THE cold months are here, and that means my days of sitting on a chair or seatbox relaxing are coming to an end. Mobility is the number one thing in my angling once the mercury starts to fall, no matter what style of fishing I’m doing. With this in mind, when our tackle editor Mark Sawyer asked me if I’d like to put a host of items from Daiwa’s latest Prorex range to the test, I bit his hand off... excuse the pun!
Once I’d received the kit in question, all of which I must say from the start is stunning to look at (it really does make you feel like a branded-up American bass angler), the next question was, where I would try it out?
I was keen to test this kit at a cheap accessible venue, the type which all of us have access to, and with my local river out of sorts in floods, the Kennet and Avon Canal at Devizes seemed the obvious choice. Part of the joy of lure fishing for me is being mobile. You get the chance to explore every nook and cranny of your chosen venue, and it’s a great way to keep fit. Unlike a lot of canals, the stretch of the K & A just outside Devizes at Caen Hill is particularly scenic too.
I started my canal adventure just below the main flight of locks, one of the longest flights in the country with a total of 29 locks and a rise of over 237ft! You can’t fish on the flight itself, but the stretch below is broken up into smaller compounds, all full of fish. Just the walk from the canal to the first spot was made easier with the Prorex Converter Stalker Bag, a handy luggage item that serves as a rod bag for an 8ft ready-made lure rod in the car, but then a waist pouch that can store all your essentials once on the bank.
To be honest, despite also having the Prorex Tackle Box Bag over my shoulder with all my lures inside, the Converter Stalker Bag is really all that a perch angler who may be jig or drop shot fishing will need.
As I crossed over the canal to the bottom of the main flight, out of the bag came my main tool for the day, a 3g-21g rated Prorex X Light Lure rod, coupled with the Prorex X LT 2500 spinning reel – a dream combo for perch.
For those that haven’t done a lot of lure fishing, particularly for perch, it’s all about feeling. The rod needs to be responsive, and not dull any indications you might get, and the reel needs to be silky-smooth to work your lure correctly. Braid is pretty much essential for this type of fishing, so the X LT reel was loaded up with Daiwa’s J-Braid X8, the 150m spool of ultra-thin 0.13mm 18lb braid being just enough to fill the reel to the lip. At the business end was a short fluorocarbon leader, tied directly to the eye of one of Daiwa’s Prorex Classic Shad Perch lures. These 7.5cm soft lures come in packs of four different colours and are pre-loaded with 5g jig heads, meaning they are ready to go straight out of the packet.
Right from the off a combination of the kit on test made me remember why I love the thrill of lure fishing so much – and I wasn’t even catching anything! Every cast went out like a dream, the ultra-thin braid sailing through the Fuji Fazelite rings, designed to be perfectly compatible with lines of this diameter. The X45 manufacturing process and the V-Joints on the rod were pretty apparent too, as it snapped back into shape as soon as the pressure was off. A really punchy piece of kit that was allowing me to drop these small 5g lures on a dime with pinpoint accuracy. The whole set-up was light in the hand as well, just what I needed, because within an hour I’d already made probably hundreds of chucks to likely-looking areas at both long and short range.
The retrieve is part of the ‘skill’ of this style of fishing, and you can find the type the fish ultimately go for can vary from day to day. The little beauty that was the Prorex X LT reel allowed for a silky-smooth and slow retrieve, but could also be cranked to rip that lure through the water faster if need be. I was opting for a more up-and-down movement on this session, something that works brilliantly for perch. A few jigs up and then a reeling in of the slack as the rod drops back down causes the lure to almost bounce up and down off the bottom as the jig head nose dives towards the substrate. The J-Braid and ultra-responsive tip section of the Prorex X rod allowed me to feel every part of this process, even as the lure hit into some unwanted bottom snags – something you commonly encounter on most canals!
But where were the fish? Well, it took a while, but a move a couple of locks down the canal eventually saw me hit into the first fish of the day, a fine perch of around 1lb or so. When you’re on them it really doesn’t take long for some interest on this method, and after a cast of around 20 yards and a few jigs, a savage bang was felt vibrating down the HVF carbon blank of the Prorex X Spinning rod. The rod’s power was obviously more than enough to deal with this small stripey, but also allowed for a bit of fun, especially when the fish got in a bit closer – just what lure fishing is all about!
A small jack soon followed the perch and promptly killed the swim, before I was on the move down the towpath again looking for that perch hotspot, which I eventually found! By now I’d covered a fair distance, but when you’re only carrying a waist pouch, a shoulder bag, a rod and a net this is pretty easy. But it showed there’s no point doing this style of fishing if you aren’t kitted up correctly. The Prorex luggage range makes it an effortless and pleasant task.
My perch sweet spot, where I went on to catch six of various sizes, was located by the base of an old bridge in the middle of the canal. Perch love structures, and the precision and finesse I could achieve allowed me to meticulously explore every single inch of it.
There’s no doubt there were a lot more perch in this shoal, the excitement rising as I could feel every tail nip they gave the lure. In these kinds of areas, where perch are present in numbers, it pays to keep your catch waiting safely in a nearby landing net, so as to not spook the remaining shoal members. Daiwa’s Prorex Landing Net is the ideal tool for this, as its large size is more than capable of landing some very big pike, something it has obviously been designed for with its rubberised mesh.
In a few short hours I’d walked nearly 10,000 steps, made several hundred casts and caught perch to just under 1lb 8oz. If you aren’t one for winter fishing, why not mix it up this year and get your first lure fishing set? You won’t go wrong with Daiwa’s Prorex range.
OUR PICKS FROM THE DAIWA PROREX RANGE
PROREX X SPINNING & BAITCASTING RODS
We used the 7ft (3g-21g) model, but there are 12 in total in the range that all benefit from a host of Daiwa’s best rod manufacturing processes. HVF Carbon and X45 give the blanks true elasticity, meaning they return to their original shape. The Baitcasting rods complement the Baitcasting reel perfectly and are available in six different models.
Price: Spinning rods £110, baitcasting rods £85.00
PROREX PE SV TW 100 BAITCASTING REEL
We have only had a quick play with this fantastic piece of fishing tech from Daiwa, but can already tell it will be a real winner with diehard lure fanatics. Weighing just 190g, it’s super light and fits perfectly in the hand. Traditionally more suited to larger lure work, this baitcasting reel, like the rest of the range we tested, is perfectly suitable for use with lighter braids and lures, taking 150m of 0.13mm Daiwa J-Braid.
Price: £245
PROREX LANDING NET
The only net you’ll ever need for predator fishing. A telescopic handle extends the net from 62cm to 73cm, and the elastic rubber mesh offers optimal fish protection. The handle also folds for easy transportation.
Price: £64.99
PROREX CONVERTER STALKER BAG
Probably our favourite item from the range when it comes to game changing practicality. If you need to cover long distances with minimal kit, this is all you need. The bag converts from a rod holdall to a hip bag, which can store smaller lure boxes, unhooking tools and other essentials. A real game-changer for the mobile angler. Three versions are available for various sizes of rods.
Price: £37.99
PROREX CLASSIC SHAD KITS
All you need to get lure fishing right away, these kits are pre-loaded with jig heads and feature carefully selected colours. The perch kits feature four 7.5cm soft lures with 5g jig heads, while the pike version comes with two 15cm lures weighted with a 10g jig head.
Price: £9.50
PROREX X LT 2500 SPINNING REEL
This is a truly magnificent little reel, that looks and feels incredible. Weighing just 250g (8oz) it’s likely one of the lightest spinning reels you will ever come across, making it a joy to use for longer day trips. Don’t let its size fool you, however, as it’s packed with features, including Tough Digigear, giving the reel some real power and longevity. Silky-smooth to operate, the reel, like the rod, is perfectly designed for thin braided mainlines, thanks to the usage of semi-shallow spools.
Price: £69.99
