Answering the need for even bigger test curves and the desire for the best that money can buy; we introduce the new Infinity Advanced Barbel.
At 1.75lb and a more powerful 2.25lb this new duo will cover all styles and swims that you can find. Their slim high modulus blank harnesses substantial power but delivers reaction and forgiveness when loaded at close range.
Furnished with SiCs and a combined cork and Duplon handle that features Armlock and Fuji hooded reel seat.
verdict
The worst thing about this rod was that I got my hands on it during the closed season and couldn’t use it (at least on a river) for a couple of months or more. And I was desperate to see how it would perform in a real barbel fishing situation and not just being flexed in the office.
It was during a visit to the Daiwa factory in Scotland, where I saw the actual rods being made, when Daiwa gave the rod to me. I was admiring a different rod at the time in the showroom when this rod was placed in my hands with the words, “how about this one?” And the grin that went with the question suggested they knew exactly what I’d think about it.
It was in a different class.
And so it should be at near enough two hundred quid I can almost hear you saying. But that isn’t always the case is it? Go into a large tackle shop and have a play with a range of rods all supposedly designed for the same type of fishing and you often have a job to distinguish between rods with a hundred pounds or more difference in the price tag.
Not so with this one. It just felt right for barbel fishing. I flexed it, bent it almost double while somebody held the tip and there was no way I was giving it back!
One stage of rod making at Scotland’s Daiwa factory
And now I’ve used it on the river, casting various weights of bomb and feeder, and caught some barbel on it, I can safely say it’s a smashing rod. It looks good, feels good and does a great job of fishing for, and catching, barbel.
So what exactly is it that sets it apart from a barbel rod costing half as much, or even less, that will do exactly the same thing?
Good question. But it is mainly a question of two things: quality of materials, and feel.
Quality of materials is easy to understand, but ‘feel’ is, to some extent, an individual thing, what feels good to one angler may not feel so good to another. But I will say this, I’ll be very, VERY, surprised if an experienced barbel angler can pick this rod up and honestly state that it doesn’t feel good.
To me it feels great. Just the right strength, the right taper (not too through action and not too fast taper). It flexes all the way down without feeling sloppy. And it looks exactly like what it is: an excellent piece of kit that will do an excellent job of what it was designed for – fishing for, and catching barbel.
