get what you pay for

[Keith M]

It's not the rod that catches the fish it's the angler, his watercraft, his end tackle and his bait

I often read this, and its true; It may not be the rod that catches the fish; however; after it has been hooked; a good rod (not always an expensive one) can make playing and landing a good fish a lot easier and a lot less stressful to both the angler and the fish, it will often make casting a tad easier too, and be more pleasurable to use.

It is often (but not always) the case that rods at the bottom end of the market often fall down on these things.

When I am playing a decent sized fish I have enough to worry about trying to control the fish and trying to keep the fish from running into snags without having to worry too much about the hook pulling out because my rod is too stiff and unforgiving which is a common fault on a lot of the cheaper rods unless you know what you are looking for.
Not all cheap rods are bad by any means, but you usually have to look around a lot more to find the good ones that you don't have to make compromises for.

Keith

 

[maverick 7]

Having been in the tackle trade myself for quite a while....I know Roger Surgay the owner of Dragon Carp extremely well and I must say that it is true that some of his gear is sometimes not very good but there is an awful lot of his stuff that is brilliant for the money.

Bear in mind that I left the trade some 10 years ago....and this argument was the same then as it is now. However, his nets are excellent value for money and so are some of his rods. At that time, his top kits was not particularly good...quite a few was taken back if my memory serves me well but generally speaking I would have no qualms about purchasing most things from him.

In all honesty....over the years I have bought a lot of cr*p from so called top brands...those bloody 2 quid a pop 4oz feeders that keep falling apart for a start....Fox catapults that are rendered useless after only a few outings...expensive Daiwa brollies that snap in two just under the tilt action...£200 "waterproof" suits that you get wet through in when it rains.....had 'em all....so it is not just unique to Dragon Carp.

I remember attending a Fox Trade Show in Birmingham I think....for the first time in their history they were selling poles....these poles was between £400 and £600 which remember was 15 or 16 years ago now and they must have been the worst poles in pole fishing history....At that time there was poles for around £100 on the market and I am not exaggerating when I say they were 10 times better than these offerings from Fox.

Anglers often think that you get what you pay for.....and in some cases this is true but in just as many other cases it is not true....remember that much of todays fishing tackle..... particularly accessories and terminal gear...is made in the same place....for many different brands too.

My advice would be to go and check it out personally if possible or at the very least.... make sure there is a good returns policy if things don't work out for you.

Maverick

 

[rubio]

The sports direct website offers a lot of clearance items for very little dosh. With the same qualification that you choose carefully some useful bargains can be had even cheaper than Dragon Carp et al directly. I picked up 6m bolo rod for £6 and a tele picker rod for £8. Neither are anything that will impress tackle tarts or the more serious speci angler but they fit easily in car boot and can be left rigged up and ready to go in minutes.
I agree I might get twitchy if I had a good fish on but on the other hand I'm catching more just cos I can fit in a short session so simply. Maybe only an hour or so, when I might otherwise at home thinking about going. Tho to be honest there is nothing I've caught recently that couldn't be tamed with a piece of garden cane.

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

With the same qualification that you choose carefully some useful bargains can be had even cheaper than Dragon Carp et al directly

They currently have some Maver Abyss X rods which are pretty good for the price

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

I've bought two marco cortesi centrepin reels from DC, the plain one and the "ltd edition" *(ha!) with the line guard.

At £30 and £40 each respectively, i think they're absolutely amazing value for money, and put quite simply I'm not sure if i'd have ever tried centrepin fishing if these had not been on the market.

And in use? Absolutely brilliant, both of them. So much so that a mate of mine has "borrowed" the first one and I'm doubtful i'll ever see it again.

I did scrutinise a number of reviews though before i parted with the cash.

 

[mark brailsford 2]

One word sums up Dragon Carp...****!!

Everybody I know who has bought this rubbish has either had Rods/poles break on them, net frames bust and Reel seize up!

There is better tackle out there from the likes of Daiwa and Maver, The Daiwa reels around the 40 quid mark are absolute belters, I use a couple of the cheaper models for spinning and they have never let me down!

Sorry if I offend with my opinion but that's just what it is, an opinion, get over it!

---------- Post added at 22:52 ---------- Previous post was at 22:35 ----------

The sports direct website offers a lot of clearance items for very little dosh. With the same qualification that you choose carefully some useful bargains can be had even cheaper than Dragon Carp et al directly. I picked up 6m bolo rod for £6 and a tele picker rod for £8. Neither are anything that will impress tackle tarts or the more serious speci angler but they fit easily in car boot and can be left rigged up and ready to go in minutes.
I agree I might get twitchy if I had a good fish on but on the other hand I'm catching more just cos I can fit in a short session so simply. Maybe only an hour or so, when I might otherwise at home thinking about going. Tho to be honest there is nothing I've caught recently that couldn't be tamed with a piece of garden cane.

Rubio, Dragon Carp IS Sports Direct mate, they bought the company from the Gypsy Tinker last year!

 

[Merv Harrison]

Thanks Mark......I knew you would'nt let me down :thumbs: