Exclusive first test! On the bank with the new Kodex SX-i big-fish rods
This two-piece rod from Kodex can be used with a float or for freelining tactics
DISAPPOINTING summer fishing weather is as British an institution as mother-in-law jokes – and has about as much grounding in fact.
Flooded rivers, rain-sodden muddy banks and countless hours trapped beneath a dripping brolly are far from typical. More often than not, the sun will put his hat on – and that’s when big carp show an interest in floating baits.
Surface fishing can be thrilling yet frustrating, as every single bait (except the one with your hook in it) slips silently under the surface as if drawn inexorably downwards by an unseen magnet.
Tricky and nerve-tingling, floater fishing is stalking at its most primeval level – man pitting his wits against crafty fish that have seen it all before. It can drive you half mad: “Why won’t they take my bait?” you ask a passing moorhen as you strike far too late at yet another half chance.
But when it all goes right, as it did when I live-tested the twopiece 11ft 8ins Kodex SX-i Floater/ Specimen rod on Clattercote Reservoir near Banbury, in Oxfordshire, all the earlier frustrations are forgotten.
The rod is a specialist floatercum-stalking tool with a very soft and sensitive tip suited to handling small controllers and light nylon hooklengths. It’s also more than handy for margin stalking and freelining.
The demure matt grey nonflash super-slim high modulus carbon blank is typical of the well designed Kodex brand.
With understated white graphics on the butt section, a smart lock-down reel seat and braidfriendly lightweight lined guides throughout (starting with a 30mm butt guide), the rod on test has a full-length (26ins) proper cork handle.
In action, the SX-i takes the biscuit – as indeed do the carp it snares. No, it doesn’t have the casting clout to belt out a really big controller 100 yards, nor was it built to do so. But it will cast smaller floats up to 40g well over 50 yards with some ease, making it the ideal choice for mediumsized lakes and pits. Its tippy action will also rather handily flick out a freelined mixer a fair old way too, as long as you’re using a light reel line.
The live test went well, and the rod’s L-plates were off in no time at all. Feeding some freebies in a PVA mesh bag with a small stone for added firing weight inside soon had a few carp feeding confidently, and sure enough, one made the error of slurping down a mixer with my hook attached.
Quick as you like the reel line tightened and the SX-i took on its full fighting curve, best described as being on the progressive side of all-through, but with a touch of steel running in its butt section to deal with hefty lumps without being over-gunned.
My confidence in the rod’s ability to dish it out when it’s needed soon saw a mid-double Clattercote mirror laid on the unhooking mat… don’t you just love it when a plan comes together! Price: £69.99