The Akios Endurance Pro RS 2 Surf Rod.
I first got my hands on this little twin tip some time ago and its now constantly in my rod bag, for when conditions or target species allow.A little bit about the Akios Endurance RS 2 it retails at £249.99 and offers fantastic value for money and here are my reasons why.
At four meters, long or fourteen feet in old money this rod has lots to offer fully built from Fuji components throughout as all AKIOS rods, it comes in A soft padded rod bag to help prevent damage during transit.
The hybrid tip.
This is the tip I use for 95% of my time on the beach. Strong yet delicate it’s perfect for fishing soft delicate baits for Flatfish such as Maddies blow lugworm and bivalve’s such as Clams Mussels and Cockles and lightly whipped Peeler baits without the fear of destroying your perfectly presented baits during the cast enabling you to fish with confidence knowing your bait is as intended when it reaches the seabed.
At fourteen feet, long it also makes A great rod for fishing fish strips for Garfish Scad and Mackerel on long pop-up rigs and teamed with A lightweight fixed spool it is also A great rod for touch ledgering. The bite detection is electric registering the smallest bite from the longest of range.
I also use the hybrid tip when fishing larger baits such as whole squid for Bass in the gutter and double Eel and Squid wraps at distance for Ray’s. The rod performs impeccably with the lightest of leads through to 175 grams with no fear of it letting you down.
The Tubular Tip.
It’s reassuring to know that if I need it I only have to grab it from the bag.
This tip definitely steps the rod up in power and will be beneficial when you need that little more lead to carry A large bait out there if fishing into A headwind. Casting and bite detection.
Casting this rod is effortless it’s very light in hand and suits A progressive smooth transition of power through the blank. Bite detection on the hybrid tip is exceptional. like all hybrid tips if it’s extremely windy it can bounce but the solution would be simply to replace it with the tubular tip.
General fishing.
The beauty about all three piece continental rods is that they offer you so much more feel than A conventional beach caster the Akios Endurance RS 2 is no exception you will literally feel every turn or headshake of the fish through the rod.
If you are looking for A rod that offers that little bit more bang for your buck that is A joy to use and will bring A smile to your face I would certainly have A go with one!
Akios FIRELOOP
Since receiving my Akios Fireloop many months ago when it was first released, I’ve used it on a regular basis and is my go to reel when I’m looking to fish lighter.
But make no mistake this lightweight reel can handle some heavy-duty stuff and has taken constant abuse from me over the past two years.
My first impressions were that it is aesthetically pleasing to the eye with some very nice styling featured throughout the body and the spool and doesn’t look out of place on any rod available today. Looks aside the reel itself is extremely lightweight and can easily be used when touch ledgering without fear of your arm cramping after holding it for some time.
What I love about this little reel is how fantastic the line lay is, it features super slow oscillation insuring your mono and braid is perfectly laid evenly around the spool be it on the very smart looking lightweight red and black anodize drilled spool or on the secondary deeper graphite spool, straight from the box I didn’t need to add or remove washers the reel was exactly as it should be.
Another awesome feature on the Akios Fireloop is it instant drag system with a quarter turn of the drag cap you can go from full lock to virtual free spool which offers much more control when playing in a large fish that is hell bent on heading back out to sea.
The retrieve on this reel is reassuring the smooth and I’ve had no issues with the gearing locking or grinding even when deliberately bullying fish out of mix ground in an attempt to push the reel to its limits.
The Fireloop is A fantastic casting reel the line purrs off the spool and great distances can be achieved once again due to the super slow oscillation and the unique spool design that this reel features allowing the cones of line to flow from the spool with very little resistance.
For a reel that is sub £90 I really don’t think you can fault it considering it offers so much for very little money so if your new to the sport or just want A lighter alternative to what you might already have in your arsenal I certainly would consider having A look at one.
Tight lines.
Paul