ZENAQ B2.5-66 First Pilot in the test

Test 1,2,3 Florence Introduces:

First of all, I should say that I have always been a self-confessed Shimano fan // and have fished all rods from the Zodias to the Expride, to the Poison Adrena and Poison Glorious to the Poison Ultima and I can also hold some GLoomis NRX in my hands allowed to fish.

What I always didn't like, especially with the GLoomis rods, was the quality, especially when it came to the ring windings, paintwork and handles. Especially when it came to the transitions on the handle of the casting rods, I had to notice again and again that the work was and is being done very uncleanly, unfortunately by machine - and at hefty prices, especially with the NRXers and the Ultimas.

That's why I was even more excited about the legendary Zenaq rods. They should be handmade, so every rod is unique, incredibly light and flexible, I was told...

Because I am in the fortunate position of being supported by Japan Dream Tackle, I quickly ordered a First Pilot and a Dragger.

The First Pilot, advertised as an all-round casting machine in the 7-21g range and the Dragger as a ~15g perch slide, one-piece and just as all-round as the Dragger, just as a spinning machine.

As I discovered, Zenaq becomes an addiction.

I mentioned above that I've had quite a few expensive rods in my hand, but the rods that are now in front of me go beyond any expectations I've had so far.

The First Pilot out of the box:

The “First Pilot”, to be precise B2.5-66 First Pilot, is made from a continuous blank and has a total length of 189,5cm and a weight of 123gr ( yes, that’s right, 123!!!!!gr)

It covers a casting weight range from 1/4oz to 3/4oz, which corresponds to just under 7-21g.

I would describe the action as Regular Fast with tendencies towards Regular Extra Fast.

The blank is left unpainted, except for the windings to the rings, so that no action is lost. I often had criticism from other manufacturers that the often good blanks were unfortunately no longer as good due to a thick layer of varnish, that's the case with these Rods, however, are excellently solved in true Japanese style and are exactly my taste, a wonderfully matt-looking, simple, elegant rod.

The handle is equipped with EVA in the gripping area, which is very comfortable, especially on cold days.

For example, with monocock handles I had the experience that fishing without gloves in winter is very unpleasant and cold and with gloves the guidance and especially the bite detection suffers, so this is a good solution here.

The lack of cork also fits into the overall matt black look and makes the rod look valuable. Only the finish at the end is made with cork to ensure that it is gentle on the surface when placed on stones and other surfaces.

The stick is ringed with 11 Fuji Titanium Torzite rings, which results in a very fine line guide.

The only drawback is that in my opinion there is no baitholder, so I retrofitted one from Golden Mean.

The rod is used for rigs and jigs of all kinds up to 16g + trailer. It also handles twichbaits, crankbaits, liplesscranks and even stickbaits and other topwater stories excellently.

This makes it an absolute all-round killer and, in my opinion, indispensable, especially for belly boat or kayak anglers. Short rods are important here, as the long rods are simply far too unwieldy, at least in my opinion...

Speaking of all-round: Here you can do without a forest of rods in order to ultimately save weight and strength (although I have to admit that I still prefer to take 500 rods with me on the kayak because I simply enjoy having a lot of choice and rummaging through the tackle ).

I have mounted a Shimano Aldebaran MGL as a reel, here I am staying true to the brand, the reel definitely fits the rod perfectly in terms of both specifications and appearance

On the water:

Well, what can I say, kayak rigged, in with the carrot and off to the perch.

When I arrived I first searched with Chatterbaits - and found them straight away! The first bite came straight into the wrist like a rocket hit and could be used straight away. During the fight, it perfectly absorbs the headbutts of the perch and has enough reserves if a perch over 40 should get in (unfortunately extremely rare and impossible to find on the water where I tested), there is enough backbone.

Despite its short length, the rod loads extremely well, so long casting distances are no problem. Such forceful throws are not necessary for me because I am flexible with the boat, but they are also absolutely recommended for die-hard bank anglers.

The handling is slightly different compared to previously fished Shimanos, as the handle is about 0,6cm thicker in circumference. Very pleasant for me, as the Duplon ensures better grip and stiffness in handling.

Back to fishing:

After the Chatter had performed so excellently, a Twichbait had to believe in it, done it, tipped it in and peppered it towards the horizon and turned it in with fine strokes, here too, despite the PE, absolutely convincingly, how a rod animates a previous Chatterbait without annoying vibration in the wrist and then two casts later a completely different type of bait, just as perfect to animate!

The blank buffers fine blows, so you can confidently fish PE without losing the action of the bait.

I rounded it all off with a 4+ crankbait and a rubber. Both are just as perfect, although the crank will be knotted onto my crankbait rod in the future, purely out of preference.

Regarding the rubber, it should be said that both grinding over the ground and jigging cause perfect feedback in the wrist. The finest bites are detected here and can be parried immediately.

My personal opinion:

I think the price/performance ratio is very good, the first glance at €750 may be misleading because:

With this rod you can replace 4 rods and so in my opinion the price is rather low considering that everything here is made by hand! You won't find so much rod for, relatively speaking, so little money anywhere else!

You can't complain about the workmanship either, all the windings are excellent, the blank is candle-grade, the handle is harmonious and all in all it's very valuable.

For its intended purpose, it is an absolute all-rounder and therefore interesting for every belly, kayak and boat angler.

I have rarely fished such finely crafted and perfect wands. Anyone who attaches great importance to the perfect extension of their own arm should get it! Buy recommendation!