preston, Drennan, Matrix etc. are. I know the reputation Tri-cast have for strength but would be buying blind so to speak. I’m still wishing I had my old Carbotecs and Normark’s from 20 years ago ?

I see your problem, I have a similar problem where I live as all of the tackle shops within about 25 mile radius are almost exclusively Drennan stockists, luckily when work is back to normal I travel with work quite a bit so can visit other tackle shops so my choice is not so limited. If you are interested in any of the Tri-cast products it is worth giving Steve Hopkinson at Tri-cast a call, he will give good advice and has been known on many occasions to either supply a rod to a shop for you to look at and has even been known to bring items to your house if he is in the area. If you don't mind a bit of travel there is a tri-cast stockist in Bristol and also I think in Basingstoke (I'm sure I have been in a shop in Basingstoke that had a good range of tri-cast kit). The feeder rods are definately worth searching out I have a couple of the older models, a 25 year old 4 x 4 which is probably the most versatile feeder rod around and a 3-4 year old XRS short method rod which is ideal for commies

 

[Nipps]

Excellent thanks, sound advice and help. Back in the 90’s I used to work in Manchester and regularly visited Vinnie Smiths Highfield Angling who stocked everything Tri-cast. I too had the 4x4, great rods. Will search out the Bristol shops so thanks. I know Bristol Angling Centre but don’t know if the stock Tri-cast but will investigate ?

 

[nejohn]

Excellent thanks, sound advice and help. Back in the 90’s I used to work in Manchester and regularly visited Vinnie Smiths Highfield Angling who stocked everything Tri-cast. I too had the 4x4, great rods. Will search out the Bristol shops so thanks. I know Bristol Angling Centre but don’t know if the stock Tri-cast but will investigate ?

Don't know how upto date this is but you could contact Steve Hopkinson for more upto date info

Tri-Cast Fishing - Stockists

 

[Sam Vimes]

No recommendation from me, I don't fish commies, but the prices are keen enough to be interesting.

Daiwa Commercial Match/Feeder rods at Hull Angling Centre.

 

[trotter2]

The 11ft acolyte carp is a joy to use, not to powerful to find silvers enjoyable either.

 

[nejohn]

No recommendation from me, I don't fish commies, but the prices are keen enough to be interesting.

Daiwa Commercial Match/Feeder rods at Hull Angling Centre.

They are very good rods, I took a punt on the 11'6'' waggler rod and it is quite nice and yes you are right at those prices they are a definate bargain and certainly as good as any other £170 rod, I bought mine from their ebay shop for £55 but they don't appear to be on ebay anymore

 

[Nipps]

Excellent advise and help everyone.

 

[Nipps]

No recommendation from me, I don't fish commies, but the prices are keen enough to be interesting.

Daiwa Commercial Match/Feeder rods at Hull Angling Centre.

These look spot on for what I need. However, went to order a couple and it seems you can’t. Header says the shop is closed for mail order due to Covid although Facebook suggests the shop is now open! Not sure what is going on but it is disappointing as would definitely of bought some

 

[nejohn]

These look spot on for what I need. However, went to order a couple and it seems you can’t. Header says the shop is closed for mail order due to Covid although Facebook suggests the shop is now open! Not sure what is going on but it is disappointing as would definitely of bought some

I bought one on their ebay shop while that header was on and it was delivered in a couple of days, I would check ebay or try giving them a ring as they were open and doing deliveries last week and the Web site was showing that header