OBJECT OF DESIRE

From £369 - £409.99 www.greysfishing.com

FOLLOWING in the footsteps of the brilliant Aircurve, Greys’ statement that this is the best carp rod the firm has ever produced immediately raised my ageing brow. When you consider the rod-building heritage of the company, it’s certainly a bold claim.

But first impressions suggest that it isn’t simply a marketing ploy to get carp anglers as interested as I was – the Xcelerate genuinely ticks a lot of boxes.

The most obvious is the blank construction whic,h regardless of how you dress any rod, is by far the most important bit. Greys’ ‘Powerlux’ nano carbon is pretty much as good as it gets, at least within the confines of rod building, and the power in the blank is obvious from the first cast. Most rods feel crisp first time out, but where lesser blanks fall down is in use over time. I’m sure many of you will have heard somebody say that their rod has gone floppy and, not unlike us men, age is very often the issue!

Over time, the resins used in combining the wraps of carbon begin to fail. This leads to a softening of the action. Generally, the better the rod’s construction, and the less resin needed, the longer it is before this happens, and in the case of the really top rods it won’t happen for years.

Nowhere in carp fishing is the term ‘you get what you pay for’ more appropriate. Therein lies the drawback for many carp anglers – this kind of technology comes at a price. However, if you have the budget to buy rods such as the Xcelerate, then I’m confident in saying that you won’t be disappointed.

Several build options (each of which looks terrific) and test curves make up the range, including a couple of utility rods, which Greys has made stiffer in the tip. I applaud this, as I’m certain that my baldness is a result of many years pulling my hair out every time a rod maker produced a marker rod with a softer tip. It defies logic, even more so these days when many of us double up one rod for feature-finding and baiting.