We went into Lidl and came out with two fishing sets. At £24.99 each for a telescopic rod, reel and accessories, we had to give them a go. Could a supermarket feeder set actually handle a carp session?

We headed to the lake and ended up having a cracking evening. There were ghosties, mirrors, a common and a bit of the usual Fresh Fishing chaos. There was also an early reel tangle and a change to the supplied hook, so it wasn’t quite a case of everything working perfectly straight out of the packet.

What came in the Lidl fishing set?

Each set cost us £24.99 at the time we bought it. Inside were a telescopic rod, reel, bank stick and a small tackle box with accessories, including a disgorger. There were also Velcro straps to help keep things together.

The rods had cork handles and felt nice and light, although the handle looked chunky. The telescopic design took us back to using similar rods years ago, and packing down small was an obvious advantage.

We reckoned the supplied hook looked roughly a size six, which seemed large for the feeder fishing we had in mind. That was our impression on the bank rather than a check against the manufacturer’s specifications.

How we set them up

We tried two approaches. One rod initially kept the supplied lead-and-hooklink arrangement, with a wafter placed directly on the hook. The other was set up with a small hybrid feeder.

Later, we changed the supplied hook on the first setup after getting little nibbles without a proper take. We tested the Lidl rods and reels, but didn’t fish both sets completely unchanged for the whole evening.

The casting feel divided opinion. One of us wasn’t particularly impressed, while the other enjoyed how light the rod felt. They felt different from our usual gear, but the real test was what happened when a fish picked up the bait.

An early reel tangle

The first mishap came while winding in. The line tangled into a proper bird’s nest around the reel and needed sorting before we could carry on.

It was a frustrating start and belongs in the review alongside the catches. We can’t draw a conclusion about long-term reliability from one evening, but we did have a line-management problem during this test. Once untangled, we recast towards the aerator. Then the first fish was on.

Can Lidl fishing rods catch carp?

Yes — the first one was a lovely 9½lb ghost carp. Wayne did the netting honours, giving us a proper answer to the question we’d come to settle.

We agreed to share the rods, with Wayne taking the next bite whichever one went. A mirror followed, estimated on camera at around 7–8lb. That was an estimate rather than a confirmed weight. We also landed a 10½lb ghost carp, along with further mirrors and a common as the evening went on.

Later, we had one fish in the net while another was being played, which made sharing a single landing net interesting. We also lost a fish during a fast take after holding the line while trying to tighten up. It wouldn’t be fair to describe that as the tackle failing.

What were they like to play fish on?

Our opinions warmed as the evening went on. Early comments about the feel of the setup gave way to enjoying simple feeder fishing again. There had been a concern that the rod tip might be too rigid, but in use we found the rods more flexible than expected.

The takes showed how easily a light outfit can be pulled off a rest. One rod nearly went into the lake, even though we’d set the drag fairly loose. Keep a close eye on the rods and make sure they’re securely supported.

As we said during the session, the venue matters too. The sets handled the fish we hooked, but we were fishing somewhere that gave us opportunities to get bites. That doesn’t establish how they’d perform on every water or against much bigger fish.

Who would we buy them for?

We even discussed taking one on an upcoming trip to Holland, just in case there was a chance to fish. Would we buy them to replace our usual tackle? That wasn’t our verdict. We enjoyed them as affordable, compact outfits for a bit of feeder fishing.

Our final verdict

For £24.99 each at the time of our test, these Lidl rod-and-reel sets gave us a thoroughly enjoyable evening. They landed several carp, including ghosties of 9½lb and 10½lb, and reminded us how much fun a simple setup can be.

The early reel tangle deserves a mention, and we changed some end tackle. This was one session, so it tells us about our first experience rather than years of use. Even with those qualifications, we both finished with a thumbs-up — then packed up early to watch the football.