Garbolino 9ft Synergy Picker Rod Review

Short rods have become all the rage in recent years.

A large proportion of today’s commercial lakes have the main features at between 15m and 30m range, and a 9ft tool is ample for reaching that kind of distance with ease.

The main benefit of such a short rod becomes evident when you’re playing fish. Get your quarry under the rod tip and the shorter the rod is, the more likely you are to sweep the net under the fish at the first time of asking.

With demand for rods of this length growing, it’s little surprise that ever more manufacturers are ploughing time and money into making new models that fit the bill.

Garbolino has certainly picked up on this modern trend, and its new 9ft Synergy Picker is aimed primarily at those anglers who do a lot of short range feeder and bomb work.

Priced at just under £70, it falls into the category where it will be many angler’s first serious rod. It’s going to be their pride and joy, and they’re going to expect it to perform, feel and look a lot better than the budget starter kit they purchased when just starting out. I can pretty much guarantee that they won’t feel short-changed with this little cracker!

The 9ft Synergy Picker is aimed primarily at those anglers who do a lot of short range feeder and bomb work.

Short range delight

Manor Farm Leisure in Evesham is one of my favourite fisheries, and with short-range work often the name of the game there, it seemed the ideal testing ground for the rod.

A light bomb was threaded on to the 6lb mainline and lobbed 20m out on Ash Pool. The true casting ability of a rod like this doesn’t really come into the equation when fishing at such short range. The true power of the rod would only really be tested if and when the fish played ball.

Thankfully, that didn’t take long, with a big F1 soon snaffling up the 8mm pellet hookbait, sending the reel clutch screaming into life.

It was instantly noticeable that the rod had a good progressive action, and every time the fish lunged in anger, it was absorbed.

That is an important quality when fishing at short range because your whole set-up comes under pressure the split second the hook is set.

The 3lb fish was soon beaten and I hadn’t felt under-gunned. In fact, there was definitely more in reserve should I have needed to pull back aggressively during a more intense encounter with a bigger fish.

Those anglers who prefer to fish further out are well catered for within the range because the Synergy Picker is also available in 10ft or 11ft versions.

It was instantly noticeable that the rod had a good progressive action, and every time the fish lunged in anger, it was absorbed.

All-round promise

Most 9ft rods are developed exclusively with carp and F1s in mind, but the team at Garbolino has tried to make this rod more of an all-rounder.

Three tips have been included – 0.5oz glass, and 0.75oz and 1oz carbon – to provide different levels of bite detection. Stick the lightest of the lot on and the subtle nudges from skimmers and other silvers won’t go undetected.

During the test I used the 1oz version. If you’ve ever fished the bomb and pellet at this time of year, you’ll know that you don’t need much sensitivity to spot the rip-roaring bites and a heavier tip helps to set the hook firmly in such situations.

In my eyes, this rod would be equally at home bagging hard-fighting F1s every chuck as it would be on mixed waters where a chunky skimmer could show up one cast and a double-figure carp the next. There’s finesse in its playing action, but it also has a decent amount of backbone in the slimline blank to make sure you are in charge of each fight.

It’s overall appearance is admirable too, with the mixed cork and EVA handle and graphics on the blank helping it to really look the part.

There’s also a few little add-ons that provide convenience, such as the hook keeper ring and a guide on the blank to remind you of what size feeders are appropriate for use with the rod.

If you’re new to the sport and have come to the conclusion that fishing is likely to become a lifelong obsession as opposed to a post-lockdown fling, this rod will certainly provide that step up in quality you’re after.

RRP: £69.99

This rod will certainly provide that step up in quality you’re after.