Browning Hybrid Rod Range

Want to know what Mark Sawyer from the Angling Times has said about these rods and why they offer you the best of both worlds, then read on

 

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BROWNING HYBRID ROD RANGE  

BLOG UPDATE

Well its been a while since I have up dated my blog due having a busy work schedule over the past couple of months, but the same time I have managed to get out on the bank a fair bit competing in matches around the midlands clocking up a fair few miles in the car, by the looks of the results its been worth it !

Here is a brief run down of where I have been what I have been up to and where I have came in the matches I have fished.

15^th February Army Angling Federation Group 3 Old Nene Benwick

This match saw me back on the Old Nene fishing in the next instalment of the group matches. After already fishing this stretch the backend of last year it was a stretch I was looking forward to getting back on to make amends of throwing the match away in the last hour and finishing 3^rd in section. Drawing the higher numbers again I went on to win the section and finish 2^nd overall in the match missing out on top spot by 10 grams !!! but it was another 1 point in the bank and a good days fishing overall.

25^th February Maggotdrowning.com Knock up Rycoft fishery

The first of 2 knockups with the Maggot drowning lads saw me down at a fishery that is local to me and is only down the road. Turning up at the fishery we were met by strong winds and howling weather. The match was split over 2 lakes and I ended up on Moat lake. Having never fished it before and with the weather being like it was it was always going to be a suck it and see approach. This match saw me take 2^nd in section and a day I would like not to remember the weather was horrid!!.

26^th February Oaktree Lakes Practise Match

With me entering into the Oaktree spring series later on in March this was a chance to get a brief look at the place and see how it fishes and to get a basic understanding of the place as I had never fished it before. The fishery itself is located in Brinsley just of the M1 junction 28. This match was split between the 2 lakes and I ended on top lake fishing into one of the corners. The match saw me hook a few fish but also lose a few fish. Managed to finish 3^rd overall in the match and 3^rd in section. This fishery is a little gem and I am looking forward to fishing this again soon. Not a bad result considering I had never seen the place before.

4^th March Maggotdrowning.com Knock Rycroft Fishery

Another get together with the maggot drowning lads saw me this time fish the carp lake in a carp and silvers match. Drawing my peg I fancied a silvers approach and decided to work hard putting together a bag of silvers, this time the weather was a lot better from the last visit to the fishery. Overall I had a cracking day managing to put 30lbs of skimmers on the scales coming 1^st in the silvers match and 2^nd overall. Was also happy that I had managed to put more weight in silvers on the scales than what the other anglers had caught in carp.

11^th March Dudley Rods and Reel Angling Club Match 1 Greenhill Farm Fishery

This year I decided to get back into a club and with a few spaces coming up in this one I took a punt and joined. Its nice to get away from the very competive side of match fishing and to just have a good laugh with the lads and enjoy visiting some new venues and not take the fishing too seriously. This match saw me at a venue I hadn’t seen again and I managed to come 1^st in section and 1^st overall, but most importantly I had the chance to  relax and enjoy my fishing a bit more.

14^th March Army Angling Federation Group 3 Decoy lakes  

Next match in the Army Angling Federation saw me at Decoy lakes competing in a silvers match on Beastie Lake. With the group now getting tight at the top of the table every point that is gained is a bit that will hopefully work you a bit further up the league table. This match saw me finish 1^st in section and 3^rd overall which to be honest I was happy with as yet again it’s a fishery I had never seen before and I was competing against anglers that had fished the venue in the past and at this stage of the game I didn’t want to be dropping section points.

24^th March Match Fishing Scene Champs League Heronbrook fishery

Another venue I had not laid eyes on before but at the same time a chance to compete in the Match Fishing Scene Champs League. With 2 matches being run at the same time I ended on island pool and having forgot to pack my rods its was going to have to be a pole approach. Finishing the match on a run from fish down the margins I managed to place 3^rd in section.

Shearsby Valley Lakes Winter Series Match 1 29/01/2012

With the let off after fishing the Old Nene fishing 3rd in section it was off to aShersby Valley Lakes to take part in the first winter series match. The incentive of fishing these matches is that the top 2 finishers of the match then qualify for the final in March with money being paid into the final pot throughout the 8 matches.
Having not fished the venue in a few years it was nice to re-visit the venue, the surroundings and the up keep and maintenance is top notch and has always been a good place to go to have some friendly banter.
Having about remembered how to get there it was straight in the cafe for a breakfast and a coffee. Today saw the match taking part on Willow which wasn't a lake that I had fished before. With winter in full swing I had a lot prior to coming down for info on the Internet and leaned that a 100lb+  bag had been taken a week before from the one of the pegs in the 20's. Sounds like the fish had shoaled up and someone had found them in one of the matches.
With the clock hitting 0900hrs it was time for the draw in went my left hand and out came peg 26 an end peg (come on I thought bound to be a few fish there!!!) so out came the kit and a quick run from the car park to my peg found me sat on my box looking at the lake and where to fish. With me having an end peg and a bank running to my right first port of call would be to set up a margin rig and find some depth down the edge where the fish might be hiding. After carefully plumbing up down the edge I had managed to find a hole 11 meters down the edge where the depth was a 1ft deeper than the rest of the edge.
Setup for this line was a double Number 8 elastic set on a pulla bung. Line was the new Browning Hybrid Mono line 0.12mm to a 6 inch 0.10mm hook length hook of choice was a B911 size 18. Float choice was a Sackup Silver back 4x10. The plan was to fed very little and just drip feed in a few 3mm dampened down pellets and one or two pieces of corn that would also be used as hook bait, switching between that and a  4mm expander.
My other line saw me 11 meters straight out to the front where I had found 4 ft of water which was at the bottom of a sloping ledge that came of a underwater bar that ran left to right then gradually sloping off flat.
Set up choice was a double 6 elastic set on a pulla same main line and hook dia to a B911 size 18 hook. Float choice again was a Sackup Silverback 4x12 with  strung out bulk setup. Same as the margin swim feed would be 3mm dampened down pellet fed sparingly with a few pieces of corn. Hook baits would be corn, 4mm expander or if it got really hard then a double maggot.
These were the only 2 lines I set up for the match. With the all in being called it was off to work.
With no movement on the float for the first 15 minutes I sat and watched the angler to the left on me catch 2-3 fish in quick succession. To be honest it didn't concern me due to the fact that we had just started and there was along way to go. With myself fishing pellet on the hook I made a change over to double red maggot as he the lad to the left had had them on that. After another 20-30 minutes the float shot under and carp number one was in the net after a nice little scrap.
The float went out again and then came a run of roach to about  1 lb each. With no body really bagging on the lake and the lad to my left slowing right down I was happy with my progress so far.
Just on the 2 hour mark the float shot under again and in came a 5lb carp, now I was happy with the way my match was going I knew it wasn't going to be full on action and that every bite counted. At this point I had started to take notice of one of the other lads a few pegs down who had now increased his pole length to 16 meters towards the island and was now starting to catch a steady run of carp to 5lb a piece. By the talk on the bank the fish were shoaled up by the island in the middle of the lake and a piece of corn was enough to tempt them into a bite. My bites had now started to slow down on my 11 meter line so into the left hand edge I went for the float to bury and a 2lb carp in the net. the next hour or so saw me adjusting the depth of my margin rig and searching for any carp that might be sat tight to my margin bank further up the bank. This brought a few more carp but were only to about 1lb a piece.
By this time the lad that had sat at 16 meters on his pole to the island was putting a steady bag of carp together and was clearly out in front leading the match by a clear 20-30lb at this point.
With the margin swim not producing it was back onto my 11 meter swim to see if any carp had got there heads down and would be tempted by a piece of corn or a 4mm expander.

With the all out being called I knew I hadn't wont the match due to the lad a few pegs down putting at least 20 carp in his keep net. With the weighing in coming round I felt I may have done enough for 2nd in the match and put 22lb odd onto the scales only to be beaten by 27lb and the winner that had 68lb, so I was going to have to settle for a 3rd place over all which I was happy with due to the fact that it was the first time in a few years I had fished the place. After talking to some of the other lads about how the peg just dried up I learnt that it was common place for my peg and had done the same in the last 2-3 matches catching steady for the first few hours only to just die of half way through the match.
Well done to the winner with a fine bag of carp and a weight of 68lb its always nice to draw on the fish but you also got to have the angling skill to catch um and get um in the net which is what the winner clearly did adding a section to his pole and ringing changes to his pole rig which brought him his rewards.
At the time of writing this the weather is not at its best with snow falling and settling up to about 4 inches my next match sees me back down Shearsby Valley lake trying to qualify for the final in March tomorrow (must be made to go out in this weather!!!)

Army Angling Federation Group 3 match 4 Old Nene March 25/01/2012

Well after being battered by the winds on Saturday down at Rycroft fishery I was looking forward to meeting up with some of the lads again and getting back on the Old Nene for the next instalment of our group matches within the Army Angling Federation group 3.
This match saw us on the March stretch which I had not fished before due to missing the first match because of work commitments. After the 2 hour journey down to the venue and a McDonalds on the way it wasn't long before we got there safe and sound to be met by a slightly coloured river with a slightly cold conditions. After having a look at the stretch we were going to fish and getting some advice on where the fish tend to show I wanted to be in the middle section or the end section further up the stretch.
With the team all sorted in went my hand to draw for the team picking 2 good pegs for the other lads and me picking out peg 2 within the first section (not where I wanted to be but that's fishing make the most of the peg and see what it throws up)
On getting to my peg which was right at the beginning of the section so a nice short walk with my kit I settled down to see where I was going to fish.
With punched crumb being a safe bet on this venue and with slight colour in the water I planned to set up a punch line 5 meters out to the left and ground bait line 10 meters out to the front another punch line 10 meters out to the right and a 13 meter hemp line just slightly right of my 10 meter line.
Plan was to start on the inside left line on the punch and then rotate through my lines should the fish back off.
My set up for my punch line was a Sackup Aqua float 4x14 to a 0.10mm main line and a 6 inch 0.08mm hook length matches to a size 20 B511 hook a set up that I have full confidence in, the shotting was a bulk half a foot from where the hook length and the main line met followed by 2 droppers. I am a firm believer in keeping the shooting pattern positive as I wanted the bait to get down to the bottom where the bigger stamp of fish will be, this was matched to a Browning Cenex solid number 4 elastic. This set up would also be the same for the right hand side punch line at 10 meters.
My ground bait line at 10 metres straight out consisted of a Sackup Aqua 4x14 to a 0.10mm mainline and a 0.08mm hook length with a size 20 B511 hook. For the shotting pattern I went for a shirt button style pattern so the hook bait had a slower fall through the water. Elastic of choice was a Browning Cenex solid number 5.
Last line I had to set up was my hemp line witch was at 13 meters. A size 5 elastic was again my preferred elastic set to a 0.10mm main line and a 0.08mm hook length to a size 18 B511. For my shotting pattern this was spread out across the line to give a more slower natural fall of the bait.
Looking back at my set ups for each line I am a firm believer of keeping things as simple as possible hence the main line and hook lengths all being of the same diameters as well as the hooks which I believe are a good all rounder for this type of fishing should I need to ring the changes within the match I have a starting point to start from.
With the all in being called it was off to work feeding my lines, both punch lines were fed with a big ball of punched crumb with a little aquarium gravel added to get it down to the bottom. My hemp line was feed with 250ml of hemp with the plan of going over it every half hour to see if the roach had turned onto it. If they had then it would be a matter of catching as many off this line as possible due to the roach normally being a better stamp.My ground bait line was fed with 3 balls with one containing a pinch of pinkie.
With me starting on my punch line at 5 meters and spending a good half hour on with only a few bites it was time to move around my swims to see if the fish had settled on one of my other line. With a full rotation complete and only a few bites this was going to be a hard match and one where I was going to have to ring a few changes. First change was to alter the depth of my ground bait rig and come up of the deck 2 inches at a time to see if the fish were off the bottom this brought a few small fish to the net but nothing that was going to get me in a rhythm to put a good bag of fish together. With over half the match left which was proving difficult and both anglers catching to my left I knew I was going to have to get the fish feeding one way or another.
Having spent most of the match being very cautious with feeding I decided to go all out and feed my punch line 10 meters out to my right with 2 big balls of punched crumb and then come 5 inch of the bottom. This proved to be the right choice as the float buried time and time again with a steady run of fish coming to the net for the last hour. Having spent most of the match going in cautiously over my swims and persistently trying to get my hemp line working I had now managed to put at least a kilo in the net in the last hour which was a sigh of relief and more to do with damage limitation with placing within the section and getting a few points.
With the all out being called I knew I had blown the section but felt I had done enough to come at least 3rd in the section. With the weigh in starting at the top end of the stretch it was clear that's where the fish were with the top ends pegs weighing in just over 5 and 4 kilos. As we moved further down the stretch the weights became less and less however with most anglers having well over a kilo of fish each. With me weighing in I put 1 kilo 300 odd grams on the scale for 3rd in section and what might prove to be a valuable 3 points and a let off for not reading the signs and fishing in a more positive manner.

Maggot Drowning Rycroft knock up match 22nd January

Well after the Christmas break this was to be my first match of the year which was to take place down at Rycroft Fishery Hemmington Nottingham.

The match its self was a knock up match organised by one of the lads off the Maggot Drowners.com.

With 16 of us booked in the numbers were good and I was looking forward to catching a few fish and blowing the cob webs out. On stepping out of my back door early on the Sunday Morning I felt the cold gale force winds blowing on my face (looks like we were going to be in for a difficult match) the winds were howling.

After the 15-20 minutes trip down the motor way I was at the fishery waiting for everyone to turn up.

With the lads slowly but surly turning up we had the full 16 turn out which was good as there is always one or two that I thought wouldn’t have bothered due to the wind and weather in general. What a day for my first match of the year !!!

With the wind being like it was it was decided that we would split the match over 2 lakes 1 on Clover lake and one on Moat lake enabling us to peg it out with our backs to the wind (now that was a bonus)

On the draw I wanted to draw Clover Lake but ended up with drawing Moat lake peg 13. Oh well the draw never goes the way I would like it so of I went to my peg to have a look.

Even though the fishery is only 15-20 minutes its not a fishery I tend to fish on a regular basis I had collected snippets of information on both lakes and was told that moat had a sunken island running parallel to the bank running through the lake at around 13 meters.

After settling down I decided to keep this one simple with a line out on the pole at 13 meters and one on the inside just off slightly to the left with the wind the way it was I was going for anything fancy just 2 simple rigs fished in front of me.

With the match pegged on one bank and the wind blowing into the opposite bank I also set the bomb rod up to cast tight to the far bank/pegs.

For my pole lines I set up a Sackup SF Silver back 4x12 a true all rounder and has the benefits of a wire stem to help with stability but also sensitivity so I could see the bites clearly should the silver fish move in but also has the strength should the odd carp come in for a feed.

Line of choice is slightly different to what I have been fishing with and I am now using Browning Hybrid Power mono line supple, strong and durable I wanted to see how it preformed.  Main line was 0.12mm to a 6 inch 0.10mm hook length finished off with a Tubertini 808 size 16 hook. All connected to double 6 preston slip elastic set soft on a pulla bung. My shotting pattern was a bulk of number 9’s with a few droppers to register the float.

My inside line was exactly the same as my 13 meter line I wanted to keep everything as simple as possible.

As for feed on the pole lines this would dampened down micro pellet fed when required but in very small amounts just enough to catch one fish at a time. On the hook I planned to change between a 4mm expander, sweet corn and red maggot should the bites become hard. I wanted to feel my way into the match so no cupping kit was set up just toss pots on the top kits.

As for setting my bomb rod up this would be my trusty Browning force 10ft rod matched to a Browning Back fire reel with 5lb line. For those that are not familiar with Browning’s rod range the force range is one of the best I have used for what they retail at. Classy looks with a slim blank that has plenty of back bone in it to land any size of fish associated with today’s match fishing. It’s a rod that I like to use in the summer and is a proper bagging tool.

After clipping on a Browning Hybrid distance lead I attached a 1ft hook length plan was to fish a PR36 size 18 hook and fish popped up bread on the hair. This has caught me plenty of fish in the past and its just a case of finding the depth the fish are at through swapping and changing hook length lengths.

With the all in being called it was on to my 13 meter pole line. With the winds now blowing a full on gale that must have been reaching 40-50mph it wasn’t a line that I was going to stay on for long, even with the wind on my back it was still hard to control the pole. After an hour sat on the 13 meter line I fed my inside line and went out on the bomb casting tight to the far bank peg this is where I felt I could mug a fish or 2 should the fish follow the wind. After another hour and only a few indications that a fish or 2 could be there I reeled in and went on my inside pole line not a bite on that either after another hour!!

After another half hour the tip shot round and after a bit of a scrap carp number 1 was in the net (happy days)

With nothing else coming to the net after another hour and sitting on my pole lines I completely change tactics and swapped my distance lead for a small 20gram Kobra method feeder and threw it out just past my 13 meter pole line, within 15 minutes the tip shot round again and carp number 2 was in the net result!.

Straight back out saw the tip swing round again but this time I lost it gutted with the lake fishing hard every fish counted.

Looks like I may have found a few fish sat at the back of the sunken island. The last half hour saw no more action and all out was called.

What a match the weather was the worst I had seen it this year and to be honest I was glad the match was over.

On the weigh in it was clear that most had struggled with low weights coming to the scales 17lb odd was winning the lake even though I knew I didn’t have that my 8lb odd was enough for 2^nd on the lake.

With the results in from both lakes it was clear that Clover had fished a lot better that what Moat lake had.

Winner on the day had 20lb 9oz from clover with the other lad picking up 2^nd overall on my lake I was left to take the section money by default which was a surprise. 

Browning Xitan Z12 Evolution Pole

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Browning Z12 review PDF Format