SONIK SKSC COMMERCIAL FEEDER 10FT REVIEW

The Sonik Sports brand is very familiar to pursuers of big carp, less so to commercial match and pleasure anglers.

All that is set to change, though, as the company is about to introduce an impressive new rod collection dubbed the Sonik SKSC commercial range.

View fullsize

Sonik low profile butt guide.jpg

View fullsize

Graded carbon quivertips.jpg

View fullsize

The six rods comprise 9ft, 10ft, and 11ft Commercial Feeder rods, and three Pellet Waggler rods in the same lengths.

I’d originally intended to live-test a matching pair for both disciplines, but a recent spell of cold weather had well and truly put paid to fishing up in the water using pellet waggler tactics – so it was a case of feeder or bust. I chose the 10-footer.

However, before we move on to the bank, let me tell you a bit more about Sonik’s new SKSC range.

The rods have been thoughtfully designed, and are nicely constructed to meet the basic needs of the pleasure or match angler. They have modern, progressive fish-playing actions with plenty of backbone, making them ideal for commercial carp – a bit of added steel provides enough grunt to tame the odd zoo creature.

The slim, two-piece equal-length blanks are built from a high-grade 24 tonne carbon cloth and furnished with quality titanium oxide lined guides and a screw-down reel seat with EVA thumb grip. The decent length handle is a cork and EVA combo.

I’ve left the best bit till last – the price. If you want performance on a tight budget, you’ll need to fork out just under 40 quid!

So, what’s the rod capable of? It’s the ideal tool for short to medium-range casting, comfortably chucking 45g weights 40 yards-plus. Anything more and the rod will start to overload, which affects distance and accuracy.

It will handle mono reel lines between 5lb and 10lb, and can be safely used with hooklengths down to 0.12mm and hooks as small as an 18.

I kicked off the live test at Horseshoe Lake on Steve Gregory’s Rushfield complex, using a 30g flatbed Method feeder loaded with micro pellets, and a banded 6mm pellet hookbait – which proved to the liking of a string of stockie carp and F1s.

Although bites were at times quite savage, the fish responsible for whipping the rod’s top section round were at best bantamweights. However, I can happily report that nothing came unstuck as I quickly reeled them in – the 10ft SKSC has more than enough tip cushioning to deal with smaller fish without pulling hooks, even when you’re bagging.

A change to a lighter feeder, so as not to spook the fish, and a larger 8mm pellet hookbait cast down the margin, came up Donalds!

Two commons, one just over 10lb, put a serious bend in the rod, allowing it to show its full fighting curvature.

As you can see from the brilliant image captured by Angling Times staff photographer Lloyd Rogers, all the power in the rod is loading from just above the mid-section area, proving the blank’s steely resilience. In my book, that makes it the ideal commercial carp Method feeder rod.

Price: £39.99