Having had a chance to try my new Tronixpro Guerilla Surf MX on the local field paired with my Tronixpro Tournament MAG, I found myself quite impressed with a rod priced at only £89.99.
I was soon able to drop a six-ounce lead at about 100 yards consistently. The two-piece blank is a lot lighter than my other two section rod and is more user-friendly.
The carbon blank is furnished with K style anti-tangle guides, and the overall look and finish are better than its price would suggest. The fast taper blank has a softish butt section with a quick recovery tip that lends itself to making it an easy rod to cast irrespective of experience.
I found it easy to cast despite my back and shoulder issues. Off the ground, it loads nice and gently up to the point where I’m able to punch over the top. Once you get the tip moving over your shoulder into the pull/punch bit of the cast, you can feel the rod start to load up.
I’m pretty confident that with more practice, I’ll better 100 yards, I can do about 140 with my Cobra TT, but I’ve been using that with a fast hybrid reel and had a few years of practice with it.
In casting terms, 100 to 140 yards is not brilliant, but I’m not able to put any real power into the casts in case I hurt myself, but I’m sure someone with casting experience will be able to bang leads out to 130 or more with the Guerilla Surf MX.
I decided on a reel down set up with my Guerilla Surf MX, and being happy that I had the rod as well balanced as I could, it was time for a session on the Mersey. I set it up alongside my Cobra TT V2 near the slipway at the Ferry on Tobin Street. The whole section is well known and throws up some decent fish. I used a one up one down with 2/0 hooks on my Cobra and decided to fish the Guerilla Surf MX with a pulley pennel rig, again using 2/0 hooks.
I fished worm baits close in that came back stripped time after time, the crabs were on the bait as it hit the river bottom. Further out at about 80 yards, I fished big squid baits stuffed with either lug or razor clam, tied off like a balloon and then injected with squid and cuttlefish oil. Before casting, I give them a few pricks with a baiting needle, so the oil oozes out as the bait sinks. These baits didn’t fare any better, and I could see tiny rattles on both rod tips letting me know the crabs were all over the baits.
I suspect the rain in the area for a few days didn’t help. Temperatures were down, and despite regular bait changes, nothing happened on the flood. I started to enjoy the Guerilla Surf MX though. Punching whole squid hoods filled with worm or clam clipped down to a six-ounce lead, the rod never felt out of its depth. It loads very smoothly, and there is no discernible ‘snag’ or ‘bump’ as the rod picks the weight up off the floor. It comes on nice and gradually until you can punch into the cast.
Slack water came and went with no action bar the tiny crab rattles with me starting to think it would be one of those days. Still, just as we got to an hour after high water, the ratchet on the reel clicked a few times, and before I could get out of my chair, the tip went over and stayed there with the line starting to peel off the reel and the rod butt lifting clear of the ground. I got hold of it and tried to slow whatever it was on the end of the line. It took a bit of stopping, but eventually, I made ground on the fish. The Guerilla Surf MX has the grunt to handle hard fighting fish; unfortunately, whatever had grabbed my bait managed to run me into my close-range rod and a bed of weed. Despite five or so minutes of trying everything I could to bully the fish out of the weeds, the hook length finally let go. It had rubbed through.
That’s fishing, I suppose. I rigged another bait up, dropped it into the same area I’d had the run from, and started packing my other rod away. I decided to leave the Guerilla Surf MX out until the very last in the hope of another run. I got one. Well, what I got was a series of tiny rattles very unlike those that the crabs make. I picked the rod up and felt another tiny bite, so I leaned back into the fish. I thought I’d missed it and reeled in, but now and then felt a tiny kick. I thought maybe a flattie had managed to get its mouth around a whole squid hood. I was wrong.
It was a tiny tope pup, all of 34 centimetres long, that had bitten off a lot more than it could manage. I took a quick picture and got him back into the river.
Not a great session but enjoyable all the same. I’m impressed with my Guerilla Surf MX and suspect it will come into its own on marks like Cod Corner on the Mersey for the winter codling. I’ll be using it to chase the hounds and conger too. It’s a lot of rod for £89.00. It casts well, has a fair bit of grunt and is a great rod to learn to use a multiplier with because you aren’t going to have to break the bank to find out whether two-piece multiplier rods are suited to your needs or ability or not.
Whether you are a novice wanting to learn how to use a multiplier or an experienced angler on a tight budget, you need look no further that the Guerilla Surf MX for a rod you can use over clean to mixed or heavy ground for less than £90.00
Tight lines and be safe out there.
Gary
