Best float fishing rods for carp
Float fishing rods are perfect for short range fishing and beginners, they tend to be very flexible and lightweight allowing them to be maneuverable in fights and smaller fish to feel more stable on them.
Using the float is also a very effective technique used in match fishing and it has caught us hundreds of fish over the years and many professional match fisherman still use a basic waggler setup to win competitions.
A good float fishing rod plays an important role and is a worthwhile investment if your considering taking up float fishing. However these rods don’t have to be absurdly expensive pieces of gear, in-fact all our favorite float and waggler rods are priced fairly reasonably.
Diawa Ninja Match Fishing Rod (check price on Amazon)
Strength
This rod can be described as a superb all-round waggler designed to give you maximum strength with the least amount of weight. Majority anglers we’ve spoken to state that the ninja match rod is a great piece of tackle and excellent for the job of a float rod however there have been a few negative complaints about the rod talking about the quality of the screw which holds the reel in place but in our personal experience we did not find this issue. This rod is ideal for anglers who are looking to fish small commercial fisheries and fishing for carp under 10lbs, anything larger than that and we’d recommend a tougher rod.
Quality
The Daiwa ninja match rod is a light, well-balanced rod with a textured grip, carbon fiber body, and titanium O rings. The rod also has a stiff backbone due to the steel reinforcements inevitably giving you more confidence when casting or playing a fish.
Fighting/General Usage
The Ninja Match Rod is incredibly light and responsive, perfect for catch catching small rough and tough carp on. Every detail, all the movement from underwater is fed back to the handle of the rod making it an absolute joy to fish with. Like most anglers, we started out with a simple float rig on a light rod and there’s nothing more fun than to go back every now and then and bag some feisty little carp on an amazing rod like this.
TF Gear Banshee V2 float rod (check price on Amazon)
Strength
The new banshee V2 float rod has some decent strength behind it, the 13ft long rod will allow you to bring in nice sized carp from commercial fisheries. Not to mention this rod will make easy work of dealing with the other fish you may encounter when fishing commercial waters. If your a keen float fisherman and are interested in picking up a strong yet maneuverable float rod then the banshee V2 by TF gear is something well worth considering.
Quality
The Banshee V2 comes with 12 month guarantee, giving you peace of mind that your getting a quality product, it’s clear to see that the finishing of this rod really outshines most of it’s competition especially when you take into consideration this price, for another rod to match its design quality and finishing it would come at a considerably higher cost. Once playing fish on a rod that feels this good, sessions will be that little bit more enjoyable.
Fighting/General Usage
Fighting fish on a rod of this quality and size, you can and should expect the best experience possible. The way it effortlessly applies tension to the line distributing it perfectly shows what an awesome fishing rod it really is. The Banshee V2 can be used in still or flowing waters further increasing its versatility making it a worthwhile investment. All in all, if you’re looking for a quality float rod, that’ll further add to your session’s then we’d defiantly recommend taking a look at the Tf gear banshee float rod.
Top Tip: Whether you’re a commercial angler who likes fishing for everything or you’re an only carp kind of guy, this rod will cater to your needs perfectly.
Korum Carp Float Rods
Strength
A lot of float rods are built strictly for commercial and match use, these rods tend to have a light test curve and they’re not really built for targeting fish in the doubles. The Korum float rod however is, It’s still forgiving and soft but it can take much more abuse from hard fighting fish than a generic commercial float rod would be able to. This makes it perfect for fishing pleasure lakes, where the carp are bigger and will give you more of a problem.
Quality
We’ve never had a bad experience with Korum products and these carp float rods are no different, the rod is finished beautifully with a lovely cork handle and a sleek Matt black finish, the reel seat is really tough and durable and overall Korum have done a superb job with putting the rod together, couldn’t be happier 🙂
Fighting/General Usage
A neat new feature of these rods is that they’re made of a material called “K-flex carbon”, we didn’t really know what to expect from this but it resulted in really lovely playing action, hard fighting carp feel awesome on this rod, its the most fun we’ve had carp fishing! So far the rod has held up really good, and we haven’t noticed any problems or Issues and we’ve been really putting it through its paces.
To conclude, if you want a hardy, tough float rod to catch big, hard fighting carp on. Look no further, this is defiantly a float rod we’d recommend
TF Gear Float Rod 13″
Strength
The 13″ Nan-tec float rod from TF Gear is incredibly lightweight and responsive to small bites. Progressive action allows this rod to handle the larger carp in commercials and is still usable for smaller fish like bream and tench, this makes the rod perfect for match fishing and pleasure of small lakes or commercials.
Quality
Although TF Gear hasn’t been around the longest, its certainly proved itself of being a reliable and trustworthy company that produces high-quality products at an affordable price point. When we first heard of them, we were skeptical of their products as well, but they’ve shown again and again top-notch quality from their products and this float rod isn’t any different
Fighting/General Usage
We also found that this 13ft foot rod could cast very far for a float fishing rod which must have been down to the length and the large Butt guides, speaking of casting, the rod is very nice to throw a float with, sometimes we barely have to even cast as the rod is so long we can just lower the rig in like a fishing pole! The fights also feel strong and stable, making smaller fish wonderful to catch. Like most float rods its easy to use and very maneuverable.
Tip: When float fishing gently touch the line near the spool with your index finger, this allows you to feel the slightest movements underwater and gives lots of feedback on the swim you’re fishing.
Diawa Tournament Pro 10W
Strength
Like the majority of float fishing rods, the Diawa Tournament Pro 10W is designed for match fishing and commercial lakes, its a cracking rod and does an awesome job of handling fish that are under around the 10lb limit, any more pressure though is asking quite a lot. However its plenty strong enough for most things that you’ll encounter in commercial fisheries.
Quality
We’ve owned Diawa rods for many years now and we’ve got a pretty high expectation when we purchase one of their products now, luckily this rod lives up to the expectations. The rod is impeccably finished, with lots of attention to detail and it looks and feels incredible, there’s something about using a Diawa rod, once you’ve used it, you never want to go back!
Fighting/General Usage
Where this rod edges out its competitors is its length, lots of waggler rods are 12 or 13 feet long, which does mean that you can cast further but they are awfully hard to maneuver within tight swims and fishing situations. Also, it makes it a lot easier to land the fish by yourself as you’re able to bring the rod in closer and then the net can easily scoop up the fish.
Tip: when purchasing a rod take into consideration length, if you’re casting large distances you should go with the longer rods. If you’re close range fishing stay with shorter rods. Also, you’ll be able to cast further if you have more weight on your line so adding a few cushion shots will help you get your rig further out.
So there you have it, our take on the best float rods on the market, if you found this article useful then feel free to check out some of our articles @carpreviews.co.uk
