Maver Genesis Black Ice Xtreme Distance Feeder

PAY AROUND

£94.99

The lads at Maver bill these as ‘the ultimate rod for long distance feeder fishing’ and boy, you can’t half hit the horizon with them!

They’re available in six different XD (Xtreme Distance) types from a 12ft XD, 3.5oz casting capacity model, RRP £94.99, to a monster, 13ft XD, 5oz+ casting capacity variant with a price tag of £99.99.

Extreme 100 yard-plus ranges with large payloads are a definite reality in the right hands with these power-packed blanks.

Between them the six models will cover every job from putting a Method feeder further than your neighbours on sprawling stillwaters like Drayton Reservoir where distance wins matches, to the largest rivers.

Launching 5oz feeders for floodwater barbel on the Trent or Severn and cranking back powerful ‘beards’ against the current will be a doddle with the heavier models.

The rods have a recommended reel line rating from 4lb to 10lb but I think the heavier models will handle much more.

Each rod has a traditional three-piece design consisting of a mega-powerful butt and middle section, plus a quivertip carrier section and four, graded, push-in quivertips to give a good range of bite registration.

I chose to test the 12ft, 150g model (RRP £99.99) and teamed it with a Maver Tica Sportera GR4507 freespool reel (RRP £64.99) loaded with 10lb mono.

If, like me, you plan to blast a heavy rig into the next county it’s imperative that you incorporate a shock leader – in my case, 30ft of 25lb mono to soak-up the shock impact of casting to prevent potential crack-offs.

Quivertips supplied were rated at 1oz, 2oz, 3oz and 4oz and, with the 3oz tip in place, I opted to fish an old-fashioned frame Method feeder which, when loaded weighed a good 3.5oz and looked like a mini-coconut!

Fishing the three-acre Pit at my local Fields End Water Caravan Park Lodges and Fishery at Doddington near March, Cambs (01354 740199) I could reach any swim on the water.

The feeder blank is one of the stiffest I’ve ever used, but you can wind it up with very little effort to catapult the payload impressive distances. Carp fight hard at this venue but the rod tamed fish almost into double figures with impunity.