Right Good Wee Smuggler Rod

[Bobfly]

To my considerable surprise middle one of the loons (40 plus that said  arrived with a 9' 6wt seven piece travel rod for my birthday a few days back.
It was a Shakespeare Agility Expedition Fly and I had actually been flicking catalogue pages some months back pondering the notion of a "pocket spare" rod that would slip into the back pocket of the float tube as a back up in the event of some accident and breakage on the usual 9' 4wt 4 piece. This pocket rocket is 18 1/2 inches long as the length of the tube.
I  am putting in this mini review because this rod is indeed a wee cracker. Lovely middle action but not too soft. Goes well with a DT5, an Orvis Wonderline WF6 and it loves Fred's Streamstealth WF5 line  which is great line off a float tube since you are casting from low down in the water so it loads up nicely. I did not try a 7wt line since it was rated as a 6wt and it was feeling like a sweet 5/6 rod rather than any 6/7. So it casts very nicely and plays the fish very nicely too with a bend right down the rod. I am amazed how well seven sections can feel like any top end 9' 5wt from ten years back before pokers became the rage. So I am well chuffed and the more so since I have put in the cupboard the wide tube it came in with seven internal divisions and sewed up a new seven divisions polycotton rod sock and made a slimline new tube from a 5mm length of plastic greenhouse gutter pipe, which also let me make two other slim  rod tubes for two other rods. Internal divided tubes I am not keen on since it seems to me that they can get wet inside and would take an age to properly dry off inside. So, I prefer a separate sock and tube.
This wee rod comes in at £45 from Angling Active so that seems like a bargain for a wee travel rod. The cork is hardly the best and the rings are a tad on the industrial side but, hey ho, what would you expect. It also lacks unnecessary line-up dots.. but it did catch 23 trout on its first outing two days ago and put a right big smile on my face. 

[Bobfly]

Better read 50mm for the guttering tube rather than 5mm ..... the rod ain't that small .....  :roll: :roll:

[Wildfisher]

I have several of that style of rod, they are very handy.

If the SNP go ahead and criminalise trout fishing or bring in a rod license as they have threatened to do I won't be fishing in Scotland again and will be selling off most of my gear except for 2 rods and reels  that will be of use when I fish abroad, so watch this space for a few bargains!   :

[Fishtales]

I bought myself a 10' #7 Agility for going away but never used it  :roll: 

[Bobfly]

For fishing on small burns and stuff I already had a 8.5' 4wt Agility and was pretty pleased with it. Good from the tube too but not the mini size of the 7 piece of course which also has a bit more poke for a breezy day.

[JimJams]

Was looking at these as a back up myself, I have the agility xps #10 for the pike and it's a cracking rod.