Frenzee Precision FXT 9ft Feeder Rod

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£109.99

Short feeder or bomb rods are still very much in vogue on commercial fisheries this winter. Their reduced length means that they are easy to get down the side of the peg and out of the wind, and they are that bit easier to manipulate when you’re perched on a seatbox underneath a brolly.

As long as you are not faced with a serious chuck, short rods can be put to good use as close-quarter tools for fishing up to islands or far bank margins. Such is their accuracy, they can drop a feeder or bomb on a sixpence time after time.

Most match anglers have come to accept them, although some would argue that a 10ft rod is as short as you need to go.

Unlike a number of little rods that I have seen and tested over the past few seasons, the Frenzee Precision 9ft Feeder does not have the power to propel a great deal of weight. I would suggest that a 20g flatbed Method feeder (weighing best part an ounce when fully loaded) is roughly on the limit of its casting potential. The rapidity of the blank’s taper, and the lack of wall strength along the last foot or so of the carrier section, simply cannot cope with anything heavier.

However, that needn’t be seen as a negative quality as the two-piece, high modulus, pencil thin carbon blank boasts a perfect fish-playing action that more than compensates for its modest distance-casting credentials. When necessary, the Frenzee Precision is quite capable of handling the odd rogue lump of a carp, which is very impressive for a wee rod that was primarily designed with small carp and F1s in mind.

For me, though, it seems most at home when used with tiny open-end feeders and bombs, rather than Method feeders.

How do I know this? Well, I had the chance to test the rod at Boddington Reservoir, while instructing an up-and-coming young match angler called Steven Ringer in the ways of the carps.

Joking aside, I did gain a very clear insight into what this this rod can do when pushed to its limits. ‘Impressive’ is the bottom line – the flawless anti-lock parabolic action instils in the user a confidence in its ability to cope with very big fish. You can even dish it out to the carp by leaning into them, which for a rod with modest casting capabilities is quite something.