New Nordik Octbox Mk2
Last year Nordik Tackle introduced the Octbox Tackle Seat to the UK market, and although the box was well received, it would be fair to say that it was better suited to the European match scene where they fish more natural venues than for the easy-access UK commercials having platforms.
This year the company is back with a revised Mk2 version of the box designed primarily for the UK match angler.
It includes a moveable top seat module that can be adjusted to suit the height of any angler, plus it offers enough storage space to house all small accessory items, as well as over 100 pole winders.
We took the new Octbox Mk2 2001 to the bankside to see all its features and put it through its paces.
To watch the video, click on the image below.
New Frenzee Precision Match 13ft rod
With the new river season only a matter of hours away, it seems only fitting that this week's live tackle test should be devoted to a classic design of rod. Welcome Frenzee's 13ft Precision Match rod.
But before you watch the video below and see the detail of carbon, cork and rings, we ought to pay tribute to a generic style of rod that's withstood the test of time and has been used to float fish on natural venues since records began. In fact, over the decades this popular three-piece, 13ft design has been the foundation of match angling history.
This week's live test rod - the Frenzee 13ft Precision Match - proved to exhibit total class despite coming from a stable without the history of the legends that wrote waggler-fishing history.
The fast-tapered carbon blank produces a soft yet crisp striking stroke which helps whip line off the surface with ease, therefore helping you to hit every single lightning fast bite.
But that's just the start of this rod's great pointys, as you will find by watchig the video below.
To view the video, click the image below.
New Garbolino G-Max Commercial Waggler rod
Just check out the match pages of Angling Times and you'll see that there are few better net-filling tactics for commercials than the pellet waggler and Method feeder.
Both techniques have dozens of rods, all claiming to be perfect for the job, but when an angler with the match credentials of England international Darren Cox hands you a pair and says they are 'the best commercial fishery tools I have ever fished with' you have to sit up and take notice.
Watch the video below to see how Mark Sawyer got on with the new Garbolino G-Max rods...
New Maver Competition Match This 1 pole
Maver’s all-new Competition Match This 1 is the company’s ‘introduction’ Nanolith pole that boasts all the carbon technologies and innovations found on its higher priced models… but at a fraction of the price!
Carrying a modest SSP of £499.99 it offers the superb on the bank performance UK anglers have come to expect when using a brand of the calibre of Maver.
The quality of this pole shines through from the outset, starting with the generic benefits that come from using the same unique mandrel to build all Maver Match Competition poles. This identical size construction enables all the top kit sections to be transferred if you wish to upgrade to a more illustrious model.
Other technological benefits of this modern pole include the Sun Core finish that is used on every section and works in two ways. First, it enables the pole to be shipped around with incredible ease during wet or dry conditions, and second it prevents the sections from becoming uncomfortably hot when left exposed to the
summer sun.
To watch the video where Mark Sawyer puts the new Maver Match This 1 through its paces, click on the image below.
If the video doesn't load automatically, press Ctrl and F5.
New Nisa PVA Bag-Up Feeda Leads
Have you ever cast out and wondered if all your feed has come off and you are sitting there with an empty Method feeder?
Almost certainly at some stage that niggling thought has crossed the mind of every angler but the problem is about to be removed forever.
Nick Larkin, the man behind Nisa Feeders, has come up with an ingenious and innovative new method that has the potential to change the face of feeder fishing forever.
The devastatingly simple device combines the use of a PVA mesh bag with an in-line Method feeder-type flat feeder and provides perfect bait presentation, changeable feed levels, plus pin-point accuracy with improved distances.
Angling Times' tackle tester,. Mark Sawyer, took a sample to the bankside to show exactly how effective and easy it is to use.
To watch the video click the image below.
New Drennan Method Feeder
"Absolutely fabulous," is how five-times world champion Alan Scotthorne described these brilliant new in-line flat Method feeders and moulds by Drennan.
First, the clever frame design allows the lead in the flat base , and the bait load, to distribute the weight into an aerodynamic bomb shape so you can cast further with greater accuracy.
On the body of the feeder, the two largest bait-holding ribs are well spaced and curve away from each other, leaving a gap so the bait can be placed in the optimum position for perfect hook-ups every time.
Mark Sawyer received a sample of this new in-line flat method feeder recently and in the video below explains how to use and get the most from it.
Simply click the image below to play the video.
New 'The Pole Tip'
A radical new polefishing invention is proving responsible for a string of big silver fish catches to over 100lb for its creator and a band of anglers who are 'in' on the gadget.
The contraption involves and elasticated rod tip attached to the tip of the pole, which is designed for fishing up-in-the-water, and it has been used to devastating effect by inventor John Davey and his club mates at a number of venues around Yorkshire.
At Pine Lakes in Thorne, anglers with 'The Pole Tip', including John and son-in-law Mike English, filled the top three places in a recent match with bags to 48lb of ide, the same venue where they have amassed nets to 72lb in past events and over a ton when pleasure fishing.
And it was here that Angling Times caught up with the duo to witness the device in action.
To watch the video, click the image below.
If the video doesn't load automatically, press Ctrl F5.
New Middy 3G Micro Muscle Waggler rod
Despite its pencil-thin profile this new two-piece Middy 3G Micro Muscle waggler rod has been designed to handle carp to double figures.
The sleek high modulus carbon blank looks a million dollars in a refined gunmetal grey with silver tipped dark grey whippings.
It boasts a full cork handle with a Loc-tite woven carp reel fitting, nine lightweight single-legged original SiC guides on the top section, and two double-legged guides on the butt.
The looks and build quality are quite unsurpassed, yet this rod can be all yours for a penny under a ton. So what about the performance?
We've accompanied Mark Sawyer to the banks of Hinderclay Lakes in Suffolk to put the rod through its paces, and to watch the video showing how the rod performs, click the image below.
New Daiwa Tournament and 150 seatboxes
Daiwa has launched two super-modern seatboxes this week, including a new flagship level Tournament box for match anglers together with a traditional, 'practical' box that pleasure anglers will love.
The Tournament 400SB is packed with features, including a dual-frame with a top tier and sliding tackle unit below.
The split level modular design has a huge storage capacity within two shallow accessory side trays and two 40mm full-width storage areas in the top alone.
There is also a wide array of accessories to fit both these boxes, again released this week.
To watch Mark Sawyer talking about these new boxes, click on the video play button below.
If the video doesn't load automatically, press Ctrl and F5.
New Preston Innovations Carbonactive F1 Mini rods and Inception reels
Walk into any tackle shop and you'll find a plethora of species-specific carp, tench and barbel rods available.
However, the ever-resourceful Preston Innovations is the first major tackle manufacturer to make a move towards catering for the massed ranks of match anglers that f ish for hybrid carp species - hence the 'F1' name of this rod.
In this video, Angling Times' tackle tester Mark Sawyer puts them, and the new Inception reel, to the test.
New Maver Abyss feeder and float rods
If you are on the hunt for either feeder or float rods capable of controlling commercial fishery carp you ought to take a look at the new range of Maver Abyss rods.
Every single rod in the new range costs under £40, and they sure are impressive as Mark Sawyer found out when he took a couple, equipped them with new Maver reels, and put them to the test at a nearby commercial carp water.
New Shakespeare Mach2 XT Waggler/Feeder Combination
There was a time when a combination rod was something available only through the sports pages of your mum's club book - hideous, unbranded objects that 'magically' transformed from a delicate 13ft match rod into a brutish 6ft boat rod, a willowy 9ft fly rod and a legering tool too!
How times have changed! These days many of the UK's major fishing tackle brands include coarse combo rods as part of their range.
And Shakespeare is no different, as here is the new Mach 2 XT 11ft waggler/feeder combination, ideally suited to reel lines from 3lb to 8lb, chucking a Method feeder and for launching a pellet waggler - and much more besides.
Here, in this short video, Mark Sawyer takes the Shakespeare Mach 2 XT waggler/feeder combination rod to the bankside to give it a thorough test.
To view the video, click on the image below.
New Greys Prowla pike boat fishing rods
Greys have just released a new range of purpose-built predator boat rods under the Prowla banner.
There are two new rods in the range - the 10ft 3in XS boat and the 10ft 6in Platinum boat.
Both have 3lb test curves that allow the easy casting of very large and heavy baits together with the power to control very large and hard fighting pike. But this strength in the blank tapers off to a much finer and more flexible tip that helps cushion those last-minute lunges as the pike tries to shake the hooks free in the dying seconds of the fight.
In this in-the-boat test Angling Times editor Richard Lee and fishing buddy Terry Knight took both examples over to Ireland to put them through their paces during their annual predator lough fishing break.
To see how they got on with both styles of Greys Prowla rod watch the video below.
To see the video click the play button below.
New Tri-Cast Senator XS 16m pole
The name Tri-Cast is synonymous with producing powerful poles capable of stopping big, hard-fighting carp, and this brand new offering from their Rochdale premises is no different.
It's the 16m Senator XS - another power pole produced for the discerning commercial carp angler.
It boasts phenomenal wall strength and a very impressive spares package that will provide any new and proud owner with all the necessary elastic configurations to confidently attack any commercial water in the country.
Mark Sawyer managed to get his hands on one of the first examples of this superior strength pole and took it to the Barford Lakes complex in Norfolk to put it through its paces.
You can see just how he got on with the pole's features and performance by watching the video below...
TRI-CAST SENATOR XS 16m FACTFILE
Price: RRP £1,799. SSP £1,199.99
Spares package: Match top-3 in the pole, 1 spare match top-4, 3 spare match top-3s, 3 spare big-bore power top-2s, 80cm mini butt extension, Xtra stiff top-2 cupping kit, 2 cups (large and small), angler's towel and deluxe holdall with tubes.
Extra: A free promotional voucher which entitles you to receive either another match top-3 kit or a big-bore power top-2 kit.
Now watch the video
To see Mark's verdict on this new power pole click the video play button below. If the video doesn't load automatically press Ctrl and F5.
New Shimano Fireblood 16m pole
Shimano has just released a brand new 16m Fireblood pole, and here Mark Sawyer took a sample to a local commercial carp fishery to put it through its paces.
This is the pole that both Steve Ringer and Alan Scotthorne have been using, so you just know it's going to be pretty damn good!
Alan actually used this pole during the 2010 European and World Championships, to provide an individual win in the Euros and a team gold in the World Champs.
The pole itself isn't a cheap model, but we've found out it's one of the very best for all-round use on UK waters, offering the strength to cope with carp, but the speed and rigidity required to fish our vast canal and river systems for smaller species.
And as it comes supplied with a very generous spares package, you can quite easily equip yourself with all the elastics you'll ever need to fish watever waters you wish.
POLE PACKAGE FACTFILE
8 x Gen-X match top-3 kits
2 x generic fourth sections
Cupping kit
Deluxe nine-tube holdall
Price: £2,699.99 SSP £2,100
To watch the video, please click the play button below. If the video doesn't automatically display, refresh the page by pressing Ctrl and F5.
See the new Greys Prodigy specialist fishing rucksack
Greys have made a made for themselves with their impressive Prodigy specialist fishing rods, and now they have extended their range to include a very impressive Prodigy specialist fishing rucksack.
Angling Times' resident tackle tester, Mark Sawyer, took one to the banks of his local stalking water to show off all its impressive features.
The Prodigy rucksack forms just part of a complete range of luggage from Greys, details of which are below:
Rovign cool bag - £29.99
On the move bag - £16.99
1 x rod holdall - £29.99
2 x rod holdall - £39.99
Base rucksack - £59.99
Unhooking mat medium - £12.99
Unhooking mat large - £19.99
Method and groundbasit bowl set - £14.99
To watch the video detailing the new Greys Prodigy rucksack, click the play button on the image below...
Mark Sawyer tests the new Daiwa Airity pole
This week Mark Sawyer has had a chance to test one of the greatest poles ever created - the new Daiwa Airity.
It's a phenomenal fishing pole, offering everything an angler ever needs, including a huge array of top kits, perfect balance, extreme rigidity and minimal weight.
The Daiwa Airity is a true all-rounder, equally at home on rivers and canals as it is on commercial carp waters, so here Mark took the pole to the river to try to hit lighning fast bites from roach.
DAIWA AIRITY FACTFILE
Length: 16m
Full package price: RRP £4,999, SSP £2,999
Pole only price: 16m RRP £3,999, SSP £2,500 includes PHEX extension
Weight: 1390g at 16m
Recommended elastics: 16/20
See how he got on and hear his verdict on the pole by watching the video below...
New Shakespeare feeder fishing kit
Recently Angling Times chief tackle tester Mark Sawyer and avid reader Steve Gwynne visited the riverbank to put Shakespeare's new 12/14ft Superteam Distance Feeder and the new Mach 3XT front drag reel through their paces.
Although this new rod has been created to give its users the edge where casting distance is concerned, the duo quickly found that not only will the rod cast a hell of a long way, but it's equally at home fishing shorter ranges too.
And that's what you need from a combination-length feeder rod - a tool that can cope with a wide variety of circumstances.
The reel performed really well too, offering superb line lay, smooth retrieve and perfect bale arm action.
To see the test as it happened, click the video play button below...
New Maver Competition Series Match This 3 pole
The new 16m Maver Competition Match This 3 pole is part of a six-pole series and is touted as being the best sub-£1,000 pole the Redditch-based fishing tackle company has ever created.
But what is it that makes this particular pole, carrying a suggested selling price of £999.99, so much better than previous similar-priced models from the Maver stable.
Extra special attention has been paid to the fourth, fifth and sixth sections. They have been created with additional strength in mind, to create a seriously strong and rigid match fishing pole.
In the video below, Mark Sawyer takes the pole to the bank to give it a thorough test. To watch the video, click the play button.
PRODUCT SPEC
Spares package: 2 x power kits, 2 x match top-3 kits, cupping kit with cups, mini extension, deluxe holdall, clean caps and DVD.
Price: RRP £1,332, SSP £999.99
Offer: Special promotion for 2011 - buy a Match This 3 and receive two power kits worth £109.98 free of charge.
New Drennan IM9 Classic float rod
Drennan has released a brand new pair of float rods - both designed as two-section rods with a short screw-in handle extension.
This unique and innovative design reduces the amount of joints in the actual rod blank by half. Everyday 13ft float rods have two joints and three sections, but these fine float rods have only the one joint between its two longer sections.
This feature ensures the blank has a much sweeter, progressive curve providing a more natural bend throughout the rod - and not a sign of a flat spot either.
The design creates two equal-length sections and an 18-inch handle that all sits comfortably within the bag supplied.
And as the two main sections of the rod are equal length, this float rod can be transported ready made-up and wrapped securely with the two neoprene sleeves that are supplied. All you need to do is unhook the rig, put the joint together, screw-in the base of the cork handle and bait your hook.
In the video below, Angling Times chief tackle tester Mark Sawyer takes the new IM9 Classic to the banks to put it through its paces...
