Shakespeare Mach 3 XT 13' Match; any good?

mikench · Jun 20, 2017

Just curious as a club member who had his tackle stolen had bought one and loved it. He reckoned the thieves had done him a favour in forcing him to get a better rod. I don't know what he lost but it was old. He is a wily old angler though! Does anyone have one and what is the opinion?

Did Flightliner ever buy one?

Mark Wintle · Jun 20, 2017

I recommended that Swizzle who posts on here get one, sight unseen. He's delighted with it and I had a quick go and can confirm it's an excellent rod, especially for the money.

flightliner · Jun 20, 2017

It's a hard job to find a poor rod in the shakey range.
I'm considering a couple myself at the moment.
It's the space in my garage that's holding me up at the moment.

thecrow · Jun 20, 2017

I have one Mike and although I have only used it a few times I have to say it does everything I wanted of it, light enough for smaller fish but powerful enough lower down for the odd surprise, comes with its own tube and holdall and imo well worth the low price for such a rod.

Mine is the 12ft 11" model

mikench · Jun 20, 2017

Thanks Graham! I had an idea that a few people on here had them and at around £60 they offer great value for money.

nottskev · Jun 20, 2017

Morning Mike,
Like the OP's, I've only heard good things about these rods. If you'd like to see them shown and demonstrated, have a look at the videos by Shakespeare's James Robbins. You'll see him use these rods to catch everything from small roach to big chub on rivers and stillwaters. The videos themselves are far more than sales pitches and are full of useful tips; his unassuming style and expertise make them very watchable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsk08hLYmP8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybB1S5FL9mo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi-4za4dN10

Etc

just as a footnote, even though Shakespeare rods have rarely had the cachet of some brands, there is a long history of classic rods with excellent
performance. Over the decades, through fibreglass, composite and carbon blanks, I've owned their Match International, Sigma Canal, Sigma Wand and Quattro Feeder, to recall a few. They definitely punch above their weight in terms of value.

davebhoy · Jun 20, 2017

I've got a 14' one, its perfect for chub up to 4lb on the small river i fish, its light in the hand and has a good action for stick fishing and playing small and bigger fish

I'm actually thinking about selling mine as unfortunately the arthritis in my shoulder is getting worse and after even a few hours trotting now it gives me awful gyp.

swizzle · Jun 20, 2017

As Mark has said, he recommended one. I picked mine up for £50 on ebay. I can confirm that it is a brilliant rod. Tippy enough to strike into bits on the rivers and enough grunt to land carp up to 12lb on still water in a shaggy swim. It's light enough to hold all day long. Come with two screw in butt sections, what they are for is beyond me. I know Sam Vimes isn't a big fan of the Shakespeare gear, but I don't know whether it is a problem with quality, or the after sales service. Hopefully he'll be along later to explain. I think for £60 it is a bargain.

fishcatcher60 · Jun 20, 2017

It must be about 5/6yrs ago now that i compared the mach 3xt against the drennan ultralite.
I know they were at different price points but at the time the shakey was still £85.
There was no comparison as the drennan was much lighter and felt much better.
I bought the drennan and used it about 6 times and did not like it at all.
I know a lot of people love the drennans but i just could not get on with it.
My point is you just never know what a rod or pole etc is really like till you get them on the bank.

sam vimes · Jun 20, 2017

swizzle said:
Sam Vimes isn't a big fan of the Shakespeare gear, but I don't knsow whether it is a problem with quality, or the after sales service. Hopefully he'll be along later to explain. I think for £60 it is a bargain.

My dislike of Shakespeare is hardly rational. It simply boils down to having to endure their budget gear as a kid. Unfortunately, that time happened to coincide with one of their dips in form. To this day, I'm not keen on the brand.

However, with regards to the Mach 3 rods, they aren't you bad at all. They are what they are, 120 quid rods that ended up selling at around the 60 quid mark. Some get a little too giddy over them though. As much as they are a bargain at 60 quid, they aren't as good as the best rods out there. The only one that's tempted me is the 13' Light model. That's mainly down to the dearth of light match rods on the market. I couldn't quite get over my Shakeyphobia though and ended up with alternatives from other brands.

nottskev · Jun 20, 2017

I agree there, Fishcatcher. A feature of Shakespeare rods has always been their fish-playing actions. And once rods get down to a few ounces in weight, it's questionable whether shaving off material to make them even lighter is a good idea. There must come a point where their capacity to withstand routine knocks and stresses is compromised, as well as their potential for a "mellow" action.

mikench · Jun 20, 2017

Those still around are the standard 13' Match. The lite model , i understand, had inter changeable butts ( presumably one long and one short) but whether it was lighter i dont know!

flightliner · Jun 20, 2017

fishcatcher60 said:
It must be about 5/6yrs ago now that i compared the mach 3xt against the drennan ultralite.
I know they were at different price points but at the time the shakey was still £85.
There was no comparison as the drennan was much lighter and felt much better.
I bought the drennan and used it about 6 times and did not like it at all.
I know a lot of people love the drennans but i just could not get on with it.
My point is you just never know what a rod or pole etc is really like till you get them on the bank.

The drennans seem to prone to breaking according to guys I've spoken to locally, two have suffered tip damage and only the other week I was in my local tackle dealers and a customer walked in with a
tip section in his hand that was in two halves.
Not for me I'm afraid.

sam vimes · Jun 20, 2017

flightliner said:
The drennans seem to prone to breaking according to guys I've spoken to locally, two have suffered tip damage and only the other week I was in my local tackle dealers and a customer walked in with a
tip section in his hand that was in two halves.
Not for me I'm afraid.

Are you sure you aren't getting your wires crossed between Acolytes and Ultralight? I've seen and heard enough about Acolytes breaking, but nothing with respect to the Ultra lights.

iain t · Jun 20, 2017

99% of tip breakages reported relate to the 15ft Acolytes ultra, that's why my son and myself bought the 14ft plus as the tip is slightly thicker. To date, touch wood our have not broken.
As for the Shaky 3xt i have read positive reports on them around other sites. People seem to like them for the money.

tigger · Jun 20, 2017

A good friend of mine has a 15ft mach rod, he got it several years ago. I've used it myself and i'd say well worth the 50 ripps he paid for it but you can tell the difference as soon as you pick up a better quality rod such as a drennan acolyte, or better still a normark

.

It would be a nice rod to pair up with one of those cheap'o reels in another recent thread....nice cheap'o set up LOL.....

.....that is a joke by the way !

binka · Jun 20, 2017

iain t said:
99% of tip breakages reported relate to the 15ft Acolytes ultra, that's why my son and myself bought the 14ft plus as the tip is slightly thicker. To date, touch wood our have not broken.

Exactly the same happened to a chap on one of my local pits, he'd bought the 15' and it broke the first time out.

He said he didn't know how but I'm sure I've heard somewhere that the ringing doesn't help and causes line wrap arounds on the cast which in turn cause the damage.

I don't know how true that is but there must be some reason for it, it can't be all down to user error given how many there seem to be.

iain t · Jun 20, 2017

Heard it was due to line wrap on the last 2/3 rings. Think the problem is the tip is so soft in action than any bounce causes the wrap before casting

sam vimes · Jun 21, 2017

You two probably heard the wrap around theory from me or Tigger. I had the experienced many wrap arounds with my Acolytes. I asked Ian if he'd noticed similar, and he had. I suspect it's just an unfortunate result of action and ring spacing. Both of us tend to use the rods with centrepins, so tend to notice before it becomes a big problem. For those using fixed spool reels and casting big wagglers, those failing to notice a wrap around may just cause problems.

108831 · Jun 21, 2017

Is it the pins returning line twist already put on the line through spooling at manufacture in some way?

Shakespeare Mach 3 XT 13' Match; any good?

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