Westin W3 Street Stick 2nd Rod

How well is it built?

The blank is Torayca High Performance Carbon, which comes from Toray, one of the big names in rod carbon.

It's reinforced with 1K woven carbon, and that fine weave should add strength and help a slim blank resist twisting under load, which is just what you want on a rod with such a soft tip.

Seaguide LS ring guides run the length of the rod, and it sits on an SKS reel seat with a split handle in premium EVA. The handle has a rubber cork insert, which is a neat detail, as rubber cork is hard-wearing and gives a bit of grip when your hands are wet or cold.

It's a two-piece, so it breaks down small enough for a rucksack or a car boot.

To be fair, it's a step below the Fox Rage Terminator X, which uses IM9 40-ton carbon and Fuji guides. For a light lure rod, though, the materials are a cut above most, and I think the 8.5 is well earned.

How well does it cast and feel?

So, what's it like with light lures? A 2-10g rating covers small jig heads, inline spinners, little crankbaits and minnow plugs. The 7ft 1in length is long enough to flick them a good distance on open water, while staying easy to handle under trees on a canal or a narrow river.

The mix of a soft tip and a medium-fast blank is the reason for the score.

The soft tip should load with very small lures, which is where a lot of stiffer rods struggle, and the medium-fast section behind it gives enough snap to cast accurately and to work a lure with short twitches.

On light braid it should also tell you clearly when a small jig touches bottom.

That balance makes it comfortable to fish lures all day, and the split grip keeps it light in the hand. Can a light rod still be precise? With this blend of soft tip and backbone, I think it can, and it's a lovely spec for small-lure fishing.

How does it perform when playing fish?

A soft tip is a real help once a fish is on, as it cushions sudden lunges and should stop small hooks pulling out of a perch or a trout. That makes it forgiving when you're using tiny trebles and light line, and it should make a decent perch feel like a real scrap.

The flip side is power, because a 2-10g rod is light for bigger fish and a good zander or a jack pike will need careful handling, a properly set clutch and a bit of patience.

It isn't a pike rod, and if pike are likely you'll need a wire trace, which is a lot to hang on such small lures. For anything bigger than a jack, step up to something like the Savage Gear SG4 Medium Game.

So, the 8.0 is about power rather than quality. For perch, trout, school bass and mackerel it should be great fun and very forgiving, but it runs out of power sooner than a heavier lure rod.

Is it good value for money?

Is it good value? It costs a good deal more than the Okuma Psycho Stick, which also comes in light models.

What you pay the extra for is the Torayca blank with its woven reinforcement, Seaguide guides and a better handle, and that's a sensible upgrade if light lures are what you fish most.

It's still a specialist rod, though, and if you want one rod to cover perch and jack pike on bigger lures, the Savage Gear Revenge SG2 Medium Game in its 7-23g model will be more use and costs far less. That's why value sits at 8.0 rather than higher.

If you take it to the coast, give it a rinse in fresh water afterwards to look after the fittings.

I'd recommend the W3 Street Stick 2nd to perch and trout anglers who fish small lures on canals, rivers and small stillwaters, and to anyone who wants a quality light rod for mackerel and school bass from harbours and rocks.