Penn Tidal XR 480 Rod Review

So for a while I have seen people having issues not catching fish whether close in or at their maximum casting ranges and this is across the country including locally but the boats seem to be having a better time of it so people in groups online I have noticed have been talking about range a lot which has in turn got myself thinking. I was thinking of ways to fish better at range and nothing is going to beat a drone but for me it takes out too much of the fishing as well as being cumbersome and heavy to drag to marks as well as being expensive. Bait boats are a no go on the sea unless a mill pond and even then I wouldn’t as salt water will kill them off pretty quickly. Which leaves us with what we all know....? Rods! As well as casting technique. Technique will trump all but again not a quick turn around and takes time, practice and patience and if you’re a beginner you have enough to learn without this on top. This now only leaves rods.

Now I’m the first to admit that I’m not a continental rod fan at all, I have always found them cumbersome and awkward for marks with not a lot of room and the rods generally won’t use leads that I need or want to use to enable me to hold the bottom in the Bristol channels strong streaming tides especially in rough weather as well as the rods don’t always tend to sit well in the wind etc as I’m out in all weathers not just fair weather. Some are also unbalanced being tip heavy which is not comfortable fishing with a good sized fish on the end. So my mission this time is cost and results, so what can be done for how much. I started by trawling through the internet and through all makes of conti rods of all price ranges, reading reviews of people who had them but are not sponsored by the brands as some (but not all) people that are sponsored will say anything to keep people in the brand happy which then results in us buying a load of tosh and wasting our hard earned money on something we don’t need or doesn’t do as its meant to. So with range being the game with my Century 13ft 4 I can cast 140-150m with no wind in my face and a small bait, obviously technique will provide more but generally I don’t even cast that far, but due to people feeling they need it lets see what can be done as range can be a useful tool in the box. I was tempted by some of the more expensive rods but then thought to myself I’d like to try a rod that is possibility for a majority of people not just people with surplus money laying around it has to be what’s good for the masses and the average Joe. My criteria I had set myself was it had to be long 14ft or more, throw at least 6oz of lead but preferably more and be a sensible price of £200 or less, which I know is a pretty tall order. I chose the price point because if people can’t afford it then it would hopefully take a shorter time for them to be able to save the money up if they want this rod. So upon researching through I found the Penn Tidal XR 480 it was 15ft 9 long, rated at 4-8oz and came in well under budget as well at £133.99 and a renowned time served maker being Penn. There were a few choices in length and strength of the rod with the green it basically throws less lead, the red is purely about power and throws more lead so middle of the row and most fitting for what I was looking for was the blue rod which I ordered and appears to be a good general any beach rod. It turned up and on unpacking the protective tubes and boxing it came in it comes standard in a well made rod sock which has the three sleeves for each section of the rod which helps prevent marking up your nice new rod by not having to share a compartment and rubbing on each other. It has the brand Penn logo and what the rod is, I chose the 15ft 9 inch model or in new money 4m 80cm I was surprised at the sharp and sleek looks and it all seems very solid and sturdy it’s well made for the price point and appears to be punching above its price bracket but looks are one thing and performance is another all together. Looking up the 3 sections you have Fuji guides which is always good to see no high build over runs and the whippings are in black which are neat and tidy. The guides are all well aligned and it is well built on the blank, the spigots are great, tight but a smooth fit with a metal band to reinforce the spigot joint, a small and simple extra is that it has a neat dot underneath the rod on each section so you can align the guides without having any issues. At the bottom of the rod you have a hand hold which is shrink wrapped with an ‘X’ style grip but no rubber butt cap just a plastic cap, I would prefer a rubber cap myself and also some more shrink wrap above the reel seat where you hold the rod. Carrying on up it has a lovely look and when the sun hits it you can see the ‘X wrap’ weave that helps prevent twisting of the 30T/40T carbon rod all the way up to the tip with some great deep blue hues. Moving on up to the end of the final section there is a white glow in the dark tip which I’ll test out later on, personally I prefer reflective tape but I will withhold any judgements until it is tested properly. Taking the rod out into the field and setting it up, it is surprising how such a simple alignment system actually makes your life a lot easier! Teaming up the rod with my Okuma 8k surf reel, I thread it all though and attach a 7oz lead to the end. Just the feel of the rod actually gave me confidence and although it’s 15ft 9 it’s not a floppy stick, the tip is whippy but you can tell it has a back bone too and yet it is a slim blank and light as well. On the first cast I gave it a gentle over the head hit which punched an easy 100 meters, I felt the carbon 30T/40T blank doing its thing and it was a fast but forgiving action allowing easy casting, and recovers quickly, so with that in mind I wound in the line and then wound up a proper cast punching it hard and pulling with the left hand with max power the 7oz lead started to head for the sky and rocketed well past my 150m/164 yards normal marker! Being excited after the first cast I got the meter wheel out to measure it, the lead had gone 163m/178 yards! My best ever cast and it was accurate and straight as well. With confidence in the rod growing and knowing you can really put your back into it I also tried a 5oz lead, a 6oz lead and a 6.5 oz lead, all were past my previous best marker of 150m/164 yards, but the Namix 6.5 oz came out best with an off the ground cast I managed to get a 176m/192yards that is an amazing cast for myself and I must admit I was shocked with it not just being a lead either it was a pulley rig with a simulated bait! What a tool! So it definitely makes a difference the extra 2ft 5inches really loads up well and sends the lead very well and with some time and practise a better technique will make the 200m an absolute possibility for people and bear in mind that this rod is £133.99 that really is quite something. As much as it pains me... I actually think I quite like it. Now something I have noticed with Penn rods is the reel seats can be a bad point in the past when they make a great rod its annoying for a critical part of it like the reel seat to fail like they do especially as I do generally like Penn products having had rods, boat rods, reels etc including some old school multis in the form of some long beach multis (62&64) that I still use. Looking at the reel seat the reel is sat in there well and snug with no wobble or rattles from the foot of the reel but to get a true gauge it has to be tested with multiple reels so I got a selection of reels out and put them in and chucked a few casts on each reel. All of the reels fit well as the rod is made for multis and fixers I tried with all that which was Okuma ALC mags, Penn 535, Daiwa fixers and multis etc. It all appears to be good here and it is a solid reel seat so maybe Penn have listened to people and improved it. So a massive thumbs up from me! The only niggle I would have about it is that it is fixed in position but a small sacrifice in my eyes unless you’re solely a reel down kind of person then it may well not be for you. Taking the rod out fishing was actually a joy as it is three sections and in a small A3 hatch back it fitted a lot better than my century two section rods! So transportation is a bonus! We were at a venue that we fish features closer in, its mixed ground with snags and the rod was accurate in casting which was good (avoiding the snags) and again was teamed up with a fixed spool reel. It shows really good bite sensitivity and sat in the tide well and wasn’t blown about by the north westerly that was in our faces and was around 25-30mph roughing up things. Cast after cast it was faultless and I was really comfortable with it, the rod is effortless hitting 60 yards with a gentle flick. The first fish to test the rod was a screaming hit and line take from an angry hound with my heart racing in my mouth I lifted up into the rod and its tip bent over satisfyingly! Playing the hound was easy and fun even close in when it decided to dart left and right along the shore line in the current here the rod took the sudden changes well and after a short battle it was at the shore with Chris collecting to make life easier. On playing the fish the tip was easily bent over where its soft but you felt it go into the next power band just before the spigot and then it gave it back stiffening up and making short work of the hound I would be happy to play a much larger fish on this as it only really hit the tip of the iceberg with it although it was a proper angry hound and playing in a heavy full moon large tide that was steaming through the mark. Later on it saw dogfish and small huss as well as codling, all the bites were very clear and no issue whatsoever for the rod. I was only using my head touch to see the rod tip for the evening and its white stands out enough but I would still add reflective tip tape as that’s just my preference. I took it out again the next evening to another venue locally where range can be of help and I used my UV torch to light up the glow in the dark tip instead of using my head lamp. I gave it a 20 second blast with the UV torch and it was glowing really well and remained glowing for twenty minutes. When I brought it in for a bait change I done the same again although it was still glowing and I casted back out. Every whiting bite I saw very clearly with some of the whiting being very small it shows the tip is sensitive, you can fish with the glow in the dark tip perfectly well but you have to use a UV torch as a headlamp wont charge it up. So it could be a useful rod if you don’t want light whilst out for Bass etc or a shallow water mark where light will scare off fish. Over all with the tip I was actually impressed it stayed illuminated as I didn’t think it would. So my person conclusion.. This rod has changed my mind about continental rods which I didn’t think was possible and for the price tag of only £133.99 it’s nothing short of excellent value for money and you get a 2 years warranty with it for any faults in the manufacturing of it. It will improve your range quite considerably and is a useful tool in the arsenal which I think is capable of landing decent fish it’s a lot of rod for your money as well with Fuji anti tangle guides and the tech involved in the making of it. I personally think that the rod punches well above its pricing point and out performs several rods in the class above it, this is a tool to have in the arsenal all my rods have a purpose and this one will be joining them. I really like it! Don’t get me wrong it won’t compare to a Century, Zippy or some top end lines but then they also cost 5-6 times more but for general fishing it’s brilliant and will bring in good fish. Bad points: - If your mark doesn’t have much room for casting you may think twice at 15ft 9inches. - I think a reflective tip would be better, but a personal choice. - A rubber butt cap would be better saves the scratching up of the rod with the hard plastic bottom. - More shrink wrap above the reel seat. - Reel seat is fixed in position. Positive points: - It only costs £133.99 - Has Fuji guides. - Huge potential for more range. - Fast, light weight, responsive blank. - Forgiving on the cast making it easy to use. - Alignment system. - Can use fixed spool or multiplier reel. - Gives you confidence and is enjoyable to use. - You can use up to 8oz of lead with it. - Has a 2 year warranty giving you peace of mind.