A couple of days before Ramsgate Dragon Carp finally closed down, I went in to have a chat with the lads and wish them well for the future. I had no intentions of purchasing anything, I've all the kit I require and so much more! It was, therefore, a surprise when I discovered a bundle of CK Fusion Expert rods with a £11.99 price tag - reduced from £29.99 which, as with all good sale pitch drivel, was a 70% reduction on the original price. No-one in their right mind would pay £100 for such an item, however, I was informed that there was a further 20% off said rods making the asking price a now paltry £9.59 - surely a much better reflection on their worth? I'll take three!
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I'm confident that a quick rub over with some digital flushing solution will have the desired effect of removing
this shiny brand labelling. |
12 foot, 2.5 lbs t/c - if for no other reason, the kids (grand-children and nephews) can use them safe in the knowledge that if anything goes tits up - it isn't one of my precious angling artefacts that's bitten the dust. I actually got them out, this morning, to see what it was that I'd parted with my hard earned cash for. Straight away I have to say that they're a bit too shiny and in your face for my liking - might be a job for a bit of "dulling down". The action is something akin to that of a telegraph pole, they are rather heavy (for a carbon rod) and remind me of the famous SS-6 & T-24's (the blank design codes) of the early 1980's.
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The gentle "through action" of my Tring Tench rods (1 lb 2 oz T/C) is plenty good enough to deal
with any pike that swims in the East Kent drains. Oh yeah - that's a 1920's wooden centre-pin!
Fun doesn't come much better than this? |
What's more relevant is the fact that I've got nothing else quite like them and, if things pan out as hoped, I might well be able to get onto a venue where these rods will fit the bill very nicely. I've not done any "distance" angling, by which I mean casting and not bait boats, since my time at Stanborough. I'm going to fit one out with a Shimano SM 5000 and have a bit of casting practice, probably down on the beach - I'll let you know how I get on and what I think. Don't get too excited, I won't be starting carp fishing at a local club lake any time soon, I'm thinking about some still water pike angling and my Duncan Kay's ain't up to hurling big dead baits any further than half way across the RMC. These new toys look like they should cope with punching out a 6oz deadly with ease. I have made mention of my "big bait = big pike" theories in previous posts. I know full well that it isn't a unique concept and neither is it a deterrent to small fish picking up these outsized offerings with some regularity.
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Me; a Duncan Kay and Cardinal 66X - fish on!
Even these "snag busters" have a far more genteel curve than the "Fusion Expert" poles! |
What I am confident about, with this approach, is that although never destined to be hectic, is it's bloody exciting when a bite is registered. If a fish comes adrift, during the fight, then I know that it wasn't the one I was after. Big pike eat big baits and the hooks stay in once set!
Armed with three of these fast taper, tip action, broom sticks - I fancy my chances of being able to set a Drennan double at 70m plus, even using Mackerel. It's all pie in the sky at present - I'll know more the other side of Christmas. In the mean time I've got a few ideas - Perch from Sandwich Coarse Fishery, Pike from the RMC and, just maybe, another session after the slimy ones?
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The "progressive" action of a Duncan Kay is nicely illustrated in this shot. A low double Common attached
and doing its' best to reach the sanctuary of the marginal reed beds. Once again the reel is one of my ABU Cardinal 66X's. |
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