Abu Garcia "equalizer" rod review

Deciding on fishing equipment is important and often tricky because there are so many options to choose from. This review, by Simon Day, is the Abu Garcia Equalizer 9ft 6inch Rod.

A nice strong rod for pier fishing.

If you walk along a busy pier you'll notice that nearly everyone will have a different kind of rod. Some will bend almost in half where others will remain quite straight.

Pier fishing and fishing from cliffs are unique in that you will sometimes have a 15ft or more gap between you and the sea. This kind of fishing requires a rod which can not only handle the strain but also one that doesn't bend in half which would cause problems described below.

When pulling a fish up a cliff what you need is for the rod to maintain a good distance from the cliff face and your catch thus limiting the chances of:

a. Getting snagged on the cliff face.
b. The fish knocking the cliff which lets it free.

The Abu Garcia "Equalizer" is a 9ft 6inch rod so for me its main use is pier fishing. The rod has a lot of strength and it doesn't have a great deal of bend which for pier fishing is pretty much a must in my opinion.

This rod is also great for float fishing. It's lightweight and strikes well. For casting this rod does an amazing job and distances in excess of 100 yards are easily achieved. Even float fishing where distance is needed you'll find you can cast much further than most others. I have bought a number of rods for pier fishing but I always ended up back to this one. For the price it does a better job than a lot of the higher priced rods.

It's made from a composite graphite blank and has aluminum oxide lined guides.

The reel is secured via a fixed screw reel setting and had padding just above and below the reel fitting and also on the butt on the rod for casting. I normally prefer reel fittings that allow me to position the reel where I want but in this case for pier fishing it doesn't really matter because it's in the right place.

With a price tag of around just £30 this is a versatile and cheap rod for pier fishing and unlike most rods in this price bracket it doesn't fall apart after a few months use. Even after all the abuse I've put this rod through the rings are still as they were when new and nothing has weakened or fallen apart. This is one of a very few rods where cheap does not mean rubbish!

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