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| Masterline John Wilson Signature Avon Quiver System |
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|  Average Rating: 4 out of 5 No. of Reviews: 21 RRP: £89.99 Year: 2003
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|  | | Posted: 31/03/08 | | 'IT'LL DO WHAT YOU WANT IT TO' | | Strengths:
Lovely through action. Very adaptable. Multi length. Good build quality. | | Weaknesses:
Slightly weak reel seat design. Would have like a 1oz tc quiver. | | Overall:
I was going to start this review by outlining what this rod could do. Instead, however, I'll start by what it can't do and that is fish 12oz bottoms for mini roach or launch huge method balls for carp. Everything in between is more or less in it's capability. Although it's been going for a few years now, this rod is still available, still selling in good numbers and still landing the fish. Obviously Masterline believe they have a winning product and you would have to agree with them. Why change a good design? I have used this rod at 11ft with a waggler on 'snake' waters for match sized carp where it's 1.25lb tc tip is more than capable of handling low double figure carp and I've also used it for trotting for chub on the fast flowing River Itchen at it's 13ft length.
As a quiver rod with three insert tips of 1.5oz, 2oz and 2.5oz test curves, it is a great feeder all-rounder at both 11ft for still waters and 13ft for larger rivers like the Hampshire Avon and Thames or when you need extra power on still waters. It would have been nice to have an option of a 1oz tip for blockend feedering for roach and skimmers however.
When loaded, this rod displays the typical Masterline through action which means it is a joy to play fish with the soft action helping to avoid hook pulls at the net. It'll fish reel lines up to 8lb but if you need to go heavier try this rod's big brother, the 1.75lb tc Barbel Quiver System. I have one of these as well and can highly recommend them.
All in all, this rod will do most things extremely competently and a few things excellently. At a RRP of £99 it's not particularly cheap but you can get them for about £70 through the discount catalogues. You get a lot of rod for your money. If you only buy one rod for most of your fishing then this has got to be on your list.
One final point, the reel seat is screw down, but don't tighten it too tightly as the cork on the screw-down can split. Also, this rod will not take big pit reels - but then it was never designed to. |
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| | | | Performance | | 80% | | Quality | | 80% | | Value | | 100% |
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| | | Posted: 15/02/06
Updated: 08/05/06 | | 'GREAT BUT NOT QUITE PERFECT.' | | Strengths:
All round river rod that can turn its hand to the lakes. Good tip selection. Nice through action.[Update 08/05/06] All round river rod that can turn its hand to the lakes with ease. Good tip selection. Lovely through action. Perfect for small to medium rivers. Handles Barbel and Chub very well. | | Weaknesses:
Weak top screw, can easily crack cork under pressure. Small reel seat test reel before you buy. No keeper ring...Oh dear..not a true stalker rod so I have whipped some on my pair.[Update 08/05/06] Weak top screw, can crack cork under pressure if heavy handed. Smallish reel seat; test reel before you buy especially centre pins. No keeper ring...?? Oh dear for another 50p or so this would really be a useful extra, had to whip on some of my own. Just short of being the perfect stalker rod without those keeper rings. | | Overall:
I broke a tip and emailed Masterline about a replacement, of course they did not reply. The rods perform well but lack the fine edge finish of say the Fox barbel duos or Shimano equivalents. The reel seat however is a big dissapointment and for the 2006 season my pair will be de-comissioned and replaced by something else.[Update 08/05/06] The rods perform very well and come with an extra section to vary the length. Mine rated at 1+1/4 and are a delight to use. All in all great rods that just need a few tweaks to make them into brilliant rods. Perhaps the MK3s will achieve this? |
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| | | | Performance | | 80% | | Quality | | 80% | | Value | | 80% |
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