Rainshadow RCLB70XL: THE rod for Catfish!

At a trade show, I'd been talking to Goulven about setting up a blank to stalk Catfish from my kayak, so he pulled out a rod from his bundle and dropped a "tell me what you think about that" with a smirk, sure of himself.

The first thing that shocked me when I picked it up was the very large taper of the blank, and the second was its weight..... It's big but it's light, which makes it a very pleasant rod to use.

When you put the rod under tension, it takes on a very nice curve, which hints at good sensations during fishing trips to come, its tip contains fiberglass which gives it suppleness, but as soon as you start pulling on it you quickly understand that there's the power to come to grips with the biggest Catfish without fear!

This is exactly what I was looking for, a rod with power without being a crowbar for vertical Catfish fishing with worm and fireball. And as if I weren't already sufficiently won over, Goulven, who hadn't lost his smile, announced the price of this blank RCLB70XL ... not even 50euros...

Barely back from the show, my order was placed, with a spiral Casting Assembly in mind. Assembly went well despite the blank's large taper. I had to reamer my cork to the limit to be able to assemble it.

In fishing action, the Catfish rod met all my requirements. It proved absolutely perfect for vertical fishing with a cluster of worms or a Live bait fireball, you feel everything that happens at the end of the line thanks to the supple tip.

But there's one point where she really blew me away, and that's with the lure. Although I intended to use it for vertical fishing, I still wanted to try casting a few soft lures to comb the edges from my Kayak. I wasn't expecting great casting performance and was literally knocked on my ass (fortunately I was already sitting down^^). It casts a 15cm shad mounted on a 30gr tp with disconcerting ease, and with great precision. A pure delight!

Fighting now, I unfortunately haven't yet had the pleasure of hooking very large Catfish on the end of my line, but the few fish it has allowed me to catch have only confirmed the impression I had at the show. This Catfish rod has a lot going for it, while still allowing you to have Pleasure with smaller fish.

And while I don't owe him any monstrous Catfish, I do owe him one of my finest line strikes of last season with the catch of a 30-kilo liche that graced me with a quarter of an hour of magnificent, all-powerful fighting during which my rod showed not the slightest sign of weakness.

In short, if you're looking for a rod to fish big fish vertically or on the cast in spinning or casting (with a soft spot for casting) without breaking the bank, then go for it!!!