Marker rods under £150

Locating the ideal spots to position your baited traps is obviously of the utmost importance when it comes to catching carp. So feature finding and reading the topography of your swim is one of the most important skills learned by any carper. This skill has one common element throughout: the use of a marker rod.

It would be easy to believe that ‘any ol’ rod will do’ when it comes to dragging a lead across the bottom, whereas in fact there are many key areas to a marker rod. Too soft and vital signals sent back from the lead can be absorbed and lost. A good-sized reel seat which is able to hold a big pit style reel securely is a must, after all, you’ll need to cast these rods just as far as your normal rods. Weight and balance are also important to being able to retrieve the lead at a side angle and most importantly slowly so no piece of information is missed.

Okay, onto the test in hand, and we have 20 marker rods on trial which range from as little as £59.99 to a whopping £499.99! Scroll to the bottom of the page for links to see how the rods on test under £100 and over £150 fared. First off we’ve looked at the spec and obvious features such as test curve, depth markers and fittings. We then put together a team of four anglers who spent the day markering-up and putting the rods through their paces. The test team members then reported back their thoughts and findings.

Just to make sure there was no ‘brand association’ to influence the team, we taped up all the rod graphics and logos and numbered the rods 1 to 20.

Our team of testers, from left to right, Ben Goldring, Wayne Bateman, Adam Spidley and John Rennie.

To ensure there was no ‘brand association’ to influence the team, we taped up all the rod graphics and logos and numbered them 1 to 20.

Under £150

JRC Extreme Transmitter

The Extreme Transmitter Rod has been built on a lightweight and slim blank constructed from 40T with a 1K-wrap handle between the butt and reel seat. The guides have a stainless steel inner to ensure maximum transmission of the topography of your swim and look great. All-round, a lovely looking rod from our pals at JRC.

The Statistics
Test curve: 2.75lb
Length of rod: 12ft
Depth markers: 12”
Butt ring size: 40mm
Suggested use: All-round marker rod
RRP £109.99; jrc-fishing.co.uk

Key Tester Comments
Adam kicked things off: “If you’re a bit of a tackle tart then this is one of the rods you want to be looking at. Minimal rings and a very clean blank that’s very light, but to me, this gave more of a carp rod type feeling. Although the feel of the bottom was good, it was a touch too soft for me.” “Similar to Adam’s thoughts, I really liked the look of this rod, but I think it would make a great carp rod because it was nice and soft, just a bit soft for a marker,” concluded John.

Tackle Box CF-X Marker

Cosmetically speaking, the 10ft version of the CF-X Marker Rod houses just as many features as its bigger brother, the 12ft version, with the only significant differences being the 40mm butt ring and removal of depth markers. This rod will certainly appeal to anglers looking to scale down their kit as it also doubles as a short spod rod.

The Statistics
Test curve: 3.75lb
Length of rod: 10ft
Depth markers: None
Butt ring size: 40mm
Suggested use: Dual-purpose spod/marker rod
RRP £110.00; tacklebox.co.uk

Key Tester Comments
“This rod does everything it should do!” boldly states Adam. “It’s very stiff and very powerful but I just don’t get it – as in having a 10ft marker rod.” Wayne continued with, “This was a very well finished rod, although for me it was too short and I’d prefer a 12ft rod, but it was a nice powerful blank and you could feel everything across the bottom.” Ben added in, “I’m very impressed and would be ideal for tighter swims.” So overall, collectively positive feedback for one of the shortest rods on test.

Prologic SFT Marker

The fast and lightweight blank of the ProLogic SFT Marker features a full EVA handle to provide a comfortable grip regardless of the casting range. Deep press SIC guides line the matt black rod starting with a 50mm butt ring on the lower section and the red and silver depth gauge whippings finish the rod at 12” and 50cm marks.

The Statistics
Test curve: 3.25lb
Length of rod: 12ft
Depth markers: 12” and 50cm
Butt ring size: 50mm
Suggested use: All-round marker rod
RRP £119.99; prologicfishing.com

Key Tester Comments
Wayne: “This was a fairly powerful rod. I can’t say it was my favourite in this bracket, but the feeling across the bottom was okay and the tip section was fairly responsive.” Ben followed this up with, “Out of this bracket range of the rods, this wouldn’t be favourite rod today, and although it was well balanced, it was a little heavier than some of the others. The tip was slightly softer too, but it would do the job and cosmetically it was very pleasing to the eye.”

Greys Distance Marker Plus

Similar in appearance to the Marker Plus, the Distance version is six-inches longer and, as the name suggests, is built for more extreme-range when locating areas to fish. The butt section of this rod is also a much meatier handful, and a further sign that this marker rod houses the power as it’s capable of coping with 5oz leads.

The Statistics
Test curve: Not stated
Length of rod: 12ft 6”
Depth markers: 6 and 12”
Butt ring size: 50mm
Suggested use: All-round marker rod
RRP £119.99; greysfishing.com

Key Tester Comments
“Compared to the rods so far, the blank itself felt heavier to me, but it was powerful and could certainly put out a lead a long, long way,” reveals Adam. “It was nice and stiff so did pick out all the features as well.” Ben stated: “The balance of the rod isn’t too bad even though I found the rod a little tip heavy, but the responsiveness of the rod was good, you could feel all the vibrations coming back. Like I say, it was just a bit heavy; a bit of a brute this one.”

Fox Torque Marker

Designed to complement the matching fishing rod range, the Fox Torque Marker boasts a 4.5lb test curve blank with carbon technology aimed at bridging the gap between budget and high-end rods. The rod also features a neat looking abbreviated handle, leading down to a 18mm Fuji reel seat and understated rod graphics.

The Statistics
Test curve: 4.5lb
Length of rod: 12ft
Depth markers: 12”
Butt ring size: 50mm
Suggested use: All-round marker rod
RRP £119.99; foxint.com

Key Tester Comments
“I thought the blank and overall appearance of the rod was good – it had a nice balanced feel to it,” explained Ben. “Although I feel the blank could be a tad stiffer, The vibration back up the rod was good.” “Yeah, I liked this rod a lot,” said Wayne. “Very light and very well balanced – you could certainly hit a lead a long way and still feel everything along the bottom. You can tell with this rod you’re now getting a little more for your money.” John stated how nice and light the rod was to hold.

Tackle Box CFX Marker

Featuring a host of features such as the blend of 24, 30, 36 and 40T carbons used to create the distinctive 3K weave, the blank also houses a number of eye-catching details, such as the smart green whippings, 50mm butt ring, stainless steel fittings and ergonomic reel seat which is easily capable of housing the biggest of reels.

The Statistics
Test curve: 3.75lb
Length of rod: 12ft
Depth markers: 12 and 24”
Butt ring size: 50mm
Suggested use: All-round marker rod
RRP £120.00; tacklebox.co.uk

Key Tester Comments
John: “This was a nice rod, it looked really good and I particularly like the green whippings. The rod had a lovely feel to it, the tip responded to the bottom really well and the main blank had a nice stiffness to it – yeah, ideal!” Wayne added: “There was a lot of power in the rod and the tip was responsive – a good all-round marker rod.” And Ben also agreed, adding it has a good balance and stiffness making it a very good all-round marker rod. Thumbs-up all-round from the Test Team then!

Sonik SK4 XTR Marker

This rod really looks the part, with some eye-catching red whipping that stands out nicely on the multi-modulus blank featuring a Japanese shrink-wrap handle and 20mm reel seat. Complete with polished metal collar, this rod not only looks good but also looks to have plenty of backbone in finding those long-range features.

The Statistics
Test curve: 3.5lb
Length of rod: 12ft
Depth markers: 6 and 12”
Butt ring size: 40mm
Suggested use: All-round marker rod
RRP £129.99; soniksports.com

Key Tester Comments
“I found the overall looks of this rod to be nice and likewise the overall feel and balance was good too,” said Ben. “The responsive feelings and vibration felt coming back through the rod was also pretty good.” Wayne added: “Yeah, I really liked this rod, it had a very good feeling when held and pulled back. The only thing I thought was that it could do with a 50mm butt ring, but yeah, a very good all round rod that felt nice.” And both John and Adam echoed their comments.

Nash Entity Duo Spod/Marker

Designed to combine power with transition to cope with large payloads such as spods and long-range feature finding work, the Entity Duo Spod/Marker is another of multi-functional rods on test. With a Fuji reel seat and high-modulus carbon weave, the rod certainly looks the part and matches the appearance of the Entity range.

The Statistics
Test curve: Not stated
Length of rod: 12ft
Depth markers: 12”
Butt ring size: 50mm
Suggested use: Dual-purpose spod/marker rod
RRP £142.99; nashtackle.co.uk

Key Tester Comments
Both John and Adam couldn’t find any significant differences between this dual-purpose rod and an out-and-out marker rod. John commented that the rod didn’t lose any sensitivity from the requirement to cast a heavy, loaded spod, so could be a great way for anglers to save money as well as carrying less tackle to the bank. Ben added, “The action of this rod was crisp and exact, along with looking very nice to the eye. Yet another great product from the Nash camp.”

Overall thoughts from the test team

Adam:“To pick out a rod I’d say the Tackle Box CFX Marker was the one that edges it, although I didn’t think there was a lot of difference from the previous rods, so I’d say if you were on a budget, I’d keep to the cheaper rods.”

John: “To pick one rod from this bracket, for me, it would have to be the Tackle Box CFX Marker. I found it a responsive, pokey rod, everything just ticked all the boxes really. It looked nice, felt the bottom well and could put a lead a long way.”

Ben: “My favourite rod would probably be the Tackle Box CFX Marker. It had the stiffness and the responsiveness that I would be looking for, and like John said, it ticks all the boxes.”

Wayne: “You could see a difference stepping-up to the these rods costing slightly more money, especially when it came to the cosmetics and things like the 50mm butt rings. But in terms of my favourite, I’d have to pick out the Tackle Box CFX Marker because all round it felt a really good rod.”