Your favourite fishing brand, And why?

[derwentboy]

I'm not sure if I have a brand favourite but I am slowly becoming a real fan of anything TriCast that I pick up. I've 2 of the landing net poles now, a Trilogy XS 8M whip and a 4x4 feeder rod. Nothing but utter quality and built to last. I have to say I like the fact that they are British built and I can get spares. I'm no expert and can't compare them to much else really but have total confidence in them. They don't seem to push or market themselves massively via youtube but seem to rely on the quality of the products themselves. I must be getting old but sometimes I get sick of yet more of the latest plastic packaged products lining the shelves made of yet more plastic...and often not built to last.

 

[Cobweb]

Bit of a mixed bag for me too. Rod wise I've Browning, Drennan, Daiwa, Preston, and Shimano. The Preston and Browning Rods are the more recent additions. Had a lot of fun with Drennan's red range, one of which I still have and still fishes well.

Reelwise I am using more Browning now particularly for feeder work, but I still use my Shimano and Daiwa reels which, for me, were my go to reels for years

I really ought to expand on my earlier statement by saying that each rod I have now is one that I selected for a particular purpose, and to complement my existing stuff. From a personal viewpoint, while I like Drennan's Acolyte rods, I echo Halton Dangler's comment about a bit of squeakyness under pressure on the Plus feeder that I have. Works fine but the groaning worries me slightly. No groaning from the Sphere rods

 

[crackatoa]

For Poles, Rods, even landing net handles it has to be Tri-Cast. Their new 980 top end pole is amazingly good and probably £1000 cheaper than other top end poles.
For other gear It's a mixed bunch. Daiwa or Shimano for reels. Matrix box. As for terminal, the Guru gear is good and quite innovative.
Then of course there is Drennan who cover all price ranges and just don't seem to make any bad gear at all.

 

[Deleted member 24128]

Price to quality ratio is important to me and I tend to buy the best for my needs at the price I can afford and that means much of my gear is Drennan. Their stuff is well considered and well made and the price is reasonable. I also like the way it looks for the most part. All my luggage is Drennan and I have 3 of their rods. I like their floats and other terminal tackle and I also use many of their hooks but I have started using more Guru hooks these days. However, I won't touch Drennan reels. All my reels are Daiwa and I have some Guru stuff like hooklength cases, feeder box and rod rests. I'm not a brand fanatic, I will buy what I see as the best but I am brand loyal in that if I feel they keep doing it right and fulfil my needs I will keep giving them money. The moment they fail to meet my needs I move on.

 

[nico12]

My main favourite brand is definitely Sensas. There aren't many 'bad' brands out there these days I guess. Sensas gear quite hard to get hold of locally ( Notts) though in any volume.
Poles - Garbolino, Middy ( underrated pole)
Seatbox - Sensas & a Fox (Matrix MSB)
Rods - Sensas x 3 but also Preston / Shimano
Luggage - All Sensas
Clothing - Sensas
Baits - Sensas in the main
Terminal Tackle - Drennan, Guru, Korum

I do have a retro love of old decent Shakespeare kit - The Mach Range / Superteam ( I have two Superteam Power Poles 16m - Still holds its own)

 

[nico12]

Avanti. Need I say more?

In fairness I bought a Pole Roller that looked very much like the Preston Flat Version a few years ago as 'back up' and I use it all the time. never let me down, smooth and light. Poles were shocking mind

 

[Scribe]

A fair mixture for me depending on what discipline many have been suggestions from MD that have used the kit and either posted a Tackle Review or by a personal recommendation.

Pole - Daiwa Whisker XLS Wont be changing upgrading it anytime soon.
Holdall & Top Kit case - Drennan holdall came with the pole - top kit case fits in the holdall.
Float / Feeder Rods - Cadence all the way - 14 Ft for stick float 13 Ft Waggler 10 Ft Feeder & 10 Ft Wand.
Reels - Daiwa TDM, Ninja & Cadence 4000, Shimano Baitrunners.
Seatbox/Trolley Matrix S36 hefty but solid and comfortable

Has been Korum all the way for Barbel kit both by recommendation and suitability / price.

One of the best bits of luggage I own is my father in law's Army Bergen Rucksack that was his when he served,

It has been through a mixture of trial and error, when it comes to kit, fortunately the vast majority of the above I have tried and has suited me and some just didn't.

 

[NoCarpPlease]

struggling to think of a brand I don't use! at least from the match fishing/general coarse POV. Actually - I don't think I have anything Middy!

combination of what's available in the shop and what is tried and tested.

From the one time I was sponsored - I still have and use plenty of Image floats.

 

[Maverick]

Daiwa Rods, Shimano Reels, Drennan Cattys, Guru/Preston Hooks and feeders. Preston Feeder arms side trays etc. And best of all my home made side box tray

 

[Zerkalo]

A few people mentioning Sonubaits and I have to agree I find myself using their groundbait quite a bit, it's functional. But their Barbel Hookbaits are my favourite. In the blurb it states 'works well in even murky or flood water' and it's true. They are the same colour as a sandy river bed so not a visual bait, don't smell that much, but I think are made with good oils that leak out and just seem to attract fish!

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

Not sure if sarcasm, But I had an Avanti Feeder Rod... Solid piece of kit and it was something stupid like £12.99!

On the other hand, I have 2 Avanti Float Rods.. Just heavy, clunky and cheap.

Not sarcasm but self mockery. I thought most MDrs know me to be the forum Scrooge.

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

In fairness I bought a Pole Roller that looked very much like the Preston Flat Version a few years ago as 'back up' and I use it all the time. never let me down, smooth and light. Poles were shocking mind

I have the double version. Great piece of kit for £20. Begs the question why branded versions cost so much.

 

[The one and only Harvey]

Drennan. Because of the quality of the tackle, and, not least, because of their amazing after sale service. They have provided me with spares to tackle that had been out of production for at least two years. Like the mid section of my Drennan Ex-Strong Carp Match 3.5 m landing net handle. The handle is unbreakable, but I somehow managed the impossible.

I also like jig rods made by the polish brand Dragon. They are truly delicate instruments of softlure fishing, and the quality/price ratio is formidable. I will never part with my Fishmaker II or my Street Fishing jig rods.

 

[2lbRoach2hand]

Poles/Rods - Daiwa without a doubt - quality and spares (Air Z is a dream!)

Seatbox - RIve - no other sensible choice and every other decent box is based on their design! WInder trays are second to none!

Seatbox attachments - Matrix range - amazing

Luggage - Daiwa or Drennan or Matrix - superb!

Reels - Daiwa all the way again

Lines - Daiwa Sensor for carp, Matrix Submerge for braid and good old Maxima for the conventional waggler. Rig ling - Reflo Power, hook lengths (pole) Grand Riverge fluorocarbon, (feeder) Guru Pure fluorocarbon.

Hooks - For Carp - Preston GPM-B and KKM-B for general carp, Drennan Margin for hardcore stuff and Kamasan B911 for lighter/winter. Silvers - Colmic B957 for pole work and Tubertini Series 2 and 18 for all my feeder work.

But to answer you question - certainly at the moment Daiwa and Matrix are my fav brands (although I do have a Browning Sphere feeder rod and my fav whip is still the Black Magic II) lol.

 

[Jipes67]

I like MAP and Drennan but have tackle from a lot of manufacturers as long as it suits my needs.
What I like about Drennan and MAP is that they don't change their whole range every year.
What worse than buying a top end pole 2000£ + and they replace it the next season.

 

[Dslayer]

For me it's

MAP - Basically Andy May and Jamie Hughes. Class acts, relatable guys who genuinely enjoy the sport and aren't up their own ass. They're friendly, funny and offer great tips which I feel have really helped me as an Angler. I don't own much MAP tackle, But the tackle I do own was sold to me based purely on these 2 fellas.

Drennan - Terminal tackle wise, I can always rely on their products. Love their Hooks, Good line. Their tackle makes up for the majority of my box because If it works don't try fix it. They also do some good, but reliable budget Rods and Reels. I've had my Red Range Rod for years now and it's just as reliable as it was on day one.

Your favourite fishing brands, And why?

Always Korum for me - great quality, good prices!

Even if I don't buy a Korum item in the end, I always check out their offerings first ... and usually end up purchasing a competitor's product only by necessity ie not done by Korum or size is not suitable....

Korda is exactly the opposite - rubbish stuff and expensive.
Hence look there last and only if I cannot locate item made by anyone else...