Daiwa Yank n Bank 9ft Mini Method Rod Review
Yank n Bank is a brand you might well associate with out-and-out hauling power – the name says it all, really.
Yet the latest rods of this ilk to be released by Daiwa are not all in the bruising doorman class.
There are four Match/Float rods, three of which (10ft, 11ft and 12ft) are Pellet Waggler models. The other is a lightweight three-piece 13ft rod aimed at the silver fish angler.
Six Feeder models include 9ft and 10ft Mini Method rods, and of the two 11ft Method Feeder rods, one is a Power model to tame feisty commercial carp.
They are all light in the hand, with a rapid line-pick-up and a crisp, progressive action.
From comments made to me at a recent trade show, Daiwa is expecting great things from these latest incarnations of its famed Yank n Bank rod range.
Sure enough, all 10 rods are a significant improvement on their predecessors (which were themselves no slouches). Certainly the finish is far better than that on all previous Yank n Bank models.
Live testing a rod, no matter how good it may be, always tends to be a hit-and-miss affair in winter – after all, the fish are shoaled up tightly, and can be somewhat reluctant to have a munch.
However, if you can find them you’re always in with a chance, and it was with knowledge gleaned from recent Decoy winter leagues that I knew a few fish could probably be found out in the middle of the Elm strip lake.
That suited me, as I had wanted to get a much closer look at Daiwa’s latest 9ft Yank n Bank Mini Method Feeder rod since first clapping eyes on one. It struck me at the time that it could be the perfect tool for fishing at 18m-25m, just beyond pole range, and be very well suited to taming the odd bigger fish – Decoy has its fair share of these Gruffaloes.
However, there’s a huge selection of short feeder rods out there now, so what would make this 9ft Yank n Bank offering stand out from the crowd?
For starters, the asking price of just £89.99 is pretty impressive, and you’ll be able to get it even cheaper if you shop around.
Technically it’s extremely well built from high-grade carbon cloth, with a one-tonne carbon weave along its classy gloss black butt section.
This combination not only helps to firm up casting distance and accuracy, but ups the weight it can comfortably handle and provides added steel through the backbone for extra fish-playing control.
The geeky stuff does not end there – the blank’s carrier/tip section boasts a low-glare tape finish. This, although completely at odds with its shiny butt section, imparts a light feel matched with a crisper line pick-up and post-cast tip recovery .
To all that you can add quality furnishings such as stainless steel guide frames with lightweight lined guides, aluminium hooded screw-down reel seat, woven carbon butt frame with rubber cap, ready rod carry case, and a keeper ring as a nice final touch.
On the bank, all this carbon alchemy morphs into a pleasingly lightweight tool which is more than capable of casting 30g with little sign of strain.
Casting performance is further enhanced by its high weight loading point – this enables it to achieve pinpoint casting accuracy, ideal for tricky short distance casts to just past the pole-line.
Obviously it is hugely important to keep your feed pattern tight, and the short 9ft rod is perfect for this, enabling you to keep the bites coming once the fish have been located.
The Yank n Bank’s three graded 1.5oz, 2oz and 3oz push-in carbon quivertips are all well matched to Method feeder use (as it name suggests), although the supplied lightest quivertip is just about soft enough to be used in conjunction with a half-ounce bomb.
Personally I prefer the heaviest, stiffest tip for Method fishing, as that way the fish hook themselves.
The fish-playing action is rapidly progressive, with most of its curvature spread across the top couple of feet, very much in keeping with all modern style short rods.
The seeming lack of playing action should not be taken as a criticism, though, as there’s still enough bend in the rod to absorb the lunges of the heaviest fish, with enough cushioning effect not to drop smaller fish.
However, the purist F1 fanatic may find the rod a tad overgunned for hook sizes above an 18, and hooklengths under 0.12mm.
Price: £89.99
VERDICT
If you're in the market for a quality Method feeder rod for use on smaller lakes, or casting just beyond pole range for decent-sized fish, the new 9ft Daiwa Yank n Bank Mini Method is the ideal tool. Surprisingly steely, it will handle the largest commercial carp while retaining just enough softness to make it usable with lighter set-ups for smaller fish.
