Reviews, Comments & Feedback
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Graham Hill - Review of a Tenryu, Red Dragon re-build.
Graham Hill, www.seabassfishingonline.com/ & grahamhillirishfishing.blogspot.com/ -
" this guy is just off the scale with his detail with the re build of my Red Dragon well worth the wait and the price was very reasonable we all know the story now with the Red Rods They are great but a rebuild may be the way to go if you want to keep your Bass fishing going with this great Blank ,and this lighter slicker version that is produced by dorset rods is brilliant " Just a few comments from Graham after receiving his re-built Tenryu, Red Dragon. Red Dragon re-build.
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Review of Medium/Heavy plugging rod.
By Lloyd Rush of www.shoreangler.co.uk
Medium Heavy Plugging Rod
by
Lloyd
Published on 01-01-2010.
Copyright 2010 Angling Designs, all rights reserved.
Dorset Fishing Rods - Med/Heavy Plugger
Dorset Fishing Rods is 'a new kid on the block' with a great deal of pedigree and well set to make a big mark on the custom rod building and the rod refurbishment/repair market.
I've long since been a self confessed tackle tart and ever since I caught my first Bass I've wanted to catch more and more, I guess like many of us? It wasn't long before I found fishing ultra light for these fish provided some heart stopping action but ultimately you'd pay the price and loose control of fish that take no prisoners that wish to flirt with sub-standard or poorly balanced equipment - it was a steep learning curve for me and ultimately I wanted an 'Ultimate' Bass tool.
The first, and obvious choice, was to be a good sheep and follow many into the market with a Tenryu Red Dragon Express - or the Super Mix 270 if I wanted a more versatile rod rather than one with just brute force - but I'm not a big fan of the colour Red and decided to see what my £400 could buy me elsewhere.
To cut a long story short I happened across Richard Cake at Dorset Fishing Rods [The prodigy of Stan from Alba Rods - for those that know that is as good as it gets as far as rod building recommendation goes!]Richard, a total 'Bass Head' himself, offered to build me two blanks, a medium heavy and a heavy Plugging tool; an offer I couldn't refuse and the budget was set to £400 for the pair [I'd get a Bass Dinner out of the change for 1 rod if I went down the 'Red' option!....
Reviewed: Dorset Fishing Rods - Medium/Heavy Plugger, 9ft.
Casting Rating : 28-84gms [feels like 12-44gms]
Reviewed by Lloyd Rush
Selling Price £199.99 rrp
more info: www.dorsetfishingrods.co.uk
The Rod as described by Dorset Fishing Rods:
The 9 ft medium/heavy plugger is a dark green slim 2 piece blank, and is rated to cast 28-84 grams. The butt section carries ‘TiCH’ anodized aluminium channel lock reel seat. It is cushioned between two hand sculpted EVA foams. The fighting butt has an anodized aluminium body with a rubber cushion leading to another EVA grip. The butt section has open EVA grips to give more feel when fighting a fish, and to give a minimal look to keep weight down for the balance of the rod.
Both blank sections are fitted with Pacific Bay Model SV single leg minima guides. The single leg guides allow for greater flexibility, lighter weight and increased sensitivity. The SV models one-piece stamped frame guides weigh 20-30% less than ceramic rings. The lighter weight translates into faster rod action, greater sensitivity to vibration/strikes and the larger inside diameter reduces friction and drag on line while casting or retrieving. The guides are wrapped in subtle green threads banded with metallic silver.
The Review:
Firstly, despite the furniture, finish and great looks of the Rod, the real beauty in this blank is in the Fishing. It's hard to explain, but I'll attempt to all the same, the differences between a standard UK Style Spinning rods and a custom built Bass Plugging rod in unbelievable. Sure, the off the self spinning rods do the job but hey 'you can drive across a field in a Mini in the right conditions, however a Land Rover will get you across the field all of the time and you can have a lot of fun doing so whenever and however!'
Action - A crisp recovery will ensure the rod moves in the right direction quickly, making working lures at distance much easier and consequently more effective. Many anglers call this sort of action 'Stiff' - although in my opinion that's not the right word to use, those that know call it Fast - this rod has a Moderate Blank that is bordering on the Moderate to Fast action with plenty of grunt and power where you need it.
I would add that this rod has a clean, crisp action that will maximise casting distance and allow a Plug or Shallow Lure to be worked immediately and just as the angler wants to. Try that next time you go plugging, 'Walk the Dog' and see how many direction changes / recoveries it takes before the lure does exactly the right speed and length of run you wanted. Not many rods can do this on first draw at range, you may think your rod is doing ok but in reality the action is usually absorbed between the anglers wrist and the lure itself.
For a 9ft rod the Dorset Fishing Rods Med/Heavy Plugger has a staggering amount of control at distance and each time I use it I find myself fishing with a big smile and the all important 100% confidence that is the difference between good and great angers. Not that I'm either by admission but at least I've all the confidence of one!
On - The rod can look good, fish well, but there's nothing like testing the rod than hanging on to a hard fighting Bass. In the week of testing the rod took a good number of School Bass but it wasn't until a the little 'Fat Friend' pictured above took off on it's first run did I realise how good this blank is. Initially I over estimated the fish, a very heavy tide was rushing and wading was borderline, the fish took off like a train as soon as it felt the hook.
I was fishing in Teignmouth Back Beach around the boats that provide more hazards than a hospital waste bin! In no time the rod bent over as the fish looked to get an early upper hand, however, like an Arm Wrestler the initial hustles and huffing and puffing was leveled when I wound down and powered the fish away from a large Buoy rope that was threatening to spoil the fun. As soon as I stopped poncing and started pulling back, I had the fish on the shore in no time and ready for photos and a quick return.
Impressed? you bet I was. Like a kid at Christmas I didn't know what new toy to play with next, the best thing was I knew I had another blank in my rod bag that was 'Stiffer', meaner and a real brute of a Plugging rod - I'll write about that one soon.
A final Note: The use of a good Braided line is paramount when using a Plug/Lure with a rod of this caliber - I would and did put mono on when fishing a live sandeel when only a swivel and a hook is used as terminal tackle. In ultra clear water I'd plumb for Fluorocarbon for both mainline and hook length [about 6ft] with a small swivel in between for this type of fishing. Using normal mono's on a rod like this will lose you the lure control advantages and the the overall sensitivity of the rod would be dulled.
With Half of my Budget spent on the Medium Heavy Plugger - it is mission accomplished. I've to fully test the Heavy Plugger which features a Medium to Fast Blank that can boast taking Black Marlin, first impressions are this is the a real Gem of a rod, and not just a plugging rod - If I was to go on holiday again fishing for Bass and I could only take 1 rod this would be it! It canbe used as a light down tide rod from a boat, pier or fish static baits at short range when the sea kicks up and Bass start feeding - and of course it's a great Plugging Rod. So far I've only used it for a few hours and already I've taken Pollock from the Pier and a small Bass on a 21gm Lure!
Copyright 2010 Angling Designs, all rights reserved.
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Feedback Comments
- Would just like to thank you for the great job you did on my abu-suveran, those Fuji eyes you fitted are spot on. Top notch work there mate, well pleased with it. Will be recommending you to others many thanks. Richard, Weymouth.
- I loved the rod at first sight, you did a fabulous job on it, thank you. Even Bob was very impressed, he especially liked the rings and may well be ordering a set. Dave, Eire.
- Just picked up my Daiwa 13ft carbon match rod which needed refurbishing after being mothballed for too many years. 3 Replacement rings were required and the work was completed to an excellent standard by Richard at a very reasonable rate. Communication and service provided was excellent despite being a small job.
Cannot rate highly enough, Thanks again, John. - Thanks Richard really pleased with your workmanship. Ian.