Guru A-Class 13ft Heavy Feeder Rod review

Long-range feeder fishing is a skill I’ve never really needed, as the small commercials that are my bread and butter usually require a 50m chuck at most. Guru recently released their A-Class range which has been very well received, none more so than the 13ft Heavy Feeder Rod.

A three-piece rod supplied with 2oz and 3oz tips, and with a chunky build at the butt end, inspires instant confidence in the product. This is the end that takes most of the stick during the cast, and a breakage is almost certain if it doesn’t have enough steel. Rod rings are on the large side, as you’d expect, helping the line to zip effortlessly through them with no resistance.

Once all three pieces were put together and a 5500 sized reel was attached, it certainly felt heavier than the 10ft, 4000 size combination that I was used to, but this is of course inevitable. A 1.5oz bomb was attached to the 12lb shockleader (a low diameter 5lb mainline was on the reel spool) before I absorbed words of wisdom from Dan about casting technique.

Arms extended well away from my body, the rod came back so that it felt almost parallel to the ground before I whacked it towards the far-bank marker. It felt like a powerful effort, but Dan was underwhelmed! Convinced I’d got some left in the tank and not been aggressive enough on the cast, I went back to the drawing board and continued to practise until I eventually got a nod of approval from the master.

The rod was now giving me confidence as I started to realise just how strong it was. No reasonable force was going to break this, and I eventually hit a distance stick measured at 80m, then 90m, and finally just about scraped 100m with a loaded 45g Hybrid feeder.

With my casting confidence boosted and a quick change of pegs to find some virgin water, I then clipped up at 70m. Using my left hand on the butt of the rod to generate power, it was propelled towards the mark and hit the target with ease.

This time the tip dropped back and, on picking up the rod, a couple of violent head shakes were instantly registered. Within a few minutes the fish was within netting range, and what had already become apparent was that this wasn’t just a ‘broom handle’. I was able to feel the efforts of the fish, and playing it was a joy.

THE VERDICT

As stated 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.

The rod had 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.

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

TECH SPEC

- Developed with 24T tensile carbon blanks

- Powerful progressive action

- Oversized stainless frame guides

- Durable titanium oxide ceramics

- Downlocking DPS style reel seat

- Extended cork handle with Guru ergonomic EVA rear grip

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Author Tony Grigojevs has worked in various roles within both Angling Times and Improve Your Coarse Fishing, getting involved in news and feature writing, photography, filming and editing.