New rod

[Redbaron]

hi all

 

i have been looking about for a new rod (i think i have caught the fishing bug) this is one that was recomended to me by a friend now i know nothing about rods or reel's so plz be gentle with me Shakespear mach 3 with the same make reel Here i was just wonder for a newbie in the world of fishing are these rods good enough for me to catch fish (im sure its more about skill than equipment) and are they good for the type of fishing i do ie manily cannal float fishing or is there anything out there cheaper and better?

 

many thanks again in a newbies quest for knowledge

[Alan Roe]

Though never really catching on with the tackle tarts Shakespeare's gear is in fact very good and will doubtless serve your purpose very well indeed

[Neil G]

As above, Shakespeare rods are pretty good for the money

 

I've got a Shakespeare Avon rod with 2 tip sections....a very nice rod to use

[BoldBear]

Hi redbaron,

 

The rod and reel seem fine, Ive always found Shakespeare rods to be good (unless they are in their really cheap range) the average priced ones upwards have always served me well in the past. and the rod you want to get sounds really good and the reel sounds and looks fine too.

I have heard that Shakespeare are trying to get their name for good rods back again, in the days of the 'Shakespeare Match International rod' even the England team used them.

 

NB. I was a bit worried by the advert at the bottom saying 'constructed from 36 ton carbon blanks ' though, must be a mis-print

Edited July 7, 2009 by BoldBear

[Andy Macfarlane]

I just bought the Shakespeare Mentor Twin-Tip (10'6") which has the usual multi-purpose Avon-Bomb type tip and a quiver tip. It comes in at around £40 but I managed to get one for £22 which is a bargain in my eyes. The finish is so nice, I reckon you could easily pass it off as a rod worth 3 times the price. It's really that nice and by God it's light. I can't recall the maximum casting weight but it suggests a line max of 8lbs. Make of that what you will.

 

The Avon top could be used for 101 purposes from legering at range to trotting a loafer for trout to touch legering for river perch and so on and so on. I can see this being my first choice for a multitude of purposes. It's not too beefy but I reckon if you required that extra bit of power, you'll find it there. I reckon a half pound roach would feel every bit as pleasurable as a 10lb carp.

 

Most ads tell you the tip is threaded for taking different quivers and swing-tips but mine didn't have one bizarrely enough. To be honest, it's a 5 minute replacement job an the price of a tip but I shouldn't have to alter things to suit. It's not an immediate job so it can wait until a situation arises where the alternative tip is under/over-gunned.

 

The quiver is probably a bit light for any real distance work but for anything less than 60-70 yards and the lighter feeders, it'll be sweet. I bought it for stillwater roach at short range and I think it'll be bang on.

 

The only thing I would criticise about the quiver is the tip sight. It's only about 6" of fluoro orange. By the time you've put a bend in the tip and you're looking down the length of the rod, you may as well be looking at an orange speck. I think some insulating tape or tippex is in order but that's not a major fault by any stretch.

 

For £22 I think it's an absolute steal. So much so, I think I might look at their Mentor Heavy Feeder and leave the standard tip alone on the rod above.

 

8/10