Product Review - Savagegear 9' Parabellum Spinning Rod

As a blogger I get asked to review products from time to time, so when I was contacted recently by NETS, and asked to review some fishing equipment I didn't know what to expect. After a few emails, it seemed as though they wanted me to review one of a range of spinning rods. In this case the 9ft Savagegear Parabellum spinning rod. Wanting to do some predator fishing over the coming months it was fair to say that when this rod arrived in the post I was overjoyed at the prospect of getting it out on the bank and putting it through its paces.

Sadly I had to wait longer than I anticipated before trying it out, with dismal weather and family commitments and other types of fishing all playing their part. Before I take you through my thoughts on how the rod has handled itself so far let me take you through the vital statistics that this rod and the other rods in the Parabellum range offer.

The Parabellum range cover 4 several rod lengths, but the casting weight that I was after fall into the following lengths/weights;

• 11' 4'' - 12 - 35g - Bombarda
• 9' 2'' - 2 - 12g
• 9' 6'' - 10 - 34g
• 9' 6'' - 12 - 40g - Trigger grip

I opted for the 9'6'' (10 - 34g) option, which is quite a pokey piece of kit and capable of casting a bit more than 34 grams stated with ease. As standard these rods come with;

• Fuji gold label black cap reel seat
• AAAA Portuguese full cork handles
• Premium quality SIC guides
• High Modulus Carbon fiber blanks
• Bullet shell balancer butt
• Ready to fish deluxe rod bag

This rod is extremely light which should make carrying and casting it all day much more bearable that some other spinning rods I’ve used. I would be coupling this rod with a 4000FD Shimano Sienna and using braid as mainline. My target species would be Pike as many of the rivers local to me have a fairly healthy esox population, but I’d also be happy to pick up some chunky Perch or Chub.

The rods first outing was on the River Isle where I would be alternating between wobbled dead baits and Fox replicants. I didn't have a touch on replicant's but had several takes on wobbled dead baits. This rod coupled with a braid mainline was fantastic and I felt absolutely pluck, bump and knock. Casting short and medium distances was a doddle, but the through action of the rod (although good for playing fish) meant that casting more than 35/40 meters was a struggle. Fortunately the majority of my casting was within 25 meters, and when I struck into my first fish the rod handled it with ease. The braid and the action of the rod meant that the fight was quite frantic but before long I had a PB Perch in the net. What a result for the rods first outing.

The rods second outing was on another stretch of river, again targeting predators. Casting was less of an issue this time as the river is significantly narrower, but the fish however seem to be in greater numbers. I managed 3 Pike up to 9 ½lb and everyone was taken on a wobbled dead bait. The rod handled them all perfectly, the addition of the braided mainline only made it more enjoyable. The responsiveness of the rod made the feel as though the Pike was shaking my arm, rather than the dead bait. The butt section of the rod provides enough power to bully the fish away from snags, which was fortunate as river Pike seem prone to make last minute lunges into rushes, roots and snags!

 

The rod has handled several river roaming sessions since and I have no complaints. The weight of it makes carrying and casting all day easy. The action of the rod means there is sufficient give to absorb the fishes initial runs and lunges, but robust enough to persuade the more truculent fish to get in the net. The only down side of the rod is the fact the it struggles to cast further than the 40 meter mark, but then again it seems unlikely that you'd ever need to cast a spinner, jig or spoon further than that. It is a great rod for its weight class and has a very reasonable price tag of £79.99. All in all I can say is, I am thoroughly impressed with this piece of kit and look forward to using it for many sessions to come.