Maver Diamond Feeder fishing rod review
SHORT feeder rods are still very much in vogue on commercial fisheries and the 10ft 6ins version of the new Maver Diamond Feeder rods are no exception.
BUY NOW from £179.99 from Chapmans Angling
Super-accurate on the cast, they can be tucked down the side of a platform out of the wind, and are that bit easier all round to handle when elbow room is at a premium.
Provided you’re not faced with a seriously long chuck, rods like this will cast far enough to put you on the fish on most commercials. And, needless to say, they are ideal for Method tactics in the margins where really big fish are about.
Maver’s latest Diamond Feeder 10ft 6ins rod, in two sections, is the perfect length for most commercial feeder and straight lead tactics.
It’s one of four in the range, all boasting high-modulus carbon, cork handle with EVA casting and thumb grips, low-profile lined ceramic guides and the ever-handy folding keeper ring. You also get three graded carbon quivertips.
Unlike a number of other shorter rods that I have tested, Maver’s 10ft 6ins Diamond Feeder has the casting clout to propel a 30g flatbed Method feeder a decent distance with a fair degree of accuracy. I proved this during a live test at Decoy’s mixed-stock Horseshoe Lake… and before any of you familiar with this venue clamour that this lake hasn’t got a long cast on it, I also spent some time casting different weights and distances on the much larger Beastie Lake.
My findings weren’t all that different from Maver’s recommendations, but in my opinion the blank’s limits are being pushed with anything over 60g (2oz) chucked 60 yards.
To be honest, that’s more than enough power and distance for most day-ticket fisheries. A huge plus point is the rod’s non-locking, progressive action with no flat spots.
As you can see from the picture, it tightens up really quickly from a third of the way down the top section, putting you in command when a fish is at the net.
Despite this the rod is not overly stiff, and you’d need to be really clumsy to suffer many hook-pulls. As Dame Shirley Bassey sang, ‘Diamonds are forever’…and sure enough, this rod’s a keeper!
THE VERDICT
The delightful jet black Diamond Feeder gets a huge thumbs-up from me. It’s everything you could wish for. It’ll cast a fair distance when you need to, it’s super-accurate at short range, and it can be used with a wide choice of weights for tactical flexibility. At just 181g it’s very light, and its progressive action combines controlled pulling power with enough softness to make it suitable for reel lines from 4lb to 8lb, with hooklengths down to 0.12mm.
Mark Sawyer
