I've been a fan of CarbonActive rods ever since they made their first appearance. When I first saw one bent well beyond the point where you expected to hear a loud crack as the blank splintered I've been well impressed with their strength.
But this is no brute stick, it's a lovely, slim, sleek-looking rod that can take its place amongst the best looking rods anywhere. And it weighs much less than you would expect.
Although the rod has a line rating of 3 to 7lb I have had no qualms whatsoever in loading it with 8lb line and bending the rod until the line broke. I would be more concerned if I used it with 3lb line as, to me, the rod seems a little heavy for line so light as that.
I like the reel fitting too; of the ones that are available, this one, where the top part of the butt screws down onto the reel seat, is my favourite for comfort.
Apart from the butt ring the rod is fitted with single legged rings, which are not my personal favourite, with me being a heavy-handed, somewhat careless angler and prone to bending them. But there are many who will prefer the single legged rings for the weight reduction and marginally better rod performance.
Although the rod is aimed primarily at the commercial carp bagger it is an ideal barbel trotting rod where you need to use lines of 6lb or more. Where the barbel are not too big and not lying close to snags you'll have a job to find a better tool for the job.
The rod comes in the usual cloth bag, and a fairly heavy duty nylon roving bag with carrying handle.
Woody (coo-coo)
