Are you one of those people afraid of or shy away from travel rods? If so then fear no more if you want a nice barbel style rod with plenty of power to handle large fish.
This is an extremely slim blank being just a little more than 11mm diameter just above the handle. It's 11 feet long and has 9 intermediate rings, all triple legged, a tip ring and there's even a keeper ring near the handle for your hook, a nice feature that you don't see very often. The finish is very dark carbon grey, black whippings with a few choice silver threads around the joints and the butt ring whippings.
This is what Harrison says about the Sulis rods -
“For the new specialist range of Sulis rods, the blanks are all premium quality low resin content carbon with ninety degree scrim. The cork handles are triple 'A' grade. Rings are gunsmoke frames and zirconium lined. Actions and balance feel crisp and light but the power and strength is there for double figure barbel. These rods are world class. No one knows more about specialist rod design than we do here at Harrisons, and we believe our production partners are the best available.”
There is a screw-down reel fitting with a Duplon-style handgrip, the remainder of the handle being simple cork with a Duplon-style butt grip. If I had a complaint about this it would be that the handle would benefit, aesthetically at least, from a little more shaping. That said, it performs its duty and the weight of the rod makes it a delight to hold all day long.
In action, the rod shows what it's made of with plenty of strength coming into play from around the middle down. It has a very definite top end action, but I doubt it will ever 'bottom out', as we say, for lack of a bit more give in the butt. True enough, I haven't taken any monsters on it yet, but the barbel up to 8lbs I have caught, haven't even troubled it.
It comes in its own cloth covered protection tube with a zipped top and carry handle and strap.
Being in four pieces you could always set it up and break it into just two equal pieces for keeping in a quiver. It makes a perfect all-round rod for summer/autumn barbel whereas rods like the Harrison Chimera is more of a flood rod. At around £130.00 they're not amongst the cheapest rods on the market and you may have to look around for them, but the effort is well worth it.
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Jeff Woodhouse's VERDICT
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If all I want to take is one rod, travel light, stalk or even just sit and take it easy, this is the rod I reach for first. It fits nicely into a secret compartment in the boot of my car along with a suitable reel and I could get a shortish landing net in there as well, I suppose. It would always be handy for if I was ever passing the fishery. One day I might just use it for simple float fishing for carp. An excellent quality tool that is a sheer delight to use.
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
