Harrison's Chimera Snag Floodwater barbel rod by Stuart
| Harrison advanced rods (Dr Steve Harrison) produce some lovely rods and I am the proud owner of the 11.6ft Chimera snag floodwater barbel rod. Its a rod designed to stop big fish in fast flowing, snag filled swims and its action along with its strength matches this type of fishing perfectly. Its got 10 SIC guides, all are the 3 legged design bar the end ring and are very strong and can handle the odd knock unlike some of the weaker single leg designs, Fuji IPS winch reel fitting and the blank is black/dark with a little hint of silver at times, chequered patterned and lacquered to a lovely finish. Whippings are well finished and coloured black. Its also got a lovely 23'' cork handle to go with this and a good hook keeper/ring that will not break like the swivel type found on some rods. Priced at about £170.00 its not cheap but given the work involved and the carbon techniques used its well worth the money in my eyes. My rod has no tc rating printed on it and to be honest not sure you need it for what its meant to do and I've read different tc rating from various shops and reviews but for a guess its around 1 to 2lb tc and that is only a guess. The action is a compound taper action, progressive if you wish and it?s the lower part of the rod where the pure strength is found. The tip is stiff but forgiving but not too forgiving as to bend too dramatically in strong flows. Those gut wrenching bites pull the tip round in a heart stopping motion. The rod is also light to hold and not heavy and with a Shimano Twin power reel or a Stella reel fitted the balance is very good when held in your hand and its even better with a pin and great fun too. The Fuji reel seat is nice but a little small, you will not be fitting those old baitrunners on it which is its only flaw. So far I?ve caught lots of carp into doubles from my fishery and barbel just over 14lb from the Kennet and its never let me down yet. Enterprise Tackle beta-light fittings were also supplied with mine. Like many rods its got Barbel as its main use but its perfect for all types of fishing when the larger fish are your target. If your looking for a strong, powerful rod thats got a finish second to none for your barbel fishing this season then have a look at this rod, its worth every penny. by Stuart (minipeace) |
orig Jul 2007
regenerated Mar 2008