Daiwa Matchman Mini Method rod review

Less than 12 months ago, I had the good fortune to get my hands on the brand-new Daiwa Matchman waggler and feeder rods. They were all fantastic for the money, but it was the 9ft Method Feeder that I fell in love with, this glorious short feeder rod wasn’t just good for the money – it was good for ANY money!

A truly remarkable fishing rod costing less than £50, yet one I would struggle to identify from a line-up of models costing twice the price or more! While I was still buzzing from the experience, Daiwa’s Pemb Wrighting let slip that a 7ft and an 8ft version were on the way.

Fast-forward to a freezing cold December morning, and I was about to find out! Out of the bag, the 8ft rod – as expected – looked very much like my beloved 9ft beauty, whereas the 7ft version is an entirely different beast! Shockingly, it’s in just one piece, plus the tip. Without two equal lengths to fold together, my first thought was, how would it pack into a ready rod bag?

‘Very easily’ was the answer, because I was able to pull the tip out and simply lay it in the bag. The largest section measures just 165cm, meaning that it will also fit into any ready rod bag designed to transport ‘ordinary’ three-piece rods.

After rigging up on a freezing cold Barston Lakes, my first challenge was to set up my feeder arm, because I struggled to get the head close enough to me to house such a tiny rod. In fact, I even questioned if I needed a feeder arm at all, because it sat beautifully perched on top of my keepnet.

I selected the lightest 1oz tip and made an easy 20m cast with a cage feeder, looking for skimmers as my opening gambit. I didn’t fancy my chances with carp in the plummeting water temperatures.

Normally, fishing at this sort of length is a tricky affair. A lazy lob ultimately leads to a loss of accuracy, while a powerful overhead whack means a huge amount of feathering is needed to prevent line smashing against the clip, causing the feeder to land like a bag of cement falling from scaffolding.

Casting to that range with a seven-footer, though, was just delightful. You could put the lack of water out of your mind and cast normally, knowing you weren’t about to vastly overshoot the target.

It was at this point that the real benefits of such a baby rod became clear. It could be set up without any fuss on smaller confined pegs where normally only a pole would be used. A Method feeder could easily be plopped off the rod-end, underarmed towards a margin feature or powered overhead to an island or far bank where others would place a pole float.

So many of these types of waters don’t have the rod-and-line angler in mind, as overhanging branches and near-side vegetation make casting and rod positioning difficult. Even playing fish can be tricky, because you can’t put the rod where you want it. With just 7ft of carbon in your hand – shorter than a lot of top kits - you have no such problems.

Although carp and Method feeders were probably what Daiwa had in mind when designing this rod, I nevertheless had a fantastic day catching skimmers and bream on small hooks and maggots.

There was definitely enough grunt lower down for its intended purpose, but it was reassuring to know that it had the delicacy required for smaller species too. In fact, I can see a fair few of these rods being sold to canal or small-river anglers for those days when a little wand will come in handy.

So, is it an expensive item to have just for those niche situations? No, not really, because amazingly, both the 7ft and 8ft models are nearly 20 per cent cheaper than the original Matchman rods and carry an RRP of just £39.99!

I think someone needs to have a word with Daiwa, as the company has its pricing completely wrong – to sell a rod that good for so little is little short (excuse the pun) of obscene!

THE VERDICT

I was thoroughly impressed with this one-piece wonder, even on a big lake like Barston it performed incredibly well and for short range feeder fishing, for which it is primarily designed, this rod will take some beating. There was definitely enough grunt lower down for its intended purpose of commercial Method Feeder fishing, but it was reassuring to know that it had the delicacy required for smaller species too. In fact, I can see a fair few of these rods being sold to canal or small-river anglers for those days when a little wand will come in handy.

Both styles of feeder fishing mentioned are generally demanding on tackle, with lots of casting and lots of fish playing action, so a durable rod is the order of the day. Thankfully the Daiwa Mini Method has that in abundance, quality guides fitted to a well manufactured carbon blank, you just know this rod will stand upto any abuse it's likely to receive when fishing.

So, is it an expensive item to have just for those niche situations? No, not really, because amazingly, both the 7ft and 8ft models are nearly 20 per cent cheaper than the original Matchman rods and carry an RRP of just £39.99! I think someone needs to have a word with Daiwa, as the company has its pricing completely wrong – to sell a rod that good for so little is little short (excuse the pun) of obscene!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT AND OTHERS FROM DAIWA HERE.

TECH SPEC

- Choice of 7ft one-piece or 8ft two-piece

- Comes with 1oz and 1.5oz carbon tips

- HMC high-modulus carbon fibre construction

- Combined cork and EVA handle with armlock

- Stainless steel guides with ceramic inner

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Author Dan Webb first became involved in angling journalism in 2015 and has worked as Tackle Tester at Angling Times since April 2021. He is a fanatical all-round match angler and former England Youth International.