[Mike Sullivan]

Well popped into snowbee this morning for a catch up, chatting with Phil in there they have sent off the final protoypes to begin the manafacturing process for febuary ish release.
I for one and really looking forwards to there release after using snowbee fly rods in the past and liking them a lot be nice to have a flick with there lure rods.
Also i found there lure selection has increased they have smith lures in stock now so i couldnt resist it and bought another one god it casts well though no fish today blank on all accounts.
I digress, chatting about the research they have put into these rods they have tested the top makes of lure rods no names mentioned, and taken the good points and tried to iron out anything they feel is lacking.
Throwing this into a set of either 5 or 6 rods. No weights as yet though they will be in the same ilk as there vertical jigging rods for rough design.
So if they have taken all the good attributes from top makes and taken away any negatives they should have a bloody good rod in the end. Also they will have the unconditional lifetime warrant i believe.
Cant wait for these to be officialy released so that i can get a proper look through them and have a test rough estimate of prices will be in the £250 and upwards dependant on models though this is subject to change.
I have seen a couple of lures that will be available and the prices they are bandying around are really good too so maybe we have another contender in the lure market?:-o

 

[Mike Kennard]

The proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say. Hopefully they will be groundbreaking and innovative. If they are just taking the best of everything then it sounds like more of the same just with a different label. Sorry if that sounds cynical but heard it all before. Hopefully I will be proved wrong!!!!!

 

[Mick Ward]

They are indeed beautiful rods, i am als olooking forward to having a go with one, they seem nice in the hand but that can be deceiving, only having a go will sort that one out. They do look beautiful, and feel great. Did you see where they were made? Not that that has anything to do with it really.

 

[Dave Irving]

Mike,
Sorry but got to rain on your parade a little.
The lure will be first rate-Snowbee are importing Smith lures, and blo*dy good they are-If they stock the ones best suited and wanted in the UK.

But as for taking the best of some top end rods and removing the negitives and the resulting rod will be marketed for £250-Snowbee are having a giggle. With a £250 price tag they simply aren't going to be top notch, for that price they won't be made of the same japanese carbon matrixes, won't have the top of the range rings. Don't fall for the hype, they might be good rods for the money, but better than the top of the ranges-not a chance. Why can't companies make realisitic claims for once!!!

I would be VERY tempted to wait and see what rods are available in the UK next year, before spending that kind of money-There might be much better value rods around!!

 

[Ivan]

The prototype lures they had at the CLA were just copies of what's already available.

 

[Mike Sullivan]

The smith lures they have in stock are poppers and mostly minnows at the moment i havent used smith lures before though after testing one today it just reinforced the difference between cheap copies and proper lures.
As for the rods, it will interesting to see how they fish I have used a great many of there rods over the years and never had issue i have broken many too though i have broken hardy, sage, orvis, T&T just heavy handed in general. I will indeed wait to see how they handle before deciding on a purchase of a new rod though it maybe a contender for me only time will tell. **** didnt ask where they are being made though i know most of the fly rod blanks are sourced from either china or japan 40 - 50 tonne carbon blanks. By and large. The finish on the new jigging rods is excellent see how this transfers to the new ones.

 

[Mick Ward]

When I gave them a wiggle at T&G they seemed beautiful, in fact I was impressed, but I have thought the same about other rods and got it wrong. I reckon they'll be good though.

 

[David Sharples]

Which rods are Snowbee copying to produce their own range?

I'm not sure I've seen a single original product from them. Their waders are a shameless Simms rip off.

 

[Andrew Younger]

Not sure Simms patterned the shape of a pair of waders?

 

[Matt Newcombe]

Mike - I saw these rods a couple months ago now. They look fantastic, and too felt great in the hand.

But.... Who actually tested these rods? Who was able to say what was good and bad from other high end products? The guys behind Snowbee aren't daft, I know that - but they are hardly qualified to make those judgements. Modern lure fisherman they are not. I'm pretty sure they must of just bought the blanks used by an existing brand, surely we would of heard something if they were going through the labourious task of setting up mandrels and production. Could take years to get it just right. Will be very keen to see how these rods turn out and I for one hope they are good.

 

[David Sharples]

Not sure Simms patterned the shape of a pair of waders?

Notice any similarities? They could have at least changed the colour scheme.

 

[Mike Sullivan]

Matt i know they have most of the blanks sources / turned in japan and china for their fly rods though unsure on the lure and boat rods. Will be very interesting as to how they have turned out. I know they had consultants working on these though not sure whon this was.

 

[Dave Irving]

Mike,
The blanks will be from China-for the simply reason of the cost. If they are trying to hit the about £250 price. Well they won't be getting a japanese blank. BUT and it is a very big but-these days there is nothing wrong with the better chinese blanks. So the orgins of the blank don't really bother me.
Much more interested in which blank they have got (It will be someone else's blank design, for the reasons mentioned higher up this thread and cost), and what they do with it. What rings, grip, the length between the butt and the reel seat (something that it seems EVERY british company gets wrong-I don't need a foot and half of rod butt sticking past my elbow while I am fishing). Even what coatings they put on the blank can have an effect on the end proformance.
For me a rod is a tool, I don't care if it's a pretty colour, or if someone in a magazine says it "the right rod for uk plugging", or if it as rare as rocking horse poo. If it does what I want it to-then it is a perfect rod to me.
Now the tricky thing is that exactly who at Snowbee UK, knows enough about rod designs for plugging under UK conditions to choose the right blanks, and have them built in a way that is suitable for our plugging needs??? Or would it be the case that Snowbee brought a few popular plugging rods- and told someone to "copy" them??
Worth saying that if that someone at Snowbee did his job right-then they might be good rods. Nothing wrong with copying a winning design-Look at how much copying goes on in Formula 1.
Again they claim they have given the protypes out to some people for feedback-sounds good IF they have given them to the right people. But if they have given them to the wrong people-then the product will suffer. I have been involved in product development for a well known UK fishing company and have seen good products repeatly ruined by them being given to people to curry favour (journo's, magazine editors, travel firm owners) none of who knew what they were doing. Remember that everyone has their own likes and dislikes in rods/reels etc-The hard part is to do what is right for the product-which isn't always your own personal choice.
Well in a few weeks Snowbee will release the rods, and we will know alot more very shortly afterwards, I would reconmend a "wait and see" attitude, by the time the season gets into full swing the results of Snowbee's efforts will have been judged-for better or for worse.

 

[Les Spedding]

What rings, grip, the length between the butt and the reel seat (something that it seems EVERY british company gets wrong-I don't need a foot and half of rod butt sticking past my elbow while I am fishing). .

Thank god for that, I thought I was the only one who thought the majority of butt lenghts were wrong.

 

[Matt Newcombe]

Dave and Les - If I recall correctly, the butt just hit my elbow. Unless they've changed it.

 

[Mick Ward]

I know I keep saying it, but they felt really nice to me, more so with the vertical rods than the lure rods but there was nothing really wrong withthe lure ones, they are nice and light in the hand, well balanced and if I remember correctly the casting weights were realistic (quite low?).

 

[Mike Sullivan]

if i remember correctly, they have been working on a full set starting at 5-6 grams and upwards.

 

[Dave Irving]

Well it looks like anyone interested in Snowbee Rods will be waiting a little longer- Now details are due late March, still NO details of the Smith lures on their website-FFS As many of the members know Smith do make some awesom lures. Given that Snowbee seems to want to court the plugging market. I would think a few hours to add the Smith lures details and images to their website MIGHT have been worth their while. This is up there with the HALUCA will they, won't they last summer. First they were going to be available, then not.
If they are going to be UK agent for Smith, then frankly they need to up their game, rather than just bunging a margin on. If they want to build a brand for their rods to trade on-They really need to put more effort in.

 

[Nick Anthony]

Very interesting read. Dave what do think are the best quality rods available for lure fishing? I travel a lot so it would be good to get some recommendations. I was in Japan just before Christmas and the choice was so huge I got confused and bought nothing! ( Except a few lures)

 

[Dave Irving]

Nick, I am probably not the best qualified to answer (Hopefully Vidar will add his thoughts), but it really depends on what you want.
Casting, lightness, power, multi-section, lure size. The more idea of what you want the easier it is too narrow down the vast options.
Personally I wanted lightness, long casting, rod for shore fishing but with the ability to still work small to medium topwater lures. The best suited to my needs Daiwa Morethan, and Branzino series of rods.
So finally decided on the Morethan DemonBlood 9'4" 7-35g and 137g, and so far it has proformed brilliantly.

Give us some idea of what you want, and what sort of fishing you do, and hopefully we can come up with some rods to have a look at next time your out in japan.