SONIK SK3 BASS 2-5oz

The SK3 Bass from Sonik comes with the standard Sonik bold guarantee - "The best rods for your money or your money back" and having had time to look over and use the range of rods, I don't think they'll be giving much money back. There are some great rods on the market for first time Shore Anglers and Top Surf anglers alike, this rod should interest them both.

Reviewed: Sonik SK3 12 ft 6 inch Bass [2 to 5oz]
Reviewed by Lloyd Rush

Selling Price £99.99 more info www.soniksports.com

Completing the reviews on the Sonik Sea range is the Sonik Bass 12' 6" 2-5oz rod. When the Sonik rods arrived in the office we immediately took them outside for a closer look - We'd placed the order the day before and the communication and delivery was as promised - very efficient. The packaging was top class, no chance of any damage with bubble wrap and corrugated cardboard used freely to protect the valuables.

First My Conclusion: The Sonik SK3 Bass is an outstanding rod that is build with the normal Sonik quality and effective rod furniture. You get a lot rod for under £100 and a rod that will be a match for most fish in clean ground beach and surf fishing. It is at home whilst being used as an estuary rod for Flatfish, Bass and other species. A joy to cast, the blank transmits 100% of the fight directly to the angler to make the all round experience of using this rod a real pleasure.

Now the Review: Once all the rods were assembled it was the Sonik Bass that caught my eye, it also caught the eyes of others too and I had to play Top Trumps for the pleasure of reviewing the rod. The first outing was a two day trip down to Chesil for the Abbotsbury feature.  

I took the SK3 Bass out of the bag and added a fixed spool reel loaded with 20lb Braid and a 2oz Lead and went about seeing how far I could 'Ping' the light setup with a 3 hook match and light baits. The rods sat very well in the rest and avoided excessive nodding in the tide, later testing revealed a good bite detection too; but not on this day as Chesil was proving a tuff nut in April/May. Eventually my attention was drawn to an angler few rods up taking an early season Mackerel, this resulted in a quick change to some small feathers but keeping with the 2oz lead. Fish at last! the action of rod was a joy as some decent sized Macky arrived on the pebbles in a early reminder of what the summer has to offer the seasonal 'Feather Chucker's'

The extraordinary April weather had whipped up a huge bank of 'Summer Fog' that fell off Portland and quickly encapsulating the already sunburned Anglers at Abbotsbury. Visibility wasn't the best and with each cast I was giving it the 'Max' which resulted in a lot of braid shooting out from the reel and a cast that was much further than we could see! The odd break in the 'smog' and resulting rays of sunshine revealed just how far the feathers where going - I'm not a good judge of distance but I'd say it was a very long way! As the sun went down only a few anglers had taken the early season Macky. Most of the fish hit the feathers about 5 or 6 seconds after the cast, I put that down to the slower sink of a 2oz lead and the extra distance gained off the impressive Sonik Bass rod.

I've since used the rod for some standard 'Bass/Estuary' fishing with Peelers and light leads, float fishing for Wrasse off Portland and spinning with Sand eel behind bullet leads. I would conclude that the rod is a great versatile tool that matches the power, speed and elegance of the Bass. The rod can be held for long periods without effort and is a dream to cast and fish with.

You'll need all of the 2oz minimum to get near to a reasonable casting action out of the rod and it's very comfortable with the upper 4oz's plus bait too [once again Sonik have got the classification spot on] If you want a spinning/plugging rod then I suggest you go and buy one [Sonik don't do a spinning rod yet!] This is a real Bass Rod built to catch Bars of Silvers from a clean beach Surf. A likeable rod both technically and in looks, it is well suited to fishing around the UK Coastline and would be at home fishing for Garfish off your local Pier with Floats or fishing Crab and Worm baits at distance or close in on a clean beach - a great light surf rod. For £99 what more do yo want?

A Great Light Surf Rod, A Great Price - This one is a Keeper for sure!