Awa-Shima Ugly Battler 10-20lb TXS

I will be the first to admit I am a bit of a tackle tart, but deliberately so.

I have found often to my cost that you cant afford to buy cheap kit, it frequently fails to perform as advertised and wears and deteriorates much quicker forcing the angler to shell even more by either repairing or replacing it.

First out of my bag on a boat, unless on a wrecking trip, are my Conoflex Sensor Tip and my Abu Suverans, quality kit that not only performs but will instill confidence in any angler using them. So when I was handed a £40 Awa-Shima Ugly Battler 10-20lb class rod and asked not only review it but to actually use it I was a bit concerned about the amount of quality fishing time I would be missing out on with my 3 figure rods. How wrong could I have been?

The first thing I noticed about this rod was its lightness and its balance, I then checked the label on it again to ensure it was indeed a supposed £40 rod, you only get one chance at a first impression and I was pleasantly surprised to say the least that indeed it was the Awa-Shima.

Looking over it on dry land, the 2 piece blank which joins immediately above the fore grip with a strong 4 1/2" spigot is predominately black that runs parallel to the first ring, then tapers off progressively over the last 4 foot to quite a fine tip, which did remind me of the Shakespeare Ugly sticks with it being clear for the last 7 inches or so. This to me indicated a sensitive 'tippy' rod with a bit of grunt from its mid point through to the butt.

All the rings, 8 in total, were ceramic lines and single footed apart from the initial one nearest the reel which had 2 feet, the single feet on the rings not only contributes to the rods distinct lack of weight but also allows the blank to flex more naturally and progressively, their whippings were all tastefully done in red silver a gold and finished to a very good standard.

The reel seat is a relatively standard plastic and chrome screw fitting one, big enough and man enough to take a reel far to big for the rods own good, this is flanked by 2 very comfortable duplon grips. An inch above the forgrip is a handy lure clip, great for clipping the rig to your rod when steaming between fishing spots and it looks much better than the old paper clip and insulating tape mod that I have frequently used.

Lastly, and deliberately so we come to the butt, I have never seen one like it - its called a "T power handle" it can be pulled out, extending it by an inch or so then turned through 90 degrees to form a T, this is in effect a built in butt pad. Right then that's the visual look over with, now lets put a Abu HSN 7000 on it and see if it disrupts the balance, nope just as good. Was this rod really £40? have Awa Shima got the price wrong? only one way to find out, lets go fishing . . . .

After a gentle nudge off the rollercoaster trailer my Picton Kingfisher slid into the water and was afloat, the car and trailer were parked up, Lloyd and Lou jumped on, then the before the ignition key could be fully turned my trusty Yamaha 60 jumped into life, the 4 hp auxiliary was also pulled into life to ensure it worked and ran ok. While they were warming up all the electronics were fired up and checked, a quick safety brief and we were off. *First stop the southern entrance to Portland Harbour for a few drifts over the Hood for some fresh mackerel.

What a cracking mackerel rod this is, the tip is quite soft and really highlights the hits from the fish and plays them forgivingly, which will ensure fewer lost fish. My frowns were turning to smiles after less than 5 minutes of using this rod.

We then drifted between Church Ope Cove and Grove Point, picking up Pollock, sometimes 3 at a time and plenty of wrasse, both Ballan and Cuckoo. Nothing massive was caught that day maybe 2lb being the biggest but what a pleasant rod to use. The rod was in fact so pleasant to use that over the course of the week I used it every day with one exception when I was drawn as cabin boy on the charter boat Atlanta and I used my Conoflex purely for the extra 3 foot. It would be interesting to see a slightly longer version than the 2.1 - say 2.6m? that would be special!

My only complaint with it, apart from the pink/purple colour on the butt section, which did pluck at my non existent femine side [a little less 'Bling' would be better], was that the "T power handle " did catch me out once when I cast the rod from my boat, as the rod compressed and I pushed it forward with my right arm, it pulled out over that inch in my left hand and felt for a split second that I was going to lose the over the edge and I did lapse into the vernacular. However it was extremely comfortable to use as a butt pad and came in handy for a completely different and probably unintentional use, when the rod was put in the boats rod holder the "T power handle" was activated ensuring that the rod couldn't bounce or get pulled out of the boat, good for peace of mind when trolling or nipping into the cuddy for a brew etc....