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We’re very confused.com! We have it from the horse’s mouth that the man’s rod going under the name of the Eliminator E1000 is not for sale in Britain.
It seems that we are not up to casting or fishing with what we think is the most revolutionary, albeit somewhat demanding, rod of the new century.
Like all good journalists we wouldn’t be beaten, even after calling Simon Chilcott of Century Composites, the company which makes the rod. In no uncertain terms, he told our staff writer: “I don’t see the advantage of testing a rod that has been designed for the Australian market.”
So it seems the Aussies are better at cricket, popping cans of Fosters and casting Eliminator rods. Mind you, if you had been competing in the Surfcast Wales International, a gathering of beefy lads who fire lead weights over grass, you might have been lucky enough to win one of six Eliminator rods, which, Simon says, aren’t available in this country…or are they?
You see, we sniffed around and called in a few favours, poking our noses where few dare to go, and found one. It was easy really – we turned to the inside back page of our November/December issue, the pages where Gerry’s of Morecambe sells its tackle off the page, and there, complete with Century logo, was advertised for all to see the ‘New Century Eliminator E1000 inc reducer’.
Ignoring the swerve from the man at Century, we borrowed one because, quite obviously, the rod is being sold in the UK. Gerry has actually taken cash over the counter for them, so what follows is the magazine’s quite unbiased view of the rod.
We have gone to a lot of trouble to organise this because we think it is our duty to bring the latest tackle to your attention, not keep recycling stuff that sometimes is no newer than the logo and the colour of the ring whips. Intriguingly, we have been in contact with Jeremy Schrader in Australia, a man who loves the Eliminator, who said: “The rod is in high demand from what I have heard from Century. Where did you hear the rod is not for the UK market?” Where indeed!
“Absolutely stunning”
says staff writer Paul Fenech, who has fished with Century rods all his angling life. Now he reckons this Eliminator is the best rod he has ever used
I’ve been fishing with Century rods man and boy – that’s long before champion caster Danny Moeskops got his giant hands round the butt of one.
For me, they did exactly what it said on the tin. They were stiff but flexible enough to cast, built and finished superbly, and carried a name that every shore angler recognised instantly. Best of all, they were manufactured in Washington, just eight miles from my home in Sunderland.
Whenever a brand new model was introduced, I headed to see my local tackle dealer, Andy Rutherford, just to get a glimpse of it. Like Chris Evans, who collects Ferraris, I love and lust for Century rods.
In recent years Belgian field caster Danny Moeskops has broken every record in the book with a Century rod and, just recently, Andy Copping has put a sinker further than anyone else. And guess what rod he used?
When I first got wind of the Eliminator E1000, I just had to get my hands on one. We have explained that we couldn’t get one direct from Century, so we borrowed one from Gerry’s of Morecambe. It arrived in our office one day and I was out on Aldeburgh beach in Suffolk with it on the next.
Cosmetically it is absolutely stunning, although I do have a gripe with the way Century appears to be producing its rods with an unground finish, and the logo could do with a single lick of varnish to protect it.
Japanese shrink grip envelops the butt section and on both sections of the rod where they join. This is to help part the rod if your hands are cold and wet, and it works a treat. There is also a stainless steel band at the joint and at the base of the butt. As with all the rods in the range, it has Autoclave Technology where heat and pressure are mixed together, which stops the rod from ‘going soft’ and is said to give the blank a longer life.
Anti Twist Technology (ATT) is built into the rod – this involves winding very fine carbon fibres around the inside of the blank, which in turn helps with ring alignment during casting.
The Eliminator comes with a reducer, but I’ve never been a big fan of these so I left it in the bag. My Daiwa 7HT Mag multiplier was my first choice reel – what a combination that would between them drive a 175g sinker. Assembled, the rod felt very stiff, but it balances out well with a reel fixed in the low butt position.
My first cast was slow with a long drop and then I brought the sinker around for the punch stroke, which wasn’t as easy as I thought. Damn it! I mistimed everything but nevertheless the reel opened up at high speed and the sinker rose high in the sky.
This rod appeared to be a bit of a beast and I needed to find more muscle power to drive it. Next cast I decided to shorten the drop slightly, which would speed up the cast a bit. I swung the lead weight away from me and as it returned and rose behind me I turned quickly and powerfully to make the rod react. I got a reaction all right – the rod bent, there was an almighty swoosh and what happened next was astonishing.
I’m not a tournament caster and I never will be, but I’m a good caster. My priority is to put a baited hook to a fish, whether it is at my feet or as far as I can sling it. I reckon this cast would have raised an eyebrow on the casting field because I nearly emptied the spool of my 7HT Mag.
What I did notice was a dramatic wobble in the tip section at the end of each cast, but this may have been down to me. If I had time to get to know the rod properly, my casting style would have probably adjusted to its power. That power is immense, and considering that I almost emptied my spool after only a few chucks, the potential is almost unimaginable.
To round off, if you are a mediocre caster then walk away now. If you are a couple of yards behind Danny on the tournament field, then you are going to push him all the way with this rod. If you are a serious rough ground angler, then you will really want one of your own. Me? I’m neither, but I do know that this rod will cast big baits a long way and pull fish out of very rough ground. In fact that’s what I’d use it for, targeting big cod or rays, even conger eels.
No doubt this rod is already causing quite a stir down under, but I reckon the big boys in the British casting and fishing world would die for an Eliminator E1000. Expect the Morecambe telephone exchange to go into meltdown.
