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Travel Rod Test

Why choose travel rods for our first major product test? Quite simply because of the convenience. Whether your travelling is limited to driving to the local fishery or river or you have flown overseas to fish, a travel rod is so much easier to have with you that it seems strange that people still buy traditional two-piece rods.

We tested rods from three to five pieces and someone casting these rods blindfold would have to be a very expert and knowledgeable caster to tell the number of sections of a rod. Although the four and five piece rods are that much easier to manage, the three piece rods are still short enough to take on to an aircraft as hand luggage.

We set out to test 9 foot 6 weight rods as we felt that this represented a good all-round and versatile length and line weight. Inevitably, we ended up with rods either side of our line weight, 5 weight and 7 weight as well as rods rated for two line weights. A number of manufacturers were approached and the rods that we have reviewed are those which arrived in time for the test.

To ensure a level of consistency when testing the rods, we used brand new Rio Classic weight forward 6 weight floating lines. The 5 weight and 7 weight lines although not brand new, were clean and in good condition and again, were weight forward lines. All the rods were tested on a local stillwater.

Note: As we tested these rods at a time when manufacturers and importers were finalising models, specifications and prices for next season, some specifications may differ from those shown here.

The rods

The testers

Peter Sutton: Peter is an APGAI and STANIC qualified casting instructor. He has been fishing for almost as long as he can remember. In 1968 he bought his first fly rod. He has a special interest in teaching beginners and young people. In the early 90s he attended a casting demo by Ian Blagburn and a chance remark made him wonder if he could become an instructor. He then attended many casting demonstrations and obtained his Salmon & Trout Association National Instructors Certificate in 1995. STANIC is essentially an entry level qualification and Peter was keen to obtain the Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors qualification (APGAI). This he did in 1996.

He has been fly fishing in New Zealand, USA (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Florida), France and of course England, Scotland and Wales. His favourite fly fishing at the moment is warm salt water in Florida. He has also enjoyed some success with pike, his best fish being a 23 pounder caught on a surface fly.

Terry Lawton: Terry is a regular contributor to Fish & Fly and describes himself as an improver with plenty of room for improvement! He has yet to cast a full line and remains to be convinced of the need so to do. Most of his fishing is on rivers where accuracy is more important than distance although when he was in Sweden, the ability to be able to cast a good length of line was important.

He caught his first proper fish, a dace,when he was five and started fishing for trout in his mid-teens. Sailing and dinghy racing then got in the way but he resumed his love affair with fly fishing some 15 years ago. As well as fishing in the UK, he has fished in Sweden, France and Scotland. Chile is next on the wish list!