Daiwa Spectron 12ft/13ft Power Feeder Rod

PAY AROUND

£345, but shop around

A quick look at any fishing website will reveal how popular British Waterways reservoirs have become. This is hardly surprising, considering they are all stuffed full of big, hard-fighting fish.

Drayton and Naseby are hugely popular runs waters for the committed big-carp angler, while Boddington, Clattercote and Earlswood are legendary open-water match venues that respond to a variety of hauling tactics, including the Method feeder.

Tackling these somewhat daunting waters demands equipment that is totally reliable, and that boils down to using the best you can afford. The fish fight like demons, and will quickly expose any weaknesses.

For anglers who have seen too many of their rods reduced to splintered carbon shards by those ruthless carp, Daiwa’s 12ft/13ft Spectron Power Feeder offers a new dawn. It takes no prisoners, and its mission seems to be to tame the otherwise untameable. A bit of a beast it may be, but that makes it spot-on for Method feeder tactics using heavy lines and big strong hooks.

The Spectron’s three-piece HVF high volume fibre carbon blank makes use of V-joint bias carbon technology which, to you and me, means that the spigots can flex very slightly when the rod is under compression.

Think of casting it as whizzing down a steep snow-covered slope in a fertiliser bag. Yes, if it goes horribly wrong it’s going to hurt a lot, but boy is it good when you get it right!

With practice, the horizon’s the limit of your vision with this tool in your hands.

As you would expect from a rod costing £345 (but almost certainly cheaper if you shop around), its finish and furnishings are as good as it gets. The classy gloss black-finished blank is ringed with a set of Fuji Alconite K guides, with a Fuji DPS front winch reel seat, sculpted EVA handling area and Armlock cork handle. Daiwa has even included a keeper ring.

The 12ft/13ft option comes via a foot-long carbon section that fits between the handle and the first guide, and you can adjust the length while fishing, without the need to break everything down.

During the live test the rod handled Method feeders of 40g-plus (3oz) without feeling overloaded or bouncy. It even coped with a 10lb shockleader that fairly shot through the enlarged guides (even on the quivertip) faultlessly.

But its best quality has to be its casting potential. Because the blank has a high weight loading point (towards the tip), it allows the angler to pull and push through the cast for optimum distance.

The progressive playing action is, as you would expect, on the heavy side, but this is no lifeless broomstick. Let’s just say that you won’t find yourself struggling to subdue a big fish at the landing net.