Best fishing rods for beginners

The Daiwa Matchman Mini Method is a gem of a rod. After carefully looking over the minimalistic ceramic-lined stainless steel guides, screw down cork reel seat with cork handle and EVA lower, all appeared to be what I’d expect for a sub-£100 rod, let alone a sub £50 one.

I struggle to believe the price of this rod, and for someone starting out in the world of fishing, you could get this rod, a cheap reel and some bait for less than £100 and you are out fishing.  

The butt section of each rod has a smooth matt finish, while the upper sections are raw carbon. After a spot of investigation, I learned that the finish stiffens up the lower section, while weight is reduced higher up the blank by its exclusion. This two-part look is a little unusual, but if it delivers greater performance then I’m all for it. 

In use, the rod felt light and forgiving in the hand, and while displaying a formidable bend, the rod still didn’t feel underpowered at any point, even with the fish I was hooking, which must have been averaging 8lb. 

In short, the rod felt glorious, the only issue being that I still hadn’t been able to fault it in any way. Even as the day progressed and I made bigger casts, I was blown away by the smooth action and fast recovery.

As for my final thoughts on the range? Well, if you only have £50 to spend on a rod, then you’re hardly likely to find anything better when it comes to the longer rods. As for the 9ft Mini Method Feeder, though, I’m not fussed if your budget is £50 or £500, this rod is worth a look!

Read our full Daiwa Matchman 9ft Mini Method review.

The Daiwa Matchman 13ft pellet waggler rod, although labelled pellet waggler this rod is more than capable of targeting silverfish particularly on commercials. If big skimmers, crucians and tench are your target this rod has all the extra power you will need to prevent them getting under platforms or into lily beds as some softer rods allow.

As you would expect for a rod under £40, they aren't the stiffest, but while testing them out at at a standard commercial fishery, we loved the extra power they had for fishing in the margins against lillies and rushes and they landed tench over 5lbs and plenty of specimen sized carp.

In fact, it was so much fun we forgot we were holding a rod that is essentially a budget/beginner entry rod. If you go to a mixed commercial with a chance of bigger fish like car and tench, or want a rod to go down to the canal this is perfect and I find myself using it more and more often now!

The rods length assists in casting lighter wagglers to a comfortable range past the pole line and beyond, and it does double up as a carp float rod too if the day calls for it. The construction gives a good balance between power and sensitivity, maintaining good line pick up to assist in hitting even the most shy biting of silverfish.

It’s easy to use and perfect for the newbie angler. The through action is, in our opinion, better suited to stillwaters than to rivers.

The Preston Dura Carp Feeder is a range of affordable, yet high-quality feeder rods designed to meet the demands of modern commercial fishing. With a range of lengths and casting weights, these rods offer exceptional value and performance.

This rod is perfect for beginners who want to catch carp on their local commercial fishery!

The blank was light, and soft enough to prevent the minimalist cast feeling too cumbersome and the little extra length wasn’t an issue either, and had very little effect on my accuracy.

On my second cast during testing, which clipped the overhanging grass, the rod whipped forward. Instinctively picking up and winding down, it bent right down to the reel seat as a very solid weight slowly thumped on the end, signalling a big carp! Although the fight got me excited and was great fun, in reality, I felt very much in control the whole time, and I netted near double figures of surprised carp on a slightly under-gunned 18 hook.T

he rest of the morning followed the script. Regular mini carp and baby F1s graced my net, giving the 10ft Carp Feeder an entirely different challenge. These scrappy little things are expert escapees, and regularly bounce off a barbless hook when faced with an unbalanced set-up. 

Despite the bargain pricing of my weapon of choice, surprisingly few of them managed to get away. Although it’s possible to buy an adequate 10ft feeder rod for less, is it really worth it when £10 to £15 more delivers so much extra in terms of performance? A £55 rod is never going to give you what a £200 rod will, but an extra few quid spent at the budget end makes a huge difference.

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Read our full Preston Innovations Dura Carp Feeder review._

If you want to delve into the world of feeder fishing, the Guru A-Class 13ft Distance Feeder rod is an exceptional rod for the money and a great rod for targeting bream, carp and tench on a variety of waters.

I took the rod out to Barston Lakes, which for those that don't know it, it is a big commercial perfect for casting a feeder out as far as you can, plus it is packed with big carp and skimmers.

I will say, I am not the best caster you will meet on the bank but that may be because I've never had the correct tool to punch a feeder to the horizon. After using the Guru A-Class 13ft Heavy Feeder Rod I do feel as though my casting improved in just the short time I tested the rod, and I can confidently say if I was to use the rod and get more familiar with what it is capable of, I would have no issues casting a method/hybrid style feeder upto 100m comfortably.

While I don't expect a beginner to be able to cast that far, it is nice to know as your technique improves, you won't have to upgrade your rod!

The rod delivered the rig with ease and then gave the fish no chance of escape during the battle, even with the big, powerful fish hooked on the test, the extra power and lovely action helped tame them with minimal fuss.

The extra length may feel a little unusual to those who often use a shorter rod but once you are familiar with how it loads and performs, it will help those anglers, like myself who often struggle to get the distance.

That’s the aim of the game, and for a rod priced at less than £70 it’s fair to say that Guru has released yet another gem on to the market and made this style of angling far more accessible to everyone as you no longer need to spend £100's on a rod to get out to the fish.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF THE A-CLASS 13FT DISTANCE ROD

What the market needs is a rod that has the attributes to  handle some hectic pellet waggler work during the heat of summer, and yet still has enough finesse to transition to the old-school style once it gets cold.  There are not many options on the market, but the new Daiwa 11ft Ninja EXT Float appears at first glance to fit the bill in every department. 

Not everyone has the luxury of being able to bundle everything into the back of a van, and for those of you, like me, who need to place your kit strategically inside a hatchback without it getting in the way of the gear stick while driving, this is a brilliant idea. 

The guides stand well off the blank to prevent the mainline sticking to it in wet conditions, and the rod has all the little finishing touches you’d expect from Daiwa, including a flattened area on the EVA handle to make for comfortable fishing all day long , and the usual eye-catching graphics. The butt seemed to have more than enough power to allow me to lean into any carp intent on heading off in the wrong direction. 

A 3g loaded waggler was hooked on to the quick- change float adapter, and a couple of light droppers were spread down the line before I cast the rig just shy of the island around 40m out. 
The rod propelled the rig to the target zone with consummate ease, and this feat was repeated time and time again. I also took the opportunity to have a few casts with a pellet waggler float that was double the weight to see if it could deliver the same result, and it did so without breaking sweat.

Daiwa states it can handle floats up to 15g and, as someone who can’t remember the last time I chucked a pellet waggler of more than 10g, I’d say it would cover me quite comfortably for this style of summer angling. It has a casting action that can flick light floats out effortlessly, yet it has the necessary ‘oomph’ to launch out big pellet wagglers. 

So, if you’re looking for a rod that will be just as useful on commercials during the height of the bagging season as it will be when you’re scratching around for a handful of carp bites in winter, the 11ft Daiwa Ninja EXT Float needs to come into your thoughts. It’s an awful lot of rod for not a lot of money.

The Sonik HeroX Carp rod is the ideal choice to kickstart your angling journey. These rods are designed to be easy to use without sacrificing performance. They're lightweight and perfectly balanced, making them comfortable for hours on the bank.

Modern day carp fishing often requires you to be able to cast a decent distance, and have the power in the rod to play carp that are getting increasingly bigger. These rods are perfect for a whole manner of carp fishing and for under £50, they are great for beginners looking to get into carp fishing.

Usually anglers will use two/three rods for carp fishing and because of that, it can become costly to buy multiple setups, thankfully the Hero X rods are really versatile so you can take these to runswaters where you are likely to catch lots of 10-20lb fish or take them to more difficult waters for larger carp.

If you're looking for an adaptable rod, it would be hard to find a better example than the Daiwa Black Widow Twin Top 12ft Specialist. This rod is an excellent choice if you haven't settled on a particular species or venue, allowing you to fish effectively wherever you go.

It comes with a hollow tip section suited for both float and leger tactics, as well as a quiver section with a full carbon 2oz rated quivertip.

The quality full carbon blank is equipped with EVA grips, a cork mid-handle, stainless steel guides with aluminium oxide rings, a DPS reel seat, and an attractive matte low-glare finish.

Engineered for longevity, Korum Barbel rods are equipped with robust SIC guides to prevent line damage and anti-frap rings to eliminate tangles and tip breakage, which is great if you're new to angling. The secure, screw-in reel seat maintains stability during intense battles whilst the high-visibility white tips ensure clear bite detection in challenging light conditions.

Not only do they perform well, they look the part too, with modern styling making them appear way more expensive than they actually are. The 11ft, 1.75lb test curve model is suited to smaller rivers and casting weights up to 5oz, while the longer 12ft option makes the perfect all-rounder.

There’s also a 2lb test curve 12ft model, capable of tackling floodwater with heavier feeders of up to 6oz, while the 2.5lb model is capable of handling the biggest rivers the UK has to offer.