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Telescopic Rods


McCowen

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Does anyone us a Telescopic Rod?

 

I am looking into getting a new spinning rod and wondered if anyone had tried a telescopic.

 

They all seem cheep to buy, are they cheep for a reason?

 

They idea of a telescopic seems a good one for a kayak, especially if you need to paddle back to shore through some swell. Just pack it up and put it out of harms way.

 

Be good to know of anyones experiences.

 

Nigel

Nigel McCowen-Smith

Barnstaple

Devon

Tarpon 160i Angler Wilderness (Red)

Bic TOBAGO (yellow)

 

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I bought a light telescopic mitchell spinning rod on e-bay for about a tenner last year and used it off a yak for mackerel, pollack and bass. I was really pleased with it and it folds away to a really short section for stowage. I also have a really nice telescopic 12ft pike rod which is a quality rod that folds down to around 2ft 6" this rod has been on many holidays and handled all sorts of things including 4 nice pollack all on the same string of feathers, not really suitable for yakking but goes to show that telescopic rods do not have to be cheap rubbish.

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Does anyone us a Telescopic Rod?

 

I do !

 

I currently use a pair of cheap and cheerful telescopics coupled of with two budget fixed spools - around £30 the lot ! So If I lose them overboard or rust up at end of season no great loss !

 

Also, I have no hatches so great for transporting

 

Its surprising what you can land with them but I think I need to obtain more appropriate tackle if I go on one richi's night conger hunts ! :D

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I currently use a pair of cheap and cheerful telescopics coupled of with two budget fixed spools - around £30 the lot ! So If I lose them overboard or rust up at end of season no great loss !

But what's the pleasure in fishing with such crude kit? And don't say it's the fish catching that counts, because on that basis we'd use nets, or dynamite...

Having gone to all the trouble of being in the right place at the right time, and spent lots of money on e.g. travel and buying a kayak, I'd want to use carefully selected kit. I've always valued precision equipment, which is why I build my own rods rather than settle for factory rods - which are always compromises in terms of specification, designed by marketing dept's to be all things to all anglers, often using cheap components too. There's a world of difference between cheap reels and really good ones, even with fixed-spool reels; personally I always preferred multipliers, the smaller the better, and my battery consists of Ambassadeur Mag 1 Plus, 4500C & 1500C.

As for telescopic rods, forget it! Good manufacturers have occasionally offered these, but any sort of telescopic is inherently an utter abortion in terms of sensitivity and handling, 'orrible things! Don't waste your time & money. Rust is avoided by thorough washing & lubing after every session - my Mag 1 Plus was bought well over 20 years ago, not a trace of rust...

To answer the original question, most telescopics are cheap because they're built cheap, and that's because there is very little point in making an expensive telescopic rod - silk purses and sows' ears, etc.

Yours, N

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Hi Nigel

 

I sometimes use a shimano exage telespin rod which stows away nicely in my center hatch - was about £50 I think so out of el cheapo price bracket. No signs of corrosion or damage yet - ideal for spinning or flattie bashing from the yak.I understand where Nanook is coming from with regards to spending extra on decent tackle - unfortunately regular kayak fishing can be very hard on gear - hence some of us may go for the cheaper stuff.

 

Simon

 

edit: If you are looking at reels but don't wish to spend too much I recommend the fladen maxximus ones - many of their components are ABU. Mine have had numerous dunkings, minimal maintenance and they're still in good working condition with no signs of corrosion (fladens solid c rods are a different matter though).

Edited by SpeciMan
Kaskazi Dorado - Yellow

Location: East Dorset
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But what's the pleasure in fishing with such crude kit? And don't say it's the fish catching that counts, because on that basis we'd use nets, or dynamite...

 

 

I would of course like to have good quality kit and fully appreciate the satisfaction a top of the range rod can give. (Although I'm no connoisseur, I do have decent quality match/pole/pike and beach gear)

 

However, as my first priority is obtaining the full safety gear (more seaworthy kayak/drysuit/VHF etc the list is endless !) the decent quality kayak fishing rods will come later.

 

My kayak sea fishing is generally done from a busy beach with the family in tow - not always possible to give the tackle an immediate good wash down and grease up, other issues often take priority i.e. I'm hungry now ! / I'm not staying here in this rain ! & the classic I want the toilet !

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  • 4 weeks later...
Hi Nigel

 

I sometimes use a shimano exage telespin rod which stows away nicely in my center hatch - was about £50 I think so out of el cheapo price bracket. No signs of corrosion or damage yet - ideal for spinning or flattie bashing from the yak.I understand where Nanook is coming from with regards to spending extra on decent tackle - unfortunately regular kayak fishing can be very hard on gear - hence some of us may go for the cheaper stuff.

 

Simon

 

edit: If you are looking at reels but don't wish to spend too much I recommend the fladen maxximus ones - many of their components are ABU. Mine have had numerous dunkings, minimal maintenance and they're still in good working condition with no signs of corrosion (fladens solid c rods are a different matter though).

 

I was just looking through the travel rod posts and thought I'd pop in on this. I bought a Shimano Exage AX STC 2.1m tele spinning rod 2 years ago for a backpacking trip to Greenland. It handled Char to 7lb nicely and packs down to an unbelievably small size. I'm about to add a Beastmaster AX STC 3.0/3.3m to it for a return trip this summer to do some Cod fishing from the shore along with the Char. I'm using an Okuma payback PF 30 with the Exage which suits it well. The rod and reel have seen both fresh and salt water use and look as good as new.

 

Will

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You have to remember that telescopic rods really have come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years. Gone are the days when all they were good for, was bashing out a few bream/small mullet on a Spanish holiday before they were binned due to rusting.

 

You get what you pay for though - lower end - try Shakespeare - cheap and mostly nasty; higher end - I would go with Shimano - their STC (Shimano Travel Concept) range covers just about every type of rod - light spinning to heavy boat rods.

 

I am no Kayaking expert, but I have owned a Shimano Exage Telescopic 9 foot rod (TEXTS 270M) for a number of years. For a telescopic rod it has a really great action. This particular rod is a jack of all trades - due to the extra length I can use it for Mullet (at a stretch), bass, pollack - and spinning, plugging, live sandeels - light ledgering (casts up to about an ounce).

 

Have you considered multi piece rods, rather than telescopics ? If you are after something a bit more beefy, then Shimano have just brought out a range of 4 piece carp rods for 2008 (Beastmaster AX specimen). Maybe not so good for kayaking as they are 12 footers ?

 

Its a shame that Zziplex do not make a 3 or 4 piece travel rod - I wonder if Terry Carrol is reading this ?

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  • 10 months later...

Fair few telescopic rods here:

 

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/shopping/search/telescopic-rod

 

I use them for holidays and they're nothing like the tat we used to use as kids :D

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