If you are here because you are thinking of buying Daiwa’s ninja feeder rod then you’re in the right place. If not I can almost guarantee you’ll want to add this rod to your tackle collection after reading this review.
In this Daiwa Ninja feeder rod review you’ll find my personal experiences as it has been my go to rod for a good few year’s now (for good reason) and I’ve definitely put it through its paces on countless sessions on the banks.
Daiwa have proved themselves time and time again that they can provide top quality rods without the hefty price tag and the Ninja feeder is no different.
The Ninja feeder has the potential to meet the beginners and experienced anglers needs for the small price of only £48. It really is hard to believe.
In this price bracket The Ninja feeder offers unrivalled power, excellent control and robustness all packed into a slim appealing and well-balanced blank that reflects the quality of the Daiwa brand. For the price this rod really is the whole package. The commercial carp anglers dream!
Action
The Daiwa Ninja feeder provides action close to a through action rod with a slightly stiffer mid section.
Action refers to how your rod will bend when put under pressure from a fighting fish.
The through action of this rod allows it to flex effortlessly near enough all the way to rod handle providing more power the further it flexes to tame the real hard fighting fish.
Even though this rod is light the action and power provided is far from light.
The through action of this rod cushions all the runs and yanks from hard fighting fish and the sensitivity makes for an exciting fight as you’ll feel every turn and pull from the fish right through to the handle, keeping that adrenaline pumping.
The through action is fairly forgiving on the fish which will result in less hook pulls and less lost fish. Surely that’s what we all want?
This rod has shown me countless times that it has no issue controlling fish up to 15lbs. But like anything there is also a few drawbacks.
This rod is mainly for targeting fish up to around the 15lb pound mark. Any heavier and you might run into some trouble stopping and fighting these brutes. But what can you expect for £48?
If you are planning on fishing commercial fisheries stocked with plenty of fish up to 15lbs you will be guaranteed endless fun catching fish with ease.
Quiver Tips
The Daiwa ninja feeder is supplied with two quiver tips at 1 oz and 1.5 oz unless you opt for the 13ft rod which comes with two tips at 1.5 and 2 oz.
The quiver tips are well-balanced and of decent quality.
The fine well-balanced tips provide good bite detection to ensure no bite is missed. Like most quiver tips they come with fluorescent end markings to ensure they are easy to watch in all weather conditions.
The quiver tips taper nicely into the end section and add to the clean look of this stunning bit of tackle.
The rings on the quiver tips are adequately sized so larger knots can pass freely through them which seems to be a downfall for many feeder rods.
Like all quiver tips they will break very easily if not looked after properly but this can be expected.
Luckily Daiwa provides replacement quiver tips that can be purchased for £5 so I wouldn’t worry about this too much.
Personally I feel this rod should come with a slightly heavier tips for the windier days as I have found the 1.5oz tip seems to sway too much in the wind making it difficult to differentiate to bites and wind play.
But for a rod at this price you can’t have it all!
Reel Seat and Handle
The DPS reel seat is of good quality and has never provided any issues for me. It has been no issue to fix varying size reels and hold them there. For this price you can’t expect “extras” such as the reel seat to be of exceptional quality.
That being said the reel seat certainly doesn’t take anything away from the overall quality of the rod. The rod has provided the basics to an exceptional and modern standard.
The Ninja feeder offers a well-balanced and stylish handle. The handle has a cork and EVA grip section.
It’s not very often you find a rod with a cork handle in this price range and not only does it look the part it also provides a good few benefits.
If you are one for your winter fishing sessions the cork handle will retain residual heat, in simple terms the handle will be warmer to touch which can be an absolute game changer when your hands are freezing.
Cork handles also provide higher sensitivity than shrink wrap or full EVA handles. This will be sure to keep you in complete control of hard fighting fish and also keeps the adrenaline pumping with every fight.
The handle is also fairly grippy even when wet which will help reduce the chance of dropping your new rod in the dirt or the rod slipping out of your hand when fighting a tricky carp.
The handle helps cement the over all quality of this rod and shows the high level of effort that’s been put into designing a rod with such high quality with such a small price tag.
Lengths
The Ninja feeder can be bought in 4 different lengths to suit your fishing needs. Personally I’ve been using the 11ft rod as I prefer to fish margins or close features and the 11ft rod is excellent for just that. Infact the 11ft seems decent enough for fishing up to 50ft with accurate casting every time.
If you are one for fishing at far distances you can bag yourself a 12ft or even a 13ft rod. Personally I can’t comment directly on their performance but it can be almost guaranteed they will perform near enough identical to the 11ft as they are all from the Ninja feeder family.
The Verdict
The Daiwa Ninja feeder is a rod that I would recommend to anyone (especially beginner carp anglers). I’ve been using this rod for a few year’s nothing and have very little to fault it for.
Fishing commercial venues with carp up to 15lbs has been no issue for the Ninja Feeder.
The power provided from the rod is great considering how light this rod feels in the hand. If you are looking for functionality and like to have some visually appealing tackle on the bank then the Ninja feeder could be one for you. For the price of £48 you really can’t go wrong.
Don’t just take my word for it, give it a go! Please feel free to add your options of this rod below and if you have any questions I’ll be happy to answer them.
If you are still not sure on the Daiwa Ninja feeder feel free to have a read at my cheap carp fishing rod post for some other worthy suggestions.
Cannot agree more. The Ninja feeder rod is an excellent rod and I also use the 11ft model. Having caught many fighting fish including Chub, Ide and Carp up to 10lb, the rod is still serving me well. The through action certainly gets the adrenaline going and it is a good quality rod at a cheap price. I was so impressed with the Ninja range that I bought the matching waggled rod.?
I love my 10ft and 11ft Ninga feeder rods, and for the price they are extremely good. However I have had 2 tips break. Looking for replacement tips. Do they do 2oz tips. I am chucking around 15 yards. Using 20g/30g Preston feeder. Is this correct, and could a 2oz tip be better. Help Please.
Hi Brian,
Ye the quality is top class for the price. Unfortunately all quiver tips break really easily due to how fine they are, do you have a case?. My Ninja feeder came with a 2oz tip that should be fine for casting 15 yards with a 20 or 30g feeder. I’ve had a quick look around and can’t seem to find any replacement 2oz tips. They do sell 1.5oz replacements tips at Angling Direct which should do just fine though. Here’s the link if you want to take a look;
https://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/daiwa-ninja-quiver-tip
Cheers.
Am having real issues with finding replacement tips for my 10ft Ninja feeder rod. Seeing they are so fine , so easy to break, I would have thought replacements would be easy to obtain but obviously not.????. Hope some one is able to help because i am not able to use the rod through lack of tips.
Hi Mike,
I agree, it’s too easy to break them. Brutal having a perfectly good working rod but no spare tips to put it to use. Have had a good look around for you and it seems you can pick up universal Daiwa quiver tip spares in a few places that say should fit most Daiwa feeder rods (unsure if this includes the ninja feeder). Can have a look at a few of them here;
https://www.benwick-sports.co.uk/spare-tips/3482-daiwa-quiver-tips-35mm.html
https://www.fishfriend.co.uk/daiwa-feeder-rod-quiver-tips
To be honest, I’d say they seem a bit pricy but if it saves you buying a full new rod then it could be worth a shot. Have you tried contacting Daiwa directly?
Hope this helps,
Drew
Hi Brian, Sorry it may be a year too late but I have only just read you article on the Ninja feeder rod. I wrote to Daiwa about getting a possible 2oz tip or a compatible one. They replied saying that could send a 2oz compatible tip which I use most of the year around. The price was about £13 which included postage. I had to wait about two weeks for stock but I have used it for the last two years no trouble. The price might have gone up a little but contact Daiwasports.co.uk by email to check they can still get them.
https://www.daiwasports.co.uk/contact-us
hello guys, i have the 10′ Ninja feeder rod and the tips are a nightmare.
the 1.5oz broke on my 2nd trip, the tip snapping off …sent to Daiwa and (to be fair) they replaced it… but I did get some online to replace it another 1.5 and a 2oz.
these were £9.99 each delivered
i used the 1.5oz the following week and it broke 2 hours into the session.
They might say the tips are delicate and sensitive, I call em fragile , Brittle and unfit for purpose… i have fished for 50+ years and its never been an issue before.
only had a 20g method feeder on…
Its a shame because when it is good it is very very good, light, beautifully balanced with wonderful action,
but when all said and done..it shouldn’t be breaking tips like this. wouldn’t recommend I’m afraid
Hi Gordon,
Great to hear from you.
Good to hear that Daiwa are still happy to offer replacement tips for the rod; I can only imagine that is due to the number of requests for replacements which I suppose says a lot for the quiver tip build quality.
Luckily, I’ve managed to get some good life span out of mine, which could very well be done to complete luck. Unfortunate to hear you’ve not been as lucky.
I do agree that they are not the highest quality quiver tips on the market, but when the rest of the rod performs as well for the price it seems they have sacrificed a little quality of the quiver tips, which is a shame.
It’ll be great for new readers of the post to see another opinion on the rod, so thanks a lot for dropping a comment.
Cheers,
Drew
I have 11ft and 12ft Daiwa Ninja feeder rods. I like both rods but prefer the action on the 11ft version which is lighter and supplied with 1oz and 1 1/2oz tips. This rod is used regularly all year round for skimmers and larger bream, plus tench to 7lb+ in season and carp to 10lb. The 12ft rod I use for larger carp 5lb to 15lb this is supplied with 1 1/2oz and 2oz tips. Both rods l have used for the last 3 years and fortunately have not snapped any of the quiver tips yet. I highly recommend both rods, they have been faithful servants for me. Hope this is useful information.