Got to have it… Gear Reviews
Catfish Pro Catfish Persuader Rod
R.R.P £128.99
It’s not very often that a product comes along and really blows your socks off but the new rod from Catfish Pro does just that.
I know what you are thinking, yet another rod in an already overcrowded market, heard it all before it’s just like all the rest but wait… Some serious thinking has gone into this little beauty. Catfish pro boss, Simon Clarke is the man behind the design and I reckon he has got it just about right with the Persuader. The icing on the cake is also the fact that these rods are ‘MADE IN ENGLAND’ Hurrah!!!
So what’s different about this one then, well pretty much everything. For a start the rod is 11 feet 9inches long (not 12 or 13) and built on an IM42 carbon blank (very much like the old power mesh) the blank has a wonderfully progressive action which has enough grunt to get the baits way out there but is soft enough to play the fish under the rod tip.
Now the really clever bit is the number of rings, normal Carp and Cat rods have 5 or 6 but the persuader has 8 and they are well spaced. This not only lessens the bridged line effect (which means that the fish is played through less of the rod) but also aids the progressive action. The rings are Zircon and are also smaller than you would expect to find on a standard rod.
The rod has a DPSD reel seat which is fine, I mean, after all it just holds the reel on doesn’t it! And features a full Duplon handle which is a feature that I really like.
I have now fished a couple of sessions with these rods and am truly impressed with all aspects from the design, looks and most importantly performance. I defy you to not enjoy playing a fish on these.
I would like to end with a little controversy, although marketed as a catfish rod, which they are great for, they make the best Carp rods I have every used and as such don’t let the name put you off even if you never want to catch a Catfish!
At just under £130 the rods offer great value and can be found at all Catfish Pro stockists or direct from Catfish Pro. For further information or to get ‘old of one please visit the Catfish Pro website.