Grauvell MD Spin Due 3000

[kieran]

Hi

Spinning rod, comes in a neoprene bag, which is the first hint about the class of this thing. 3 metres / 10 foot and very nice to look at, very.

Feather light, but it accommodated a small Shimano Cantara reel loaded with 30 lb line, the new Grauvell grey braid. Lovely balance to rod and reel.

The Grauvell braid is very nice but it wears very rapidly, I suspect a bit faster than Powerpro which I have used in the same situations. More time is needed ...

What about the rod? Glorious finish and quality, Fuji rings and braid loops at the top to prevent wind knots. Very light, can be held one handed with a nice butt for giving it some extra beef in the cast. Can empty the spool on a 28 gram german sprat of 100 metres of braid, did several times in Torr Head from barely 3 metres above sea level and into calm conditions. In a lake situation it was definitely giving me an extra 5-10 metres on some of the heavier lures and plugs. Stunning piece of kit, really nice.

So how does it perform with a fish on?

Very responsive tip, quite a soft action. Whilst the soft action allows for fewer hook pulls and slowly stops a pollack's crash dive, it makes stopping them heading for a snag almost impossible. Average mackerel gives up a very good account on this, bending it quite well. Average pollack does even better but once the weight of the fish increases to say 2 kilos, life gets very difficult. I can not see how this was intended for lunker pollack or big wrasse, it does not have the backbone to muscle them away from kelp ... or lobster pot ropes... nor does the rod possess the backbone for lifting big pollack out of the swell and up a cliff face. In short it is a bit lightweight but I can see someone using it wading on a bass beach, clean ground and no snags. It is very good for light sea fishing, mackerel and sea trout. If I were living in Kerry rather than bass-less Mayo, I reckon it would be hard to give it back, but having given it several outings, for as much as it is a class piece of kit, it will be going back. And then they told me that the RRP offers little change from EUR 400 :shock: - the neoprene bag is a clue - so make sure it fits your fishing before you invest.

If you do invest, you will be simply delighted. A beautiful piece of kit.

If they make a heavier version, I'd be very interested.

FWIW