Fox Warrior Plus

Welcome to the inaugural instalment of 'Test Curve' - an offshoot of Blogs from the Bank where I will be putting items of on-the-market fishing tackle through their paces in order to provide readers with objective, unbiased reviews. 
At the end of the July, Tackle Fanatics sent me a selection of Fox products:

Fox Warrior + 3.25lb TC Carp Rod

My first impression of the rods was that they really look the part - I have a bit of a 'thing' for cork handles but one of the reasons I love my Greys setup so much in spite of its lack of cork is they are slender and lightweight. The difference in weight between these rods however, is negligible in practice (Fox 430g : Greys 344g) and the feel of the Fox rods is pretty sleek.
The S&M Duo fascinated me as my current spod rod is the old Fox Warrior 5.5lb TC and whilst it is a bit of a broom handle, I know it can whack out heavy spombs with confidence and control. The S&M however is significantly lighter at 4.5lb TC - I presume to retain some sensitivity as a marker rod.

Over the summer I set out to test these in various angling situations. As those of you who read Blogs from the bank will know, I am now a father and so the shape of my angling has had to change to fit with being a new parent. With a little determination and a disregard for sleep, I think I have actually managed to get more sessions in than normal, though most have been relatively short with less over-night stops. 

Mid-double mirror extracted from the snags!
In early August I fished a small farm pond on holiday which was stocked with silvers, carp to mid doubles and some koi to boot. I had packed a cane float rod, a 2lb TC speci' rod and one of the Fox Warrior + 3.25lb TC rods to cover all bases. On my first visit to the lake I decided the Warrior was overkill for such a small water and opted to fish with the speci' rod. My first run came soon enough and was an absolute screamer. Whatever I had hooked ran straight for the snaggy margins and, with the rod bent double, I had no ability to turn it before it was home and dry. Even though I was fishing in open water, given the size of the pond, the fish did not need to travel far at all to find shelter. I immediately made the switch to the stronger rod and ceased to underestimate the power of the fish in this peculiar pond.
The net scooping up a small koi mirror.
Now fishing 'locked-up' I was able to assume control of the fish from the outset. I was only fishing early mornings so as not to impact on spending time with my family so, knowing that carp are sun-worshippers, I took note of the parts of the lake that got the first rays of the day and targeted them. This kept me connected with carp almost continuously! It didn't take long to work through some small, yet beautiful, carp and koi before meeting some of the larger residents. Now the 3.25lb TC rod did not feel like overkill at all - it had a lovely action for playing even fish of this size but gave me the muscle required to keep hard-fighting fish out of dangers' way. 
I had decided to reserve judgement on the net until using it, as the texture of the mesh did not feel as smooth as my Solar net and looked a little cheap in comparison. However, the difference when handling the fox net was incredible - it is super-light and well balanced, so manoeuvring it over reeds and brambles to find a gap to land the fish whilst playing it was no chore. Lifting it in the water was also easier than with my previous setup. However, I tore the net slightly whilst  removing the net arms from the spreader block so care must be taken whilst taking it apart!
On another occasion, I barrowed round Fordwich lake, hoping to do a night and explore these rods' casting potential. My casting ability is serviceable but I know I don't fully compress my 3lb TC prodigies so I was concerned about how I would fair with a stiffer blank. I took encouragement however, from something Terry Edmonds said recently that it is better to 'use the stiffest blanks you can bend, you don't have to fully load them. Better to cast a semi loaded long stiff rod, than a fully compressed soft rod'. What he said proved to be true, as spots just shy of 120 yards which normally I struggle to hit, with the 3.25lb TC Fox Warriors, I could reach with ease.

The Fox rods out at range at Fordwich by night.


The S&M Duo proved an absolute delight to fish with compared to the old model. Thanks to its lighter construction it is far more manageable than its rather unwieldy predecessor. With the weight of a loaded spomb, I could compress this rod and had to pay attention to feathering down to the clip on each case or else it would have hit it hard!
My rigs were out for no more than an hour before I was into a fish - which came as a surprise as normally success takes a little longer here! Unfortunately, I lost it due to a poor hook hold: one of 3 fish I lost on long shank hooks with a narrow gape this summer before losing faith in them and switching back to wide gapes in which I am fully confident. Another hour passed before the phone call came to say I was required at home to help look after my baby girl who was refusing to sleep, so home I went. I had failed to land something which, from Fordwich, had the potential to be a stunning fish but had began to get a sense of the rods casting capabilities, stole a bite and a photograph.

Fishing open water at Stonar Lake.

Pasty bashing!
I also did some sessions at Stonar lake. Through the warmer months this is always a good water for a bite but the stock is skewed with a big head of small-commons and this is about all I caught, though plenty of them. Had my circumstances allowed me to do longer sessions I believe I would have worked through them and found the better fish. However, this wasn't to be but my time here did give me opportunity to work at medium range in a swim requiring a cast just shy of 80 yards, accurate baiting with the S&M Duo and familiarise with the tackle in 'everyday' angling situations.

Winning combination: S&M Duo + Emblem Spod
The fish in Stonar like a bit of bait and so several spombs went out onto each spot. It might just be me and my generally poor state of fitness but after a while I start to tire when baiting up. Between the light weight of the S&M Duo and the quick retrieve on my Daiwa Emblem Spomb I coupled it with, the impact of this task was significantly lessened. I have not yet had the occasion to utilise this rod as a marker as every time I needed to use a marker I also needed a spod rod. Only having one of these, it was not practical to change between reels and setups on the same rod and so opted to keep the S&M as a spod rod and to use my usual marker setup in conjunction with it. 

The Weigh-In

Whilst Fox Warrior gear is widely available, this particular range is exclusive to Tackle Fanatics as it was designed by their manager Duncan Hayward in partnership with Fox. Having used this gear over the summer it is evident there is a place for this in the Fox range as each item has its own USP.

The rods: These proved invaluable in both locked-up, hit and hold and distance casting situations thanks to the additional muscle in their test curve. Although I think they would not be suitable for close range work where snags are not an issue, I am very glad to have them in my armoury. I can see these being useful for chucking out large dead-baits for pike this winter too so will endeavour to include this in my follow-up piece.

The spod & marker: I enjoyed using this as a spod rod. It is a light, manageable rod but butch enough to cope with heavy spods at range. The jury is still out on the concept of a dual purpose rod because if you are going to need to buy two to use in conjunction with one another, why not just buy rods bespoke to their individual purposes? I will report back on how this rod performs as a marker.

The net: Light-weight and affordable though I'm not convinced about the durability of the mesh.

This review will be followed up by another on the same products later this year once I have moved out of the honeymoon period and seen how they perform over time but these have been my first impressions. If you have any questions about the tackle or thoughts on the blog post itself, please add them in the comments section below. Thanks for reading.


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