LIVE TEST
New Gear Revealed, On The Bank Tests & Expert Advice
Tony Grigorjevs runs the rule over Shakespeare’s latest float rod, which promises to be far more than a one-trick pony...
SHAKESPEARE SKP CONCEPT-T 14FT FLOAT ROD RRP: £84.99
WITH the current cost of living crisis putting strain on budgets, impulsive purchases of big tackle items that may only get the odd airing have been put on hold as anglers seek true value for money in everything that they add to their armoury.
As such, when it comes to buying new rods, many people are starting to look for those that will prove useful in more than just one setting. Shakespeare seem fully aware of this trend, and their new 14ft SKP Concept-T Float rod is a tool which certainly seems to fit within those parameters.
Given its extra length and the manufacturer’s promise of the rod being able to handle big fish, it seemed to me like there would be no shortage of fishing scenarios where it would deliver the goods, not least when trotting for barbel and chub. However, with the rivers running low and clear during the late summer heatwave, I decided instead to test its merits on the stillwater front.
A commercial water packed with hard-fighting carp seemed like a good place to start, so I headed off to Nottinghamshire’s Janson Fishery to see if the rod would live up to its billing.
Action off the rod tip
As with the vast majority of long rods, this is a three-piece offering, and on first glance its build certainly seems tailored for doing battle with larger-than-average fish. The butt section was quite chunky, but not overly so, the rod rings were of sufficient size to allow the smooth passage of slightly thicker mainlines, if and when needed, and the tip had a powerful look to it.
A quick ‘waggle’ without the reel attached revealed the blank to be quite stiff, which is exactly what you’d want when piling the pressure on to get big fish away from cover, although there certainly seemed to be an element of forgiveness in the top half to help minimise hookpulls close to the net.
The colour of the blank is a little different, being grey, rather than the more normal black. This may prove a little ‘Marmite’ for some – you’ll probably either love it or loathe it – but I was certainly in the former camp, I found it quite the ‘looker’!
My plan on the day was to fish a pole float off the rod tip on the prolific Tomo’s Pool. A shallow lake with depths averaging 2ft-4ft, it’s heavily stocked with carp in the 1lb-7lb bracket.
This set-up would allow precise presentation, and is a style of fishing that we are sometimes guilty of overlooking in this magazine because, go to any commercial fishery in high season and you’ll see dozens of anglers using a float on rod and line tactics just a few metres from the bank.
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