11ft Preston Innovations Monster Carp Feeder
TECH SPEC
- Casting weight: 15g-80g
- Line rating: 4lb - 8lb
- Length: 11ft (two equal sections)
- Guides: Low profile, ceramic-lined
- Handle: Cork hand & EVA
- Action: Powerful but progressive
Preston Innovations says its new Monster Commercial Carp rods are purpose-built to cope with the ever-increasing size of carp on many modern match waters.
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Big guns Des Shipp and Tommy Pickering have had an input into the design of all four, which don’t sacrifice any of their progressive fish-playing action despite being strong as Shire horses on steroids.
All rods are sensibly priced at under £100. There are 10ft and 11ft (on test) Carp Feeder models that come with graded push-in carbon quivertips of 1oz, 1.5oz and 2oz.
There’s also a dedicated 12ft Method Feeder rod, as well as what looks and feels to be a very handsome 11ft Pellet Waggler.
All four boast super-slim butt sections, cork and EVA thumb grip handles, secure screw-down reel fittings and quality low-profile ceramic-lined guides.
A useful keeper ring adds a nice finishing touch. Equal length two-piece blanks in all cases are easy to transport to your peg ready made-up.
The 11ft Carp Feeder, my Monster rod of choice for live test duty, is a tactically flexible feeder and straight lead tool. With an 80g (2.8oz) maximum casting weight, and rated to lines between 4lb and 8lb, it’s perfect for commercial fisheries where the carp have not signed up for Weight Watchers.
To prove its mettle, I needed to get the rod on to a water where bites come readily to a variety
of tactics, and few fit the bill better than the picture postcard day-ticket Lakeside Fishery near Towcester, Northants.
A swim opposite a small island gave me the option of a cast toward either corner or a long chuck out into open water to test the rod’s casting potential.
Setting up with Preston’s latest Inter-change feeder system allowed me to swap between different weights of Method and Banjo feeders, and with a straight lead line in the margins I pretty much had most of the tactics you would use with this rod covered.
Starting live test proceedings with a modest 15g flatbed Method cast tight to the island margin, I can report that at distances of up to 25 yards it casts sniper-straight, and that once you have clipped up, consistently hitting the target at anything up to 50 yards shouldn’t prove a problem.
This proved to be the case with feeders up to about 48g, after which the rod began to show its limitations. However, towards the end of the session I was still chucking a 30g Banjo 65-plus yards which, on most commercials, is like hitting a six out of the ground at Trent Bridge!
What the Monster does have going for it is a superb action, which has obviously come in for some serious scrutiny and field testing from the Preston Innovations team. Sweet as nut, and more fun than a day at the fair, it’s little short of commercial carp heaven.
It bends exactly how, when and where it should, with enough backbone to heave a reluctant lump over the net when you’re fed up with chasing it around the peg.
THE VERDICT
The latest Monster Commercial rods from Preston Innovations look, feel and fish just right. They are nailed on to become among the most popular commercial rod ranges on the market this summer, and are available at a price that won’t make anglers jump out of their skin.
Mark Sawyer
