Daiwa Spectron float rod 13/16' review.

Ive had this rod for a few months now, and my initial impression is very favourable. In fact I'd go as far to say it's an idea barbel float rod.

I brought this rod for a specific task. Allowing me to fish for big barbel on the river Trent with floats, either sticks, or wagglers. The rod is rated for lines 3lb to 8lb this seems spot on. I have been using 6lb main line ( Daiwa sensor ) the line breaks over 6lb around 8lb I'm told. The leader is a Power line rated for just 6lb. Connected with a small swivel I've found it always breaks at the power line knot, so I'm safe if a fish snags me.

So what's so good about this rod. Well first it screams quality, from the handle and reel seat, to the rings and extra section to make a longer rod. At 16' you would not know its 4 piece, the progressive power runs right through the blank into the blanks cork handle. I worried the first time I hooked a big barbel, but the rod simply controlled the fish and allowed me to manage a good double figure fish into the net.

It's a light rod, but not as light as another 4 piece 16' I own. But the blank quality is much higher on the Daiwa. Quality means better carbon/graphite stronger walls, hence the slight extra weight! But it's not over heavy when teamed with a four and half inch centrepin. It's a rod that promotes comments from other anglers, it's that or the pin that freaks them out?

Bargains can be found on EBay. I got this rod with 40% off. It was new, but had no rod bag, and was classed as a demo model. At £240 are they worth it, yes every penny, it's such a versatile rod. At 13' it's an ideal pellet waggler for for bigger venues for carp.  At full length it's the perfect barbel float rod. All in all a rod I'll keep for the long term as I know I couldn't buy better.

Weather change winter.

The wind today was the kind that could cut you in two. Despite not feeling too cold when I left from home today, at the waters edge I needed all my winter wear. After maybe two hours trotting without a touch I set up a ledger rod, weighted by plasticine around a float stop 24" from a large size 6 long shank hook. Still the wind persisted and finally, I called it a day.

A sudden cold snap with wind like this, puts most fish off feeding for a few days. If it stays cold by next week, the fish should be more acclimatised to it, and I'll have a decent chance. What we really need is rain and high pressure, lots of it too. Rain has been in short supply this year, the river is very low, and clear. Rain does a lot of good for the fisher at this time of year. Not only does it flush the rubbish like old leaves, bits of remaining weed and such away, but the river rises and long exposed dry banks containing worms and insects get washed into the flow for fish food.

I'm in my later years now and really feel the cold, so this winter I'll pick the days I think will offer the best chance of a fish or two. Also I prefer settled weather, and currently it's all over the place, with now two days being the same. I fancy a trip back to the little carp lake at Portland, just to see if the fish are active at all in the winter. I'm sure they will be as the place is so well stocked, but we will have to see?

Why trotting is so successful for barbel.

I took five barbel today, and a near 20lb pike, all on trotted maggots. Why does this method work so well so much of the time?

Let's take a look at today. The Trent is low and clear, with a good number of leaves coming down on the surface of the river. The season is five months old the fish have seen it all, they are becoming exceedingly difficult to catch in any numbers. Two guys packing up today had fished all day and left without a bite, they were fishing pellets in a feeder. It's this style of fishing that I see most on the Trent, what I call two rods in the air style. Fishing the centre channel with heavy lead feeders, or flat leads. Size ranges from 3oz to 5oz, they make a big splash when cast in.

I'm guessing this splash is like a dinner bell for all barbel near by, but it's also a caution bell. I don't think fish can reason but they can and do learn from experience. So that dinner bell tells them food is available, but that they should be cautious. The feeder or pva bag deposits a small amount of food in an area, but by the time the barbel overcome their caution, it's been eaten by the small fish or has drifted off in the flow. Because the average angler cannot replicate every cast into the exact area, over a day the food ends up all over the river. I'm convinced barbel do turn up, but find nothing to eat in most cases.

When trotting the feed still drifts off downstream, but because your constantly feeding every cast maggots, or hemp, when they do arrive they have something to eat, then it keeps on coming. When you catch a fish, you step up the feed, and a number of fish is possible. When you catch a fish on the feeder, it's several minutes before you cast again, and then it's just a mouthful again. Not enough to hold a shoal of fish. Your next cast could be several yards off to the right, left, too far or not far enough. Either way it's a one fish method at this time of year, in these conditions. Trotting allows you to bait very accurately, following it with the float, and your own hook-link. Food is always available and the fish don't have to search for it once they arrive.

The fish have to work hard as the food items are very small hemp and maggots in my case. Imagine just one handful of hemp and maggot is possibly 100 individual food items to drift between all those rocks and crevices. Barbel are just like any other fish, and come preoccupied on such tiny items, so they search very diligently. I'll maybe present a bait many hundred times in a six hour day, giving any  barbel plenty of chances to eat it.

 If no bites are not  instantly fore-coming I'll change depth after maybe an hours trotting. Then I'll try holding back hard, or just inching the bait through very slowly. Recently most of the fish have come when just letting it go through at normal speed.

I've no idea in truth what will happen this winter, and if the method continues to catch me fish through the very cold weather. But I fancy when I start to reduce the feed as the weather turns, fish will still feed, maybe for just a few hours only. One friend tells me he catches barbel by just pushing up the float and laying on, still feeding continuously, but with much less amounts. I'm looking forward to giving it a try!

See you on the bank.