Tackle Tested: Shimano Tribal Ultra Rods - 08/03/2010

Rich says: These are the most expensive carp rods ever made, which immediately warrants more than a quick glance.

So, what do they have to offer the UK carper? Well, removing everything else, the blanks are top performers. The aesthetics won’t be to everybody’s taste, but I’m sure that they’ll appeal to as many people as they turn off. To aid distance casting, Shimano has pioneered a new ring design, which looks pretty novel. As a relatively modest caster, I honestly couldn’t tell you if that new ringing made any difference to my results, but I’m sure that the guys looking for every last yard might notice.

With that in mind, we recruited the help of respected tournament caster Roger Mortimore from Total Sea Fishing magazine. Roger’s brief was to give the rod a full workout and I’m pleased to say that the rod is still intact, after casting a lead 130 yards. Here’s what Roger thought of the Ultra. Rog says: “I love testing new products, so when Richard Stewart asked me to have a few casts with the Shimano Ultra and give him my thoughts on its performance, I was only too happy to help. As a former UK, European and World Casting Champion, I’ve handled a few rods over the years, including long-range carp rods. “I matched the rod with Shimano’s Ultegra XSB loaded with 0.35mm 15lb mono and set off for the field in less than perfect conditions, snow and a temperature of -3ºC. “My first few casts were with a 3oz lead, using the overhead style to get a feel for the rod’s action. It gave consistent distances of around 110 to 133 yards, which in these conditions was pretty good. After a good workout, putting a bigger step and more power into the cast, I then changed to a 4oz lead using the same overhead style, I could feel that the extra ounce was loading the rod even more and produced slightly less distance consistently. Roughly paced, I was hitting 97 to 125 yards, with an average of just under 120 yards.

“It’s not the most powerful carp rod that I’ve used, or should I say the stiffest, because it has a forgiving action that belies its power. This action will give more enjoyment and ‘feel’ when playing a fish and will not pull the hook during a long fight. The guide system is superb, I made close to two dozen powerful casts with no hint of ‘ring-wrap’, which can often happen after several casts with a fixed spool due to line twist.

“After more than an hour on the field and many casts, I felt that I’d given the rod a good workout and was impressed with its performance and the ‘feel’ it gives during a cast and can only guess that it will be a joy to play fish on.”

Enough said, we reckon.