Feeder rod and reel for £100?

[fordy81]

I've been away from this game for far too long and want to get back in to it this year.

I've never properly done any feeder fishing and want to give it a right good go but need the gear.

Can anyone recommend a good rod and reel for ideally under £100 (I would pay a bit more if I'd get my money's worth)? I'll be mainly fishing commercial waters with possibly the odd river session once every so often.

Thanks in advance.



Edit: Sorry, I should have said ideally a rod that would cope with perhaps 8lb line for those bigger chucks and landing big carp (I hope).

 

[sumtime]

Last year I bought a Shakey Mach 1xt feeder rod specifically for the local park, easily transportable as I was only a few hundred yards to the lake. I've caught some nice fish on it, carp,tench,decent roach etc and it does the job well..

I couple this with a Shimano ex age 3000. The Mach is cheap and decent, well worth having in yer kit.

 

[chefster]

Last year I bought a Sharkey Mach 1xt feeder rod specifically for the local park, easily transportable as I was only a few hundred yards to the lake. I've caught some nice fish on it, carp,tench,decent roach etc and it does the job well..

I couple this with a Shimano ex age 3000. The Mach is cheap and decent, well worth having in her kit.

I,LL second that the Shakespeare rods are brilliant value for money!!

 

[Bluenose]

Welcome to the site mate, what sort of venues will you be fishing?

There are loads of options in that price range

 

[jacksharp]

Middy 'The Works' 10ft Feeder Rod with 2 carbon tips, around £50 and Shakespeare Sigma 030 or 035 Front Drag reel, around £25. Got both and used them recently. Great kit at bargain prices!

 

[fordy81]

Last year I bought a Shakey Mach 1xt feeder rod specifically for the local park, easily transportable as I was only a few hundred yards to the lake. I've caught some nice fish on it, carp,tench,decent roach etc and it does the job well..

I couple this with a Shimano ex age 3000. The Mach is cheap and decent, well worth having in yer kit.

Thanks. Funnily enough I stumbled upon the Mach 2 which presumably is similar?

Shakespeare MACH2 XT Feeder Rod Reel Deal

And I have an Exage already which might well be the 3000 (I'd have to check and blow the dust off). lol

Welcome to the site mate, what sort of venues will you be fishing?

There are loads of options in that price range

Thanks for the welcome. Venues will just be general commercials, nothing massive in size, no bigger than 10 acres I guess, nothing silly deep. But I want something that can cope with perhaps 8lb line for longer chucks and give me a chance if I do hook a big carp.

That's encouraging. Thought I might have to spend a bit more. lol

 

[jacksharp]

Venues will just be general commercials, nothing massive in size, no bigger than 10 acres I guess, nothing silly deep. But I want something that can cope with perhaps 8lb line for longer chucks and give me a chance if I do hook a big carp.

That's encouraging. Thought I might have to spend a bit more. lol

The Middy is rated to 10lb mainline so will cope well with what you want to do. :thumbs:

 

[Bluenose]

If you live near a decent shop I'd see what they have in stock mate, but to second what others have said, the Shakey gear, whilst not being a brand favoured by the tackle tarts, offers brilliant value for money.

Both the rods and reels in the middle to upper end of their range are exceptional value for money when compared with the more trendy brands and you will often pick them up, new, for a fair bit less than RRP.

 

[fordy81]

The Middy is rated to 10lb mainline so will cope well with what you want to do. :thumbs:

Ok, revealing my naivety; what's the difference between say a 10ft and 13ft rod, other than 3ft? lol Is it the distance you can cast a feeder?

 

[jacksharp]

Ok, revealing my naivety; what's the difference between say a 10ft and 13ft rod, other than 3ft? lol Is it the distance you can cast a feeder?

Not quite so simple as that but broadly speaking, yes. Plus 12 and 13ft rods may well be beefier in terms of test curve. The trend nowadays is for more compact 2-piece rods for the commercials. I could put a Method feeder into the trees on the far side of most of the commies I visit with the 10ft Middy so why would I need a longer rod?

 

[fordy81]

I hope it's ok to post links on here.

So potentially;

Shakespeare Mach 2 XT 12ft Feeder Rod - Dragon Carp Direct

With;

Shakespeare Mach 2 XT Rear Drag 040 Reel - Dragon Carp Direct

A touch over £50. Sounds great if it's good kit.

However, for less than another £20 I can get the same rod but with a waggler tip. Wouldn't hurt to have a back up. But is it the same quality, just a different top section, or will I be sacrificing feeder quality for it?

Shakespeare Mach 2 XT 11ft Waggler Feeder Combo Rod - Dragon Carp Direct

 

[robtherake]

There's a video review of the combo rod on the Gofishing site.

 

[jacksharp]

Not sure I like combo rods much. For £100 you can get a Shakey Feeder AND a waggler rod and a reel by looking at the Omni or Sigma ranges.

If you are mainly going to fish commercials I wouldn't bother with longer than 11' for the feeder and 12' for the waggler and an O35 size reel with a shallow and a deep spool as standard will see you sorted.

The above kit will suffice for the odd day on the river too.

 

[chefster]

The Shakespeare mach series of rods are absolutely superb,available in the lengths you need,you wont go wrong with those mate!!

 

[peg two]

How about the Drennan red series?

A 10ft rod in the region of £45 or 11ft for around £55.

A drennan red reel for around £20.

Last year I used them both and had some good bags of bream on a method feeder with fake corn. Nice little bundle that never broke the bank.

Peg two.

 

[fordy81]

Thanks very much everyone. Probably heading towards the Shakespeare combo as the price is a real bonus.

This might be the wrong place to ask but looking at feeder fishing tips, everyone says clip up for accuracy which of course makes sense. But it seems many articles imply to leave your line clipped up. What happens if you hook a half decent fish? Won't it snap the line at the clip?

And a couple more questions.

I'm thinking just a simple inline method feeder rig. Nothing too complicated to start with. Can anyone recommend a line for the end rig? Seems many people talk of a stiffer line (flurocarbon perhaps?) as it's harder for the fish to eject? Does this sound right?

And finally, I'm completely lost with general line. I always used to use Daiwa Sensor as it was cheap enough to respool often if, and when, I suffered with the memory problems. What's a decent line to get me going on nowadays?

Thanks guys, really appreciate it. Getting the old butterflies back just thinking about fishing again. lol

Fordy

 

[Bluenose]

Thanks very much everyone. Probably heading towards the Shakespeare combo as the price is a real bonus.

This might be the wrong place to ask but looking at feeder fishing tips, everyone says clip up for accuracy which of course makes sense. But it seems many articles imply to leave your line clipped up. What happens if you hook a half decent fish? Won't it snap the line at the clip?

You can use a clip, best when you need to be right next to an island, tree, lilies, bush.. whatever. If you do hook a lump having the clip on can be a problem.

And a couple more questions.

I'm thinking just a simple inline method feeder rig. Nothing too complicated to start with. Can anyone recommend a line for the end rig? Seems many people talk of a stiffer line (flurocarbon perhaps?) as it's harder for the fish to eject? Does this sound right?

The line strength you use will depend on the species, just make sure your chosen rod will be comfortable casting a method feeder. The small flat feeders with groundbait shouldn't be a problem, but the larger method balls are a lot heavier.

With regards the hooklength, the options are numerous mate. Fluoro is worth a look as are various other materials, try one or two and see what suits you best. At this point, if am honest, i wouldn't get too tied up (see what I did there?) with the technicalities of various hooklink materials, find one that you can fish with without hassle, get a few bites and take it from there

And finally, I'm completely lost with general line. I always used to use Daiwa Sensor as it was cheap enough to respool often if, and when, I suffered with the memory problems. What's a decent line to get me going on nowadays?

Daiwa sensor is spot on for a mainline. All line gets damaged at some point. the bulk spools of sensor are ace vfm

Thanks guys, really appreciate it. Getting the old butterflies back just thinking about fishing again. lol

Fordy

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[jacksharp]

I used to have Daiwa Sensor on all my reels but now I use Berkely Trilene XL clear. Doing a good job for me so far!

 

[fordy81]

Thanks for everyone's help and advice.

Ended up plumping for the Shakespeare Mach 2 rod and reel. The £52 price for the pair was the biggest selling point. Just as well as I did another £70 in the tackle shop today plus £27 for a license. lol

Lets hope I get some proper use out of it next week.

 

[maceo]

Hope the sun stays shining for you Fordy and you enjoy using your new kit.

Good luck!