Post by philpot on Oct 8, 2014 8:19:03 GMT
A few months ago, Terry showed his new lrf outfit which really got me thinking, I loved the idea of a light rod and enjoying the fight that comes with such gear so I started my search. Terry's rod is rated at 1 - 7grms which seemed spot on for some fun but then I started to think about the waters I would be using it and even if I was targeting perch there was still a good chance of pike which are in large numbers in my venues.
Now being a retired old tart, I have the time to review the gear I'm interested in but I confess being a bait and fly fisherman, the art of lure fishing is still something I am learning about all the time so with god knows how many reviews read, my mind was in a spin as to what to buy. A few chats with my good friend esoxuk / Phil who has years of experience lure fishing, a suggestion was made to look at Dragon rods. My first thought was the outfit in Nottingham who sell loads of cheap gear but NO that was not the same company. Phil directed me to the 'Lure World' site who sold the Dragon range of rods and the one which Phil had recommended me to was the X-Treme.
The first thing I saw was these rods were made from Toray blanks which may or may not mean much to you but Toray is a company I used to work with some years ago and make the best carbon on the planet. Most of the tennis rackets seen at Wimbleton are made from Toray carbon, Most of the top golf clubs use Toray shafts ( as I was advised at the time when I was involved with them ) so as soon as I saw the Toray brand name, I was hooked, pardon my pun. An order was placed for a 4 - 21grm, 2.3mt. When the rod arrived, I was so impressed with the build quality, green gloss for the bottom 60cm running into matt black for the remaining length, superb cork/duplon abbreviated handles, high stand off Fuji rings with fantastic detail make this rod quite stunning. Phil said to me before I bought it that he doesn't know how they make them for the price ( approx £100 ) and I totally agree.
Okay rod sorted, now the reel. For many years my friend had used a Quantum reel for sea fishing and raved on as to how good they were and the company who Terry bought his outfit from also imported some of the Quantum range of fixed spool reels. I went onto the Quantum US site to get more details and fell in love with the EXO-PT which had some rave reviews. I managed to find one in the UK and bought it. It is very light with all excess metal removed to keep the weight down giving a space age look. The reel is beautifully made with great attention to detail so with no waiting, on went some 6lb line as a backing line followed with 13lb Dragon invisible braid. God, what a bloody awful line lay, a gap at the top of the spool and bulging at the base. A phone call to the supplier and I removed a washer to remove the problem------------not much better, now humping in the middle and a gap at the top and bottom and bare in mind this is a £200 reel, okay I got it for £165 but, HEY, this is not a bargain basement reel so it should be perfect.
The reel was sent back to Zebco in Belgium to be replaced. A reel arrived back with me, the same reel with a different spool, the wrong spool. Well not too happy but nevertheless I added the line-----------total rubbish. Another chat with the supplier and Belgium and I new reel was to be sent, this time however I would not return the existing reel until the new one arrived just to make sure I was getting a new one. This time line had been loaded to show the line lay was good. I removed enough to load my braid and this time the result was okay. Quite a bit of hassle but in the end it has worked out.
I have now used the outfit a few times and to say I am very pleased with would be an understatement. The rod and reel are so light, it is like a rapier to use, very sharp and precise. Casting 3 - 4 grm lures is just amazing with distances that astound me because you just do not think they are capable of being cast far. I have had a few fish on, all of which were handled easily and the reel is a joy to use which after the hassle actually surprised me.
Yesterday, due to poor weather, I decided not to go out on the boat but walk down a stretch of the River Ancolme in the town of Brigg. Easy parking and easy access to the river bank. What a really enjoyable morning, a chat with another pike angler, 4 pike and 2 good perch was my reward with the largest pike at around 8lb ish and the largest perch at around 1.5lb. The rod handled the pike with no effort whatsoever but as usual guys I did not take a camera, must get into the habit of packing it with me or at least learning how to use my new phone camera properly.
I can say that I am a very happy bunny with the outfit and am now looking at buying a heavier X-Treme rod for some of the bigger lures.
Phil
Now being a retired old tart, I have the time to review the gear I'm interested in but I confess being a bait and fly fisherman, the art of lure fishing is still something I am learning about all the time so with god knows how many reviews read, my mind was in a spin as to what to buy. A few chats with my good friend esoxuk / Phil who has years of experience lure fishing, a suggestion was made to look at Dragon rods. My first thought was the outfit in Nottingham who sell loads of cheap gear but NO that was not the same company. Phil directed me to the 'Lure World' site who sold the Dragon range of rods and the one which Phil had recommended me to was the X-Treme.
The first thing I saw was these rods were made from Toray blanks which may or may not mean much to you but Toray is a company I used to work with some years ago and make the best carbon on the planet. Most of the tennis rackets seen at Wimbleton are made from Toray carbon, Most of the top golf clubs use Toray shafts ( as I was advised at the time when I was involved with them ) so as soon as I saw the Toray brand name, I was hooked, pardon my pun. An order was placed for a 4 - 21grm, 2.3mt. When the rod arrived, I was so impressed with the build quality, green gloss for the bottom 60cm running into matt black for the remaining length, superb cork/duplon abbreviated handles, high stand off Fuji rings with fantastic detail make this rod quite stunning. Phil said to me before I bought it that he doesn't know how they make them for the price ( approx £100 ) and I totally agree.
Okay rod sorted, now the reel. For many years my friend had used a Quantum reel for sea fishing and raved on as to how good they were and the company who Terry bought his outfit from also imported some of the Quantum range of fixed spool reels. I went onto the Quantum US site to get more details and fell in love with the EXO-PT which had some rave reviews. I managed to find one in the UK and bought it. It is very light with all excess metal removed to keep the weight down giving a space age look. The reel is beautifully made with great attention to detail so with no waiting, on went some 6lb line as a backing line followed with 13lb Dragon invisible braid. God, what a bloody awful line lay, a gap at the top of the spool and bulging at the base. A phone call to the supplier and I removed a washer to remove the problem------------not much better, now humping in the middle and a gap at the top and bottom and bare in mind this is a £200 reel, okay I got it for £165 but, HEY, this is not a bargain basement reel so it should be perfect.
The reel was sent back to Zebco in Belgium to be replaced. A reel arrived back with me, the same reel with a different spool, the wrong spool. Well not too happy but nevertheless I added the line-----------total rubbish. Another chat with the supplier and Belgium and I new reel was to be sent, this time however I would not return the existing reel until the new one arrived just to make sure I was getting a new one. This time line had been loaded to show the line lay was good. I removed enough to load my braid and this time the result was okay. Quite a bit of hassle but in the end it has worked out.
I have now used the outfit a few times and to say I am very pleased with would be an understatement. The rod and reel are so light, it is like a rapier to use, very sharp and precise. Casting 3 - 4 grm lures is just amazing with distances that astound me because you just do not think they are capable of being cast far. I have had a few fish on, all of which were handled easily and the reel is a joy to use which after the hassle actually surprised me.
Yesterday, due to poor weather, I decided not to go out on the boat but walk down a stretch of the River Ancolme in the town of Brigg. Easy parking and easy access to the river bank. What a really enjoyable morning, a chat with another pike angler, 4 pike and 2 good perch was my reward with the largest pike at around 8lb ish and the largest perch at around 1.5lb. The rod handled the pike with no effort whatsoever but as usual guys I did not take a camera, must get into the habit of packing it with me or at least learning how to use my new phone camera properly.
I can say that I am a very happy bunny with the outfit and am now looking at buying a heavier X-Treme rod for some of the bigger lures.
Phil
