The Cardiff AX is the most advanced trout area range in the Shimano line up. Built using the finest, most advanced blends of carbon, these exquisite rods offer sublime performance across the complete range and take trout area rods to a new dimension of excellence.
The Cardiff AX is a rod for serious trout area anglers. If you appreciate the small intricacies that combine to produce more than the sum of their parts, the Cardiff AX is for you. You will certainly appreciate the stunning, ultra smooth parabolic action, with its almost elastic type qualities of forgiveness. And you will marvel at how a rod so sensitive and lightweight can cast your lures with laser like accuracy. But it’s the feel you get as a trout takes your lure that is the most defining, as the Softube Top technology gives you an almost imperceptible, but very real amount extra time to set the hook before the pressure alerts even the most wary trout.

The ultra lightweight blanks of the Cardiff AX are made from a blend of Spiral X and Hi-Power X carbon. These advanced carbon technologies combine to reduce rotational twist when the rod is flexed during casting, or when fish-playing, resulting in greater accuracy and a truer parabolic fighting curve. The addition of Shimano’s Softube Top increases sensitivity without adding additional weight, resulting in better balance and an enhanced overall feel of lightness. As expected of such a high quality rod, the fittings are of the highest order, with lightweight Fuji Titanium and Stainless Steel SiC K-type guides, an exclusive Shimano Ci4+ reel seat complementing the want like slimness of the blanks and the finest grade cork handles. There are 6 models of different lengths and strengths, designed for spinning reels and a superb baitcasting model designed for use with Shimano FTB baitcasting reels.