Recently I brought a BFW stalker rod: the reason for this was I was begining to think that my old Daiwa SVC was a bit under gunned at 1.25 Tc, but my Drennan barbel power with its two tips of 1.3/4 to 2 Tc was over gunned.
So I wanted something in between and also a shorter length. As some of the swims I was fishing on the Dorset Stour I found the 12-foot rods a bit cumbersome.
So I set about looking on the Internet to see what was available and decided to email bfw.
After several emails and a couple of phone calls with Claire Frances I decided what specification I wanted. These were Black whippings with gunmetal tippets; KDPS reel seat with gunmetal collars, an isoblob, which is an isotope encased in some resin, which at night works very well but during the day just looks like a blob of araldite at the end of the rod. A cork handle to my length; all put together by a Mr Bob (bgit) Gill to make a very classy looking fishing rod. Claire Frances, the manager of the bfw shop was very patient in helping me chose the fittings that I personally wanted.
The rod comes in a nice black cloth bag and is delivered by courier one thing I must say here is that even though the rod was well packed it would have been nice if the rod came in a protective tube.
So to the rod it is a lovely black carbon blank by Harrison's. It is soft through action rod without the top begin sloppy. I Had the KDPS reel seat to suit my Shimano 5000 reel but have found out recently that one of my old reels a Daiwa Regal Z fits it very nicely and is perfectly balanced with the rod.
I have found that I can cast with just a couple of swan shot or up to 1oz so far with ease. The tip is quite sensitive and I can feel all the pulls as fish pick up the bait, so much that I have found out that the trouble I was having with the boilie being taken off the hair has been the chub; and the rod bent well into these stopping them in there tracks with oodles of power left but the rod was not stiff that you did not feel that the fish was on.
When you have a barbel on - it is a very soft bend in the rod and you can feel every lunge and turn that the barbel makes with plenty of power in the butt section to stop them from reaching snags. A very nice rod to use, and i think it will become my main armoury for the summer and early autumn on the Dorset Stour and Hampshire Avon. All in all a very classy rod and if my Drennan ever fails I will be saving my money and hopefully I will be able to get a rod at twelve feet with the same spec. It is still early days as I have only had the rod a few months now but I am very impressed with it.
The above is my personal view of the BFW Stalker fishing rod.
There is a standard specification or you can have a custom build as I did, there are various reel seats available and they can make the handle to your desired length. Also you can have your name or logo of your choice all you need to do is send them a photo and they will resize. Also every rod comes with its Own unique number and certificate of authenticity.
Martin Wood
Sep 2006
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BFW note : See below for some of the custom build options :
Standard Specification £135.00
* Based on a 10ft Harrison (UK made) blank in black
* Black whippings
* Black triple legged rings
* Choice of handles - Grade A Full Cork, Full Duplon or Abbreviated Duplon
* Single Tip - 1lb 8oz tc
* Fuji Reel Seat
* Fixed Hook Retainer
Example of a photo of a Kingfisher on a bfw rod
The photos are sealed with flex coat to protect from scratches and prevent them from fading. If you have an image in a photo that you would like to use but you would like it edited i.e. remove a background or cropped to remove part of the image, please send it to us via email or post with an explanation of exactly what you would like and we will do all the work for you! We will edit and scale down your photo and send you a sample via email or post for your approval before placing it on the rod. From £15.00
https://barbel.co.uk/site/rodpages/stalker175.php
Martin Wood
September 2006
So I wanted something in between and also a shorter length. As some of the swims I was fishing on the Dorset Stour I found the 12-foot rods a bit cumbersome.
So I set about looking on the Internet to see what was available and decided to email bfw.
After several emails and a couple of phone calls with Claire Frances I decided what specification I wanted. These were Black whippings with gunmetal tippets; KDPS reel seat with gunmetal collars, an isoblob, which is an isotope encased in some resin, which at night works very well but during the day just looks like a blob of araldite at the end of the rod. A cork handle to my length; all put together by a Mr Bob (bgit) Gill to make a very classy looking fishing rod. Claire Frances, the manager of the bfw shop was very patient in helping me chose the fittings that I personally wanted.
The rod comes in a nice black cloth bag and is delivered by courier one thing I must say here is that even though the rod was well packed it would have been nice if the rod came in a protective tube.
So to the rod it is a lovely black carbon blank by Harrison's. It is soft through action rod without the top begin sloppy. I Had the KDPS reel seat to suit my Shimano 5000 reel but have found out recently that one of my old reels a Daiwa Regal Z fits it very nicely and is perfectly balanced with the rod.
I have found that I can cast with just a couple of swan shot or up to 1oz so far with ease. The tip is quite sensitive and I can feel all the pulls as fish pick up the bait, so much that I have found out that the trouble I was having with the boilie being taken off the hair has been the chub; and the rod bent well into these stopping them in there tracks with oodles of power left but the rod was not stiff that you did not feel that the fish was on.
When you have a barbel on - it is a very soft bend in the rod and you can feel every lunge and turn that the barbel makes with plenty of power in the butt section to stop them from reaching snags. A very nice rod to use, and i think it will become my main armoury for the summer and early autumn on the Dorset Stour and Hampshire Avon. All in all a very classy rod and if my Drennan ever fails I will be saving my money and hopefully I will be able to get a rod at twelve feet with the same spec. It is still early days as I have only had the rod a few months now but I am very impressed with it.
The above is my personal view of the BFW Stalker fishing rod.
There is a standard specification or you can have a custom build as I did, there are various reel seats available and they can make the handle to your desired length. Also you can have your name or logo of your choice all you need to do is send them a photo and they will resize. Also every rod comes with its Own unique number and certificate of authenticity.
Martin Wood
Sep 2006
back to top
BFW note : See below for some of the custom build options :
Standard Specification £135.00
* Based on a 10ft Harrison (UK made) blank in black
* Black whippings
* Black triple legged rings
* Choice of handles - Grade A Full Cork, Full Duplon or Abbreviated Duplon
* Single Tip - 1lb 8oz tc
* Fuji Reel Seat
* Fixed Hook Retainer
Example of a photo of a Kingfisher on a bfw rod
The photos are sealed with flex coat to protect from scratches and prevent them from fading. If you have an image in a photo that you would like to use but you would like it edited i.e. remove a background or cropped to remove part of the image, please send it to us via email or post with an explanation of exactly what you would like and we will do all the work for you! We will edit and scale down your photo and send you a sample via email or post for your approval before placing it on the rod. From £15.00
https://barbel.co.uk/site/rodpages/stalker175.php
Martin Wood
September 2006