Guru 11ft N-Gauge Pellet Waggler rod review
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.
A balanced action and plenty of power
“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.
Two equal-length sections
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.
Part Duplon handle
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.
‘just right’ in so many ways
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)
Guru 11ft Aventus Feeder rod review
FEW rods on the market can boast the pedigree of the quartet that make up the Guru Aventus Feeder range.
They were designed by Guru’s expert match team, and no stone has been left unturned in terms of quality and innovation.
That, though, is only half the story. The rods are manufactured and dressed in the UK by Daiwa, using the finest carbons and the best possible fittings, and they are engineered to a premium grade that pushes carbon specifications to their limit.
A unique double layering of multi-directional carbon fibres gives the blanks unparalleled linear strength, so they retain their tubular cross-section when the rod is compressed on the cast.
Add in a super-fast tip recovery speed, pleasing crispness and a lightweight feel, and the end result is accurate, precise casting, coupled with impressive power on the strike. In truth, the Aventus range covers all styles of feeder-flinging, whether that’s a delicate approach with thin lines and small hooks or chucking a payload to the horizon.
Three graded push-in quivertips come with each model, giving you plenty of flexibility as conditions dictate. The rod on live test duty, the two-piece 11ft Aventus Feeder, suits the better part of all your commercial feeder and straight lead tactics.
Despite its modest length you only have to have a cast or two to appreciate what it is capable of doing. Using a mini 30g Guru Hybrid feeder and giving the rod a hefty whack using 8lb mainline, the feeder hit the clip hard at 17.5 wraps (75 yards), with plenty still left in the casting locker should I have needed it.
The action of this Aventus reminded me a lot of the original and still much sought-after Carbotec Feeder. Both feel as though a ribbon of elastic has been threaded through the blank, so forgiving is it when playing a big fish.
The Aventus, however, benefits from cutting edge tech and is dressed with seriously good fittings, including oversized Fuji Alconite K-Guides. These are seemingly bulletproof, and will prevent most snarl-ups and tangles. All are ideally positioned to achieve perfect casting compression and playing action.
The Grade A cork handle is considerably longer than you’re expect on an 11ft rod and the added leverage, so I’m told, makes for longer and more accurate casts.
If there’s a tiny shadow on the horizon, it’s the price. At a penny under 400 quid it certainly isn’t cheap, but as with all things, you get what you pay for. The 11ft Guru Aventus Feeder really is as good as it gets.
Price: £399.99
Verdict
GURU’S Aventus rods have been around for a while now, and I have heard many comments about them – good, bad and indifferent. However, as a tackle editor I try to keep an open mind, taking any rod as I find it, rather than basing my judgement on its price or reputation.
The casting power of the 11ft Feeder belies its fabulous cushioned fish-playing action, miraculously married to a steely mid-section that adds to its big-fish credentials.
For me the handle was a little long for an 11ft rod, but I can see why Guru went down that road – for a little ’un it packs one hell of a cast!
GURU AVENTUS 11FT FEEDER TECH SPEC
Length: 11ft l Sections: Two
Recommended line: 3lb-10lb
Casting weight: 70g
Tips: Three – 1oz, 2oz and 3oz
Other rods in the Aventus range:
10ft Guru Aventus Feeder
12ft Guru Aventus Distance Feeder
13ft Guru Aventus Distance Feeder