The quest for a new rod & reel.

I've fished for many years and up until recently I was all about the rod and float. You can't beat watching a bite develop with a knock and a nudge and slight dip willing the float to disappear its what makes fishing so special. I've had a 6m whip for many years and enjoyed that as well, but when I started get back into fishing last year I dug out my Dads old D.A.M 9m pole and I love it, I never use my match rod now! I will hopefully be up-grading this year but may need to win the lottery first!!

Fishing techniques and styles have changed so much since I was a lad and I had heard a lot about the method feeder, so invested in one last year. I only used it once or twice last year and had to use my match rod as when I found my quiver rod in my Dads shed it was broken! I'm still not convinced that watching the end of a rod is REAL fishing but it does seem to be a popular why to fish and an important tool in match fishing.

So I decided to treat myself at Christmas to a new feeder rod and reel. One website I really enjoy reading and always use for advice from fellow anglers is www.maggotdrowning.com/forum
I found it a really tough decision to make I had set myself a budget of £40 maximum which isn't a great deal but also you can get really good quality tackle at a good price these days. Ebay is also a great place to look for good quality second hand equipment and clearance prices on new things.

I was stuck between the Maver Abyss and the Garbolino pickers both had great reviews on maggotdrowing. I was leaning more towards the Garbolino carp feeder as this could take line upto 8lb and I thought I might need this on a snaggy river like the Ribble and when fishing commercials, but on the day I went to Ted Carters they had sold out! So on my return put a bid on Ebay of £20 on a Maver Abyss 12ft feeder rod with 3 tips which is a lighter rod only taking upto 6lb line but at £25 including delivery was abit of a bargin!

So rod purchased now for a reel!!

Again the choice is endless(front drag, rear drag, bait runner etc etc) but to stick in my budget I only had £15! Go Outdoors had a great offer on where they had 50% off all fishing equipment, I popped into the Stockport branch on the way to collecting my son from his Nanna's but really didnt like the feel of the Shakespeare and Abu reels they had, I was stuck! Nothing on Ebay was catching my eye, Lostock Tackle Box was shut when I went to have a look. And then Mark from http://www.htsfishing.co.uk/ got intouch through maggotdrowning offering a few ideas that were for sale on Ebay and some he had on his website. While on his website I noticed he had the Shimano ST2500 FA Baby Baitrunner for sale in the used section though the reel had never been used. It looked like a great reel had brilliant reviews wherever I looked and so with a little negotiation blew my budget and bought it for £30.

I spent £55 in total but I'm confident that I have a great rod and reel that will last me some time. Now I just need to get out and use them!!!

Thanks for reading,

The Maggot Dangler.