Customer Reviews

Shakespeare Travel Mate Casting Combo (4-Feet 6-Inch)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Years ago I bought the Shakespear kit that came with a reel and a Telescopic Pole that was 4 foot 6 inches. My Telescopic Pole got stuck in the extended position, and I broke it off which was a stupid thing to do because I could have put the big end under hot water, and poured ice water over the little end, and with some WD-40 spray I might have managed to free it up. I realize now that slinging the pole to its extended extension is what made my pole get stuck in the extended position. It is best to gently pull each segment to its extended position just as you would do when you gently push each segment back to the rod's compact position.

So remember this review that it is good to slightly lubricate the sections and keep them clean and do not sling the pole to its extended extension!

Compact Telescopic Poles are the only way to go, and this 4 feet and 6 inches pole is just the right size to cast in low tree line areas, or if you are under a small bridge where big poles just will not work.

Remember, DO NOT SLING TELESCOPIC POLES TO THEIR EXTENDED POSITION.

For the price, this rod works terrific. I normally use a 5' 6'' spinning rod, but can assure anyone that if you haven't used a bait casting rod before, especially one this length, 4' 6'', you will have no trouble adapting to using this one. There are no ceramic inserts in the eyes, so that may be a deal breaker for some, but I don't notice any difference. I have hooked a couple 3 pound bass, many crappie, a catfish and a foot plus gar with this rod and it has worked great.

This is a good deal for a light weight compact rod.Definitly not made for monster cats but great for lake shores and small streams.

Being an avid bass fisher and having owned this rod for one fishing season and having used it for several outings, I have to say that this is one of the very few casting rods on the market that meet all the following criteria: 1) casting 2) travel rod; 3) Ultra Light action and 4) cheap enough that you don't feel sorry if it breaks for any reason, or even fails in the first use. So if you are looking for some occasional fun in your travel, this is the rod that you might want to give it a try. However, there are reasons that there are so few rods in this breed on the market; simply put: "UL rod" does not work well together with "casting" in any avid fisherman's dictionary.

The biggest problem will be the selection of a matching reel for it. I tried so hard to make myself like the idea of coupling it with a Shimano Curado 51E (I am a lefty fisherman BTW), which used to work so great with my other ML cranking rods and dropshot rods; but their performance is subpar -- talking about either serious backlash or very limited casting distance. In the end, I managed to make the rod cast better with a Zebco 11 platinum spincasting reel, but my interest in using this combo has since greatly decreased due to the limited line manageability and line capacity of the spincast reel.

The other problem with this rod is that, it has almost no taper, or in other words, it's tip is almost extra slow. So instead of feeling like a stick, it feels like a platic straw, or a noodle. In my field test, this slow tip caused very bad casting accuracy, very low sensitivity to fish bite, and difficulty in hook set. Using super thin and ultra sharp circular hooks kind of helped a bit; and I indeed caught several panfishes using it.

Bottom line: if you have only $10+ budget for a travel rod, and it has to be a casting rod; OR if you don't mind spending $10+ for something you didn't have before (any fisherman can never have enough rods, right?), by all means give it a try. At the same time, do remember "you get what you paid for" holds particularly true for fishing gears.

One last thing: this is not a rod & reel combo, but just a rod in a cheap reusable plastic tube. The material for the plastic tube is the same as many toys packaging (those transparent, thick paper like plastic), and is definitely not crash proof.

This rod is amazingly light and compact. It is a very light action rod so it isn't suitable for big fish, but it is perfect for panfish. Its size makes it perfect for stowing in your vehicle or carrying in your pack for opportunity fishing. I matched this rod with a Zebco 11 reel and they are a great combo. If you want something a bit heavier go with the Shakespeare 6 pc pack rod.