Daiwa Seiryu X45

by Gus Mansour
(UK)

I’ve had this rod for a little over a year now although I’ve only fished it for a few short sessions with a float rig.

I think it is rather more capable than has been suggested. The first thing I did when it arrived was to try some different lines and see how it cast. I used everything from a 2.5 to a 4 level line, the Fujino white line and a section cut from a level floating nymph line which would be roughly a Japanese size 11. It cast them all without issue, which is more than can be said for me – more practise needed for the 2.5 but I could feel it load the rod.

It is fine with small fish as you would imagine but it has some power lower down. I have been able to lift a 6 inch dace up a 5 foot bank and one of the first fish I caught was a carp, which was quite exciting on a Seiryu rod! That fish took a fragment of worm on a size 22 hook. I wasn’t worried about the fish breaking the rod as I was only using a 1.5 lb hook link. What concerned me were the branches. I hadn’t noticed how close they were overhead. The rod kept catching them as I raised it to bring the fish toward my net. Carbon under pressure is not a good thing to hit with a stick. Note to self – look up. The carp was only around 2 lbs and the rod, unlike me, had no trouble dealing with it.

Depending on species and current strength I reckon you would be safe targeting fish up to 4 or 5 lbs. I have seen some pictures of an Italian angler who used one to catch some very large chub.

Where I think you would find a limitation is using weighted flies. The top half of the rod is very soft. Whilst it copes happily with the weight of a float rig, I do not think it would be a good choice for weighted flies or very fast water. It just does not have the stiffness you would want.

Overall it is a handsome rod that is light for its length and surprisingly capable. It can handle a wide variety of lines and fish. Its only real limitations are that it is a soft rod which might struggle with heavy flies or current and is slightly longer than others when collapsed.

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"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.


Warning:

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The fish are slippery when wet.

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