TACKLE GUIDE
Looking for a rod that won’t break the bank and is great fun to fish with? You won’t go wrong with the new Ninja X range
IT’S A FACT, Daiwa produces some very impressive commercial fishery rods these days – and, what’s more, they are nearly all designed and manufactured right here in the UK.
You can lay your hands on anything and everything from short rods for chucking modest distances across snake lakes, through to turbo-charged beasts that will hit the horizon. And whether you’re a prince or a pauper, Daiwa will have something to match the depth of your pockets.
As a quick aside from the rod-and-reel combo on live test duty this week, allow me to list Daiwa’s current commercial fishery rod line-up, starting at the top in terms of cost, design, materials, and fittings.
At the summit of the mountain we have the beguiling new Airity X Slims, followed by the Tournament SLR (if big fish at distance are your aim), then the awesome Spectron Commercial range. After that come N’ZON Super Slims and N’ZON basics (Method feeder rods), followed by the new Ninja X range (on live test) and last, but by no means least, the hugely popular and incredibly affordable Matchman range.
I have no hidden agenda in relaying you this information, other than to say it’s not always necessary to shell out big bucks in order to find a rod that will do a great job for you.
Now, given that the subject matter of the live test, a 10ft Ninja X feeder rod, is part of a range roundly aimed at the commercial angler, what can you expect of a sub-hundred quid rod that draws its name from a Mutant Turtle?
All nine Ninja X rods are built from premium grade carbons, have a versatile action ideal for mixed-species venues, and can cope with a wide range of reel sizes and hooklength ratings.
The two-sectioned blanks are finished with a cork foregrip on of compact black stainless steel frame guides with titanium oxide rings and, as a nice finishing touch, there’s a well-positioned hook keeper ring too.
The feeder rods all come with two graded carbon quivertips – the 1oz and 2oz versions on the 10ft model work seamlessly and flat spot-free to assist the mild, progressive fish-playing action. It had been a while since I visited my old mate Dax at Wold Farm, Poddington, which is basically round the back of Northamptonshire’s famous
Santa Pod drag race track. How things had changed since my last visit – the venue now boasts a tidy on-site tackle shop and a café. All you need to do these days to visit this pic
