Fox Four-Piece Floater Special Rod

I tend to fish quite a few impromptu sessions on my way home from work. As a result my rods, etc, are usually on view in the car. Recently my car has seen some minor action from the low-life’s of this world. So I decided to invest in a rod that can be broken down into small enough sections that could be hidden in the boot.

There are not many rods in the market that fit the bill for my requirements, so I needed to compromise. I sort the advice and opinions from friends as to what was available and suited the type of fishing that I usually do on my impromptu sessions.

Most of this type of session is on the River Dove for barbel, so the choice of rod was even more restrictive. In the end I opted for the Fox Four-Piece Floater Special.

I usually like to handle a rod and give it a good waggle before I purchase. In this instance I bought it blind via mail order as none of my local tackle shops stocked this particular item, so I was a bit apprehensive when I ordered it. The rod came the next working day as promised.

The first thing that impressed me was the purpose-made triangular rod tube supplied, which is well made, sturdy and will definitely protect the rod. The rod is 12ft long and breaks down into four equal lengths. It is finished in an understated and active matt brown colour with a duplon handle. The finish, as you would expect, is excellent and is obviously well made. It also comes complete with a hook holder. (Why can’t all manufacturers include this small but essential item)?

The rod at 12ft is probably too long for what I am using it for, but being as a purpose-built job for what I require does not appear to be available this is a small compromise. The tip is fast to enable a quick pick up of line. (This is essential when you bear in mind what the rod was designed for, which is floater fishing, when it is imperative to have a rapid line pick up.

But will it do the job I wanted it for, that was the question. Well the proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say. So off I go to the River Dove to do a spot of barbelling.

In short, the rod performed outstandingly well. The river was up, coloured and coming through at a fair rate of knots. At one stage I decided to lob a 3oz lead together with a smallish PVA bag of goodies to see what the rod could do. It handled this task very well indeed.

Due to the tip being fast, bite detection was a doddle. But how would it handle with something pulling like hell on the other end. The simple answer is ‘brilliant’. I only managed one barbel at 8lb 8ozs but the rod’s performance was great. It handled the initial and subsequent powerful runs and lunges of the fish with no problems at all.

The most pleasing aspect was the way it handled the fish under the rod tip just prior to netting. Twice the barbel made its last bids for freedom and the action of the rod was superb and a delight to use.