Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
On- the- bank test Kodex QX- i Barbel rod
Mark Sawyer tries out Kodex’s 21st century take on the classic Avon- style rod
KODEX TWIN TIP QX- I 12FT BARBEL ROD RRP: £ 115
GETTING your hands on a really good barbel rod is a bit like buying a new suit.
You can have it tailor- made and cut to a style you fancy, or you can buy an off- the- peg job at a fraction of the cost. But will it do for weddings, funerals and evenings out? Perhaps not.
There are plenty of sensibly priced production line barbel rods about, and some of them are very good indeed. But how many are able to cope with everything a moody river, or one you are not familiar with, can throw at you? Actually very few indeed.
When water conditions suddenly change, or you find yourself fishing a venue that demands different terminal kit, the temptation is to buy another rod for the job at hand.
Before you know it, you’ll have accumulated enough rods to support a row of runner beans!
Well, not any more! Enter the new Kodex QX- i Twin Tip Barbel rod. Regular readers might remember that we featured this rod as our Object of Desire a few issues back.
Indeed, I was so impressed with it in the office that I knew I had to get out on the bank and really put it through its paces.
For those who missed the previous issue let me briefly talk you through the rod. It’s a 12ft, two- piece beauty that puts a 21st century spin on the Avon- cum- quivertip concept.
This one has not two tips, but three. The fixed tip can handle the largest of feeders and Kodex claims casting weights of up to 6oz are possible. Perfect for large powerful rivers such as the Trent and Severn where you often need a decent amount of weight to hold bottom.
Put on the quiver- carrier section and you can then use the lighter 2oz or 4oz carbon quivers. Everything about the QX- i suggests a custom- built rod, although in fact it isn’t. Hook a barbel and you’ll feel every nuance of the fight rather than just skull- drag the fish in. The rod is said to be able to handle mainlines up to 15lb and hooklengths of 12lb, so you can be confident that it’s up to the task of taming that fish of a lifetime.
The cork handle is the abbreviated type as found on modern carp rods, the purpose being to generate more casting power and deliver extra control over hooked fish.
Further features include lightweight SiC guides, a compact gunsmoke reel seat and a Kodex emblem laser- etched into the butt end. A neat little keeper ring rounds things off nicely. But best of all, if you shop around you should be able to find it for less than the recommended retail price.
I had decided to take them to a stretch of the Tidal Trent for the test. This is a real beast of river that will test any rod to its limits. Unfortunately, my session coincided with one of the hottest and brightest days of the year. This sadly put paid to any chance of the resident barbel wanting to feed in daylight… which was annoying, to say the least!
“It’s a 12ft, two- piece beauty that puts a 21st century spin on the Avon- cumquivertip concept”
I did, however, get the opportunity to use both of the rod’s top kits and get a good feel for their casting capabilities.
The unspliced 2lb test top section will cast feeders of 100g- plus with ease, while the lighter 1.75lb test carrier section with its 2oz and 4oz carbon quivertip options offers true all- round tactical flexibility so welcome on the bank. www. kodextackle. com