The HTO Rockfish series

Since buying my first lure/lrf rod, I have gone on to buy another 3 in the same year all from the same brand and 3 of which are almost identical in there usage.

1. HTO Rockfish T UL (First purchase)
2. HTO Rockfish UL
3. HTO Rockfish 73 UL
4. HTO Rockfish ML

No I have been lucky enough to get 3 of these 4 incredible rods second hand at less than £20 each and the first I bought brand new and it was still only around £40-45. So whilst these aren’t as cheap as the very competitive Shakespeare agility series they are still bloody good value budget rods especially if you can get hold of them second hand!

Now having also owned the Shakespeare agility LRF I can honestly tell you that it doesn’t compare in quality to the HTO rivals. the finish on the HTOs are better and the rods are lighter, have better action and most importantly cope much better when casting very very light lures (0.5g jig heads).

The Rockfish T is exactly what you want when it comes to casting very light metals, it has that punch that gets your through the wind and firing out to sea and as it is also a little longer than the other 3 it helps with those extra few yards also. The rod can easily cope with bigger fish. I christened mine with my first ever pike which was between 2-3 lbs.

THe HTO Rock fish UL is a solid tipped rod and I absolutely love using this rod for dropshot fishing, rockpool fishing and casting very very light jigheads with soft plastics. I have spent a 9 hour session on the canal catching fish after fish after fish with it and due to its lightweight it feels like you are hardly carrying anything at all.

The HTO Rockfish 73 UL as far as I can see is almost the same rod but from a few years previous. I picked this one up to replace the Agility my son was using when fishing with me so he could cast further.

The HTO Rockfish ML……

Now this is a lure rod! It struggles at the top end of its casting range so isn’t what you want for casting big Fish black Minnows or 25g surface lures out into the surf but for lighter lures and soft plastics it is a dream to work with.

Casting a weedless soft plastic such as a senko or do live stick couldnt be easier and it is great for light jigheads with worms baits etc for wrasse and pollock.

I haven’t tried it on the canal yet but am looking forward to casting some bigger creature baits under the structure for big perch and pike and surface lure fishing in the summer!