# User Report on the AFAW 13' Beach Rod



## Furball (Sep 20, 2002)

I am posting a user report on the AFAW beach that I did earlier. I thought folks might want to see it here. I want to reiterate that Tommy was great to deal with. I ordered the rod ast the last minute and Tommy and others the folks at AFAW went out of their way to get the rod to me on time. Tom

_I thought I would provide a report on my experience with the AFAW 13' Beach Road. I ordered one last week based on various reviews I had seen online. I only decided to get one at the last minute before leaving for a weekend of fishing in Hatteras which meant that Tommy Farmer had to expedite the order. Tommy Farmer was great in getting the rod to me in a short time and on Friday, I headed to Buxton, NC for a weekend of drum fishing.

I am a good Hatteras Caster and a so-so pendulum caster. I have not had a chance to do much fishing or casting this year so I was a little off my game.

The AFAW is beautiful in an understated way. It is heavier than two of my other heavers, the Daiwa Ballistic, and the Rainshadow 1569 but not too heavy. The butt is relatively narrow in diameter and feels very dense and the tip is a little soft but the rod stiffens up very quickly.

I took the rod out on Saturday to fish and set it up with a Penn 525 Mag and an 8 oz frog tongue sinker. After putting some bait on, I casted it the rod. I used a simple overhand flick

What stood out to me about the AFAW is the action. I have not encountered anything quite like it. Before casting it, the tip seemed a little soft. However upon casting it, you can really feel the rod firm up and load. With a basic overhead cast I was launching 8 and bait a very respectable distance. The same also with 10 and bait. 

However, the rod really comes into its own if you lengthen the casting arc (i.e., when doing a right-handed hatteras cast, you swing with lead back behind to the left instead of swinging the lead straight behind). Then the rod will lock up and really throw. It is very, very powerful rod. The wind was not very favorable for long casting so it is hard to say how far the rod might cast. I can vouch that I had consistently long casts and that I did not come close to tapping all of the available power in the rod. 

What I also really like about the rod is that it does not kick back. It is very easy on the body. Almost like a slower action rod -- except that it is not slow; it is fast-actioned. 

Most of my time was spent casting heavy weights with a hatteras cast. I did try an OTG cast with a 6 oz sting silver and rod cast it very well. Again, because of the wind, its hard to really assess how far the rod will cast. On my last time on the beach, I compared the AFAW to the Rainshadow 1569 and the Daiwa Ballistic (both of which are also great heavers) while casting a 6 oz stingsilver and a 10 oz trolling weight, using the same reel, and found that I was casting the AFAW somewhat farther than the other two, I did feel that the while I was getting close to the limit with the 1569 and the ballistic, there was plenty of reserve power left in the AFAW. 

Regarding the AFAW's weight, it is heavier than the some of the other heavers out there but I did not find it unpleasantly heavy. I had no problem holding it for several hours. One nice aspect of the rod is that its tip bends and acts as a shock absorber for the waves and that substantially reduces pressure on the person holding the rod. 

Finally, I can report that it fights a fish well. I caught a 52" Drum on Saturday and the rod was great. I have only caught two other large drum and both of those where on an Alstar 1509 which is so stiff, it was like trying to reel in a fish with 2 by 4. The AFAW's action makes it a lot easier to haul in a big one. 

I think this rod is a winner. I have owned and fished a number of heavers (Pinnacle, 1509, Ocean Master, Daiwa Ballistic, and RS 1569). I like the AFAW the best. I look forward to casting and fishing it again, Tom
_


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

Thanks for the report Tom!!

I think Tom holds the record for the AFAW rods right now with a fat 52" drum

:fishing: 

Tommy


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