Wednesday Review... Preston Carbonactive Mini Series Float Rods

This entry was posted on 18th June, 2014

Preston Carbonactive Mini Series Float Rods Review

Joe Carass of Match Fishing Magazine explains why two rods from Preston Innovations have stood the test of time!

I remember sorting my kit out for my first-ever trip to White Acres. Filled with excitement, I had asked for advice on the tackle I would need and top of the list was a Preston Innovations Mini 11ft Float rod.

Been the keenster that I am, I made sure I bought the rod ready for my first trip to the ‘pellet-waggler heaven’, as it was at that time. Needless to say, my first trip there was something of a disaster. I had a great week but didn’t get to grips with the fishing, although the one shining light was the Mini 11ft Waggler rod – it was fantastic.



At the time this was the first purpose-designed pellet-waggler rod and in my opinion it was way ahead of the game. The rod has a beautiful action yet retains a certain amount of ‘grunt’ that allows decent-sized wagglers to be punched out.

At Match Fishing Magazine we get to see all the latest rods that are released, and I don’t believe there is a better rod than this for Pellet Waggler fishing at short range.

Some of you may remember me saying I liked a 13ft rod for the Pellet Waggler. Well, that is sill the case on the larger waters where bigger floats and distances are needed. However, on small, intimate waters with short casts you just can’t beat an 11-footer.

This rod is superb but the emergence of a new water led me to buy another rod from the Mini Range, the 2g-6g model. Several years ago, White Acres opened the Trewaters Complex – a small, two-lake venue that was stocked with a lot of small fish at the time. Back then pegging was tight and the fishing was hard, with a 13m pole limit to encourage anglers to fish a rod and line.



The staple fish were small F1’s, Tench and Skimmers and a few people really cottoned on to the fact that the island held a good head of Carp. I quickly sussed a ‘wag and mag’ approach and my next three matches resulted in section and lake wins. It was great because while everyone tapped in a few pellets, I could blast bait at the far bank, dominate the area, draw fish into my swim and then catch them with a small traditional waggler cast as tight to the island as I could. The weights weren’t high but the fishing was fantastic.

Originally I tried the standard Mini rod but it just has a little bit too much power for the 0.10mm hooklengths that were required there. Enter the 2g-6g rod. This is a lovely tool and has a super soft fish playing action, perfect for light hooklengths and smaller Carp.



I have since used the lighter rod at many venues and absolutely love it. In fact, in the recent Angling Trust Winter League Semi-Final the saved my bacon, so to speak, as a late run of waggler fish propelled me to third in section from a desperate-looking position. That day I never lost a fish on the waggler, which is testament to the playing action of this great bit of kit.

The market is awash with 11ft Waggler rods, but for me the two originals from Preston are still the best. They are simple, no-frills rods that do the job intended of them very well, at a decent price, and I cannot rate them highly enough.

Buy The Preston Carbonactive Mini Series Float Rod