Awa-Shima Q-Lite Spin 220 Ultra Light Rod

Rods for ultra-light lure fishing/LRF come with either a solid carbon tip or hollow tubular tip. I was already using the tubular tipped Cormoran ULF Ultra Light 2.45m 3-15g rod for my LRF when I decided that I would like a second LRF rod as a “guest” rod so started to have a look at the cheaper end of the rod price scale. I hadn't tried a solid tipped ultra-light rod before and was interested to see how it compared to my Cormoran ULF.

I originally rang Ben Field at Art of Fishing about the Quantum twister rod as I had seen it on a German tackle site and thought it may be the type of rod I was after. However when talking to Ben about its merits he recommended the cheaper Awa Shima Q-Lite Spin 220. I went with his recommendation as he really knows his stuff! The Rod is 2.20m long, weighs only 109g and has a casting range of 1-5g.

The Awa-Shims Q-Lite Spin 220. A fantastic entry level LRF rod.

When it arrived I was totally stunned! It's a great looking piece of kit. I couldn't believe it was priced under £50. After using this rod solidly for 5 months I have caught countless fish on it from fresh and salt water. The biggest being a 5.5lb pike and the weirdest being a 3lb Tiger Moray Eel whilst I was on holiday in Crete. It does deal quite well with larger fish as it has a surprising amount of power low down and cushions violent head shakes very well indeed. Here's a summary of what I like about this rod...

• It has a really comfortable abbreviated handle and is just right for resting your forefinger on the blank when retrieving.
• The butt is EVA Foam and the length of the butt section is just right for a two-handed cast.
• The reel seat is nice and secure and comfortable to hold.
• It has a natural olive low glare finish which eliminates "flash" and if I am fishing for spooky fish at close range it can give me an edge.
• The rings are nice, smooth and surprisingly tough. I am quite rough with the poor rod and lay it down on the rocks a lot.
• The blank has a lot of power in the lower section as well so can cope with snags and bigger fish easily!
• Full carbon blank/ solid carbon tip, prefer the feel of this compared to the graphite ULF.
• Solid carbon tip is great as a visual bite indicator but it also transmits little bites through the blank and is more sensitive than my Cormoran ULF. It’s great for feeling bites on the drop.
• It can flick a 2.3 gram jig head along way with minimum effort.
• It’s very light in the hand. It balances very well with my Shimano Nexave 3000.
• I have used it with a variety of soft and hard lures one of my favourites being a the 5g Yo-Zuri Pins Minnow and the smaller 2g version. It can cast the 5g version really far with very little effort and I was able to apply the jerks and twitches to the lure with ease.
• It has a good stiff action and really makes little jerk baits come alive.

...and apart from a few minor cosmetic details...

• The varnish on the whippings isn’t the neatest.
• The join where the solid tip meets the blank is visible and there is no spigot just a "put over” join.

...and the fact the you have to limit your abuse of the rod because...

• Being a solid tipped rod the tip is relatively fragile.*

...I have really enjoyed fishing with this rod it's a fantastic bit of kit and it will help people get into LRF on a budget. Also it's a great intro to the solid tip variety of LRF rods and is a great spare rod if you already have more expensive models. I believe that for under £50 you can’t get better!

Tight lines, Schogsky.

*I have fished this rod to its limit and broken two top sections in the process, I must stress that this is more down to my constant use (or maybe that should be abuse) as admittedly I haven’t been as careful with it as I should have!