This week’s tackle review is the ever so popular Free Spirit CTX Carp Rod.
The review this week is brought to you by our special guest reviewer, Ben Bentley. Ben is an avid carp angler, blogger, video creator and tackle fanatic.
Ben has been using his Free Spirit CTX Carp Rods for around a year now. Below he shares his thoughts, knowledge and techniques on these incredible carp rods.
Ben, it’s over to you…
In early in 2016 I decided that I needed a new set of carp rods in order to allow me to fish any type of water using any type of method. Knowing that I could not afford the very high end of carp rods that can up to £400 each, I still wanted quality, strong and reliable carp rods so I decided the 13ft 3.5lb Free Spirit CTX carp rods, which would serve me well on most waters.
The first time I used the Free Spirit CTX rods I decided to fish a local, high stocked runs water and I was not disappointed with the performance of the new rods.
I fished using size 10 hooks on 10lb fluorocarbon hook lengths and landed carp to double figures, proving the fish playing capabilities of the CTX rods.
The next session I decided to try the rods out on a large open water type venue. This time I fished zigs at over 100yds, using 15lb mainline straight through. The rod was easy to compress and the action of the blank allowed me to remain reasonably accurate at casting at that range.
Since using the CTX carp rods on a number of other different venues around the country, they have performed incredibly. Suiting all kinds of carp fishing methods, from flicking small chods down the margin to casting heavy PVA bags out at over a hundred yards.
The main features
The blank has been made with 40t and 30t carbons and the resin content has been kept below 25%, this means the rods very slim and with the added ‘Perdurable’ finish, this keeps the rods in a near to new condition.
The rods have a distinctive x weave down the blank, which comes from the manufacturing process. This increases the rods performance and looks super stylish.
The action is best described as a progressive tip action, being a long, powerful rod they’re designed for long range casting so the butt of the rod doesn’t tend to bend unless you’re playing the fish aggressively. Some may say that a 3.5lb test curve rod may be a little stiff, but CTX rods are soft enough in the tip to protect that all important hook hold avoiding losing a fish during the battle.
The rods are fitted with a 50mm S-lite ring set that is designed again to reduce the amount of weight built into the rod, they’re robust and look very stylish. I did suffer the occasional dreaded butt ring frap, but this was largely caused by overloading my reels.
If you’re looking for a stylish carp rod in which suits waters large and small, then these Free Spirit CTX carp rods could be the ones for you.
The range goes from 12ft 2.5lb, which are well suited for smaller waters, floater rods and stronger rods up to a 13ft 3.5lb, which will allow you to cast as serious distances. If you’re in the market for new rods then definitely check them out, you won’t be disappointed.
How much?
The Free Spirit CTX carp rod range is priced between £99 to £150 depending which length, test curve and model you decide on. The 13ft 3.5lb Free Spirit CTX carp rod featured in the review will set you back around £150 which we believe is value for money for the functionality and the build quality of the rod.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading our review of the Free Spirit CTX carp rods.
If you have any questions on Free Spirit CTX carp rods then please leave them in the comments below.
A big thank you to our guest reviewer Ben Bentley. We highly recommend checking out his carp fishing blog ‘Avoiding The Blank’ and his superb angling YouTube channel, thanks Ben!
To find more tackle news like this make sure you check out our other tackle news, carp tackle reviews and carp tackle guides.
You can find us on our Facebook page for all the latest tackle news and reviews.
Be First to Comment