Korum Trilogy Triple-Top Rod Review

October 9, 2020 Guest User

Nobody in these topsy-turvy times should have been too surprised that one of the warmest weeks of the year fell slap-bang in the middle of September.

The poor old fish, having finished their nuptials, saw water temperatures on the rise once again – all very bizarre!

We now appear to be getting all four seasons in one month, and the recent hot and sunny spell has seen the fish, especially the carp, all back up on the surface.

All of which leads me nicely to this week’s live test. What better to tackle anything the weather throws at us, good or bad, than Korum’s recently released Trilogy rod? Handily, the company’s first-ever triple top fishing tool covers most specimen fishing situations.

Not that multi-purpose rods are anything new – your Auntie Maud’s old Grattan catalogue used to sell them – but they were truly hideous things, claimed to suit fly, match, pike and boat fishing but rubbish at all of these.

The new Trilogy is an altogether different kettle of fish, with a steely butt section and three interchangeable tops. These are rated to 1.75lb and 2.2lb test curves, and there’s also a Power Quiver option. The carbon weave construction adds strength where it counts, and a slimline cork handle with compact reel seat is all very stylish.

The medium-fast casting action will cope with all styles of specimen feeder fishing and legering situations.

The new Trilogy rod has three interchangeable tops

I’d originally planned to run the rule over Korum’s Trilogy on the Trent, using it for chub on the float and barbel on the tip.

To be honest, there isn’t anything particularly new about multi-purpose rods for river use. Plenty of twin-tops offer quiver and Avon options, but the Trilogy offers the angler a lot more versatility than that.

So, with the sun shining, my mission was to try three very different tactics in one day. First I’d target carp on floaters. Then it would be bream, tench and anything else that came along using a Method Feeder. Finally I’d switch to pellets and a pop-up in a PVA bag rig to see if I could snare a proper unit.

My destination for this marathon was Oxfordshire’s magnificent Clattercote Reservoir just outside Banbury, home to a truckload of bad-tempered and hard-fighting carp, shedloads of bream, and some really big tench.

Once in the car park, I quickly loaded my kit on to the barrow and headed to the shallow water at the top end of the reservoir – even shallower than I’d expected - and kicked off my session.

TACTIC No1 - Floater fishing

AS I suspected, there were plenty of decent-sized fish cruising the upper layers. So my opening gambit of fishing a hair-rigged mixer hookbait on a size 12 hook, attached to a 5ft-long length of clear 10lb mono hooklength and a 20g controller float, looked nailed on for a quick result.

The Trilogy’s 1.75lb top section is ideal for floater fishing

I’d chosen the Trilogy’s lighter 1.75lb top section for my floater tactics, as its slightly tippy casting and lightish test curve are ideal for what is basically heavy float work – you could also use this section to run a top-and-bottom Avon float down a river.

At 20g, the controller float was well within Korum’s suggested casting capabilities, maxing out at 5oz (141g). To me, that’s a tad optimistic and I wouldn’t want to load the 1.75lb tip with more than 3oz (85g). It does, though, have plenty of whip and would be ideal for heavy float and light lead tactics.

TACTIC No2 - switch to the METHOD

THE Power Quiver tip does exactly what its name suggests. It has a 1.5lb test curve and is finished off with an integral 19ins solid glass quivertip that I’d rate to around a 3oz-4oz test curve, making it ideal for pretty much any feeder situation.

The use of a glass quiver is a clever move by Korum, as tips like these have a smoother curvature than carbon, with superb bite detection whether you’re on a lake or a river. I chose a 45g distance flatbed Method and a much lighter 20g flatbed for the live test, and happily the rod handled both with equal ease.

The power quiver tip is a great tool for method fishing

The blank’s fast casting action makes this a very good two-piece tip rod that will handle a variety of angling situations. I can also vouch for its distance casting capability, as it will propel a feeder or lead up to 80 yards with very little effort.

TACTIC no3 - Mid-range PVA BAG

NOW it was time to step things up a gear to the 2.25lb test curve top section. I decided to fish this with a solid PVA bag full of micro pellets, a 2.5oz bag lead, and 12mm pop-up hookbait on a hair rig.

The heavier top section does dampen down the rod’s perky, fast action and it’s not really a distance-casting top.

But it does allow the use of heavier reel lines and terminal tackle when big fish are the quarry.

For me, the rod is ideal for mid-range PVA bag and straight lead tactics up to around 75 yards out. I found the blank’s slow, almost lazy progressive action quite interesting, and concluded it would be an ideal rod for targeting big bream or tench in snaggy/weedy swims where hook-pulls often occur. The action has a dampening feel with plenty of pulling clout.

The 2.25lb test curve tip is for proper carp fishing with heavier lines and leads

What’s the final verdict?

THIS rod can’t be easily rated against its nearest rival, as to the best of my knowledge there isn’t one. So have the guys at Korum truly cracked the three-rods-in-one conundrum? Well, what we have here is a really clever rod that is nicely finished, looks the part and clearly has many uses in the specimen angling arena.

What’s more, it comes at a price that makes it possibleto own a pair of Trilogies for less than what you’d pay for one traditional feeder rod.

So given the trend towards multiple rod set-ups, maybe you should push the boat out and buy three!

Price: £99.99

Push the boat out and buy three, you won’t regret it!

Garbolino 9ft Synergy Picker Rod Review

September 21, 2020 Guest User

Short rods have become all the rage in recent years.

A large proportion of today’s commercial lakes have the main features at between 15m and 30m range, and a 9ft tool is ample for reaching that kind of distance with ease.

The main benefit of such a short rod becomes evident when you’re playing fish. Get your quarry under the rod tip and the shorter the rod is, the more likely you are to sweep the net under the fish at the first time of asking.

With demand for rods of this length growing, it’s little surprise that ever more manufacturers are ploughing time and money into making new models that fit the bill.

Garbolino has certainly picked up on this modern trend, and its new 9ft Synergy Picker is aimed primarily at those anglers who do a lot of short range feeder and bomb work.

Priced at just under £70, it falls into the category where it will be many angler’s first serious rod. It’s going to be their pride and joy, and they’re going to expect it to perform, feel and look a lot better than the budget starter kit they purchased when just starting out. I can pretty much guarantee that they won’t feel short-changed with this little cracker!

The 9ft Synergy Picker is aimed primarily at those anglers who do a lot of short range feeder and bomb work.

Short range delight

Manor Farm Leisure in Evesham is one of my favourite fisheries, and with short-range work often the name of the game there, it seemed the ideal testing ground for the rod.

A light bomb was threaded on to the 6lb mainline and lobbed 20m out on Ash Pool. The true casting ability of a rod like this doesn’t really come into the equation when fishing at such short range. The true power of the rod would only really be tested if and when the fish played ball.

Thankfully, that didn’t take long, with a big F1 soon snaffling up the 8mm pellet hookbait, sending the reel clutch screaming into life.

It was instantly noticeable that the rod had a good progressive action, and every time the fish lunged in anger, it was absorbed.

That is an important quality when fishing at short range because your whole set-up comes under pressure the split second the hook is set.

The 3lb fish was soon beaten and I hadn’t felt under-gunned. In fact, there was definitely more in reserve should I have needed to pull back aggressively during a more intense encounter with a bigger fish.

Those anglers who prefer to fish further out are well catered for within the range because the Synergy Picker is also available in 10ft or 11ft versions.

It was instantly noticeable that the rod had a good progressive action, and every time the fish lunged in anger, it was absorbed.

All-round promise

Most 9ft rods are developed exclusively with carp and F1s in mind, but the team at Garbolino has tried to make this rod more of an all-rounder.

Three tips have been included – 0.5oz glass, and 0.75oz and 1oz carbon – to provide different levels of bite detection. Stick the lightest of the lot on and the subtle nudges from skimmers and other silvers won’t go undetected.

During the test I used the 1oz version. If you’ve ever fished the bomb and pellet at this time of year, you’ll know that you don’t need much sensitivity to spot the rip-roaring bites and a heavier tip helps to set the hook firmly in such situations.

In my eyes, this rod would be equally at home bagging hard-fighting F1s every chuck as it would be on mixed waters where a chunky skimmer could show up one cast and a double-figure carp the next. There’s finesse in its playing action, but it also has a decent amount of backbone in the slimline blank to make sure you are in charge of each fight.

It’s overall appearance is admirable too, with the mixed cork and EVA handle and graphics on the blank helping it to really look the part.

There’s also a few little add-ons that provide convenience, such as the hook keeper ring and a guide on the blank to remind you of what size feeders are appropriate for use with the rod.

If you’re new to the sport and have come to the conclusion that fishing is likely to become a lifelong obsession as opposed to a post-lockdown fling, this rod will certainly provide that step up in quality you’re after.

RRP: £69.99

This rod will certainly provide that step up in quality you’re after.

Guru 11ft N-Gauge Pellet Waggler rod review

August 14, 2020 Guest User

THERE are so many pellet waggler rods around nowadays that choosing the right one for this popular summertime tactic can be quite taxing.

Their quality and performance, and indeed their price, varies enormously across the various manufacturers.

Kicking off with a brand that has a good track record, then, makes sound sense, and few can rival Guru in this respect.

The company has many excellent products, most of which (including this rod) are aimed at catching big weights of big fish. In this heady atmosphere you want a rod that won’t let you down!

Guru’s new 11ft N-Gauge Pellet Waggler (and its companion 10ft version) promises a balanced action, plenty of power and accurate casting. It’s also comfy to hold, and because pellet waggler fishing involves constant casting and feeding that’s very important.

“But why can’t I just use my normal float rod?” I hear you ask. Well, standard three-piece float rods are designed to catch silverfish using light floats, fine lines and small hooks. Pellet waggler rods are built to chuck an altogether heavier payload – this week’s live test candidate has a recommended maximum casting weight of 15g, which covers just about any size of float you will ever need, while its progressive action handles bigger fish.

Two equal-length sections mean the rod can be carried on to the bank all rigged-up and ready to go.

So, if you fancy having a go at pellet waggler fishing but don’t want to invest too much of your hard-earned on a rod that only really comes out when the sun shines, Guru’s N-Gauge 11-footer will be your ideal fair-weather companion, and I’ll tell you why.

A lot of rod for your cash

First up, if you shop around you’ll find this rod for just under £100, but its impressive array of furnishings belie its price tag. The handle is part cork, part Duplon, offering a firm but comfortable grip, and it’s dressed in super lightweight single-leg reversed guides, strategically positioned along the quality blank to maximise casting and fish-playing performance while minimising the risk of tangles or frap-ups.

All good on paper, but how would it actually perform? To find out I visited a new venue for me, the day-ticket Whetstone Gorse fishery just outside Leicester.

Enter the spacious car park, and on the left is a pretty oval-shaped lake with a large mature central island covered in trees and shrubs.

It was only a few paces from the car to the lake. I could see plenty of carp slowly cruising the upper layers, although most were close to the island cover, and there were a few proper lumps in their turnout.

By the time I’d carried my kit the few yards to the chosen swim the sun had gone in, it was all grey and misty and it had started to spit with rain. Ten minutes later the heavens opened – not exactly ideal pellet waggler weather!

The fish I’d spied moments ago had vanished from view, but when the rain eased, they were back again, and that’s how the day progressed.

They wouldn’t come to the constant feeding pattern normally so successful with this method. Instead they hugged the far bank, and every now and again I’d see a flash as a carp swirled at a falling pellet.

Pinpoint casting accuracy was essential, and the really tippy action of this Guru rod proved ideal for whipping out a smaller lighter float. Every now and again I’d get it spot-on, the float would land silently and the plop of the pellet hookbait right on the carp’s nose would be too much to resist. Basically, this was dobbing with a waggler.

I’ve handled enough rods of this ilk to know that the Guru offering has plenty of oomph in reserve, should I have needed to cast a heavier float further than I did. In practice, of course, pellet waggler rods need only cast as far as a catty can fire an 8mm or 11m pellet.

A fallen tree in my swim at the by now even wetter Whetstone Gorse gave me the chance to test the rod’s stopping power to the max, which happened every time I hooked a fish, and I landed them all bar one – enough to convince me that the 11ft Guru Pellet Waggler is very much a Goldilocks rod… ‘just right’ in so many ways.

Price: £104.99 (but shop around to get it even cheaper)