Kaizen Tackle

Kaizen means continuous improvement, and at Korda, we believe anglers deserve tackle that mirrors their passion, dedication and drive.

The Kaizen range exists to inspire that journey, providing innovation and precision in every product. We are proud to create the tools that help anglers catch more carp and achieve their personal best—time and time again.

This is reflected across the whole of the Kaizen range, and whether you are buying a flagship Platinum branded product, or something from the more affordable Green range, you can rest assured that it will live up to your expectations of the brand, and perform to as high a level as possible, time and time again. 

The same level of design and real-world testing, out on the bank catching fish, goes into all of the items of Kaizen tackle, regardless of price, and the main difference between items at the top and lower end of the Kaizen range is the materials used to construct them.

Of course, the Platinum range will be a bit better, like most luxury items, as it utilises all of the best materials available to us, but that also comes with a much higher price tag. But in terms of the amount of thought behind the tackle in the Green range, in order to solve problems that we face as anglers, and to help you to catch more fish, then just as much time and effort has gone into it, only using materials – such as a slightly lower grade of carbon – that make it affordable for the majority of people.

Regardless of the price, every item within the Korda Kaizen tackle ranges has been carefully designed to not only help you to catch more fish, but also to make the whole experience of doing so as enjoyable as possible. You can rest assured that whatever product you choose it won’t let you down when you need it to perform, so your full focus is on working out what the carp are doing, and the tactics that will work best in that situation.

THE RANGES

Korda Kaizen Platinum

The whole ethos behind the Platinum products is to make them with the best materials possible and regardless of cost, within reason.

These materials have been specifically chosen because they exhibit properties such as being the lightest, strongest, thinnest, most responsive, that is available.

That is reflected within the finished products, so that when you pick up any Platinum product and start to use it, you can instantly feel the difference and know that you won’t find better.

To justify the higher price tag that comes with using these types of high-end materials, you can rest assured that they have been built to give you many years of use, without seeing a deterioration in their performance.

Not only will it live up to your expectations in terms of performance, but all of these products also look the part, in an understated way, and you can see and feel the quality when they are in your hands.

Korda Kaizen Green

We understand that not everyone can afford to buy the best products available, or may not need that level of performance for their angling.

So whether you are a newcomer to the sport; someone who doesn’t fish every week; or an angler who doesn’t have the budget to buy the best, and instead wants something that will still do the job very well, whilst leaving them with enough money to ensure that they have all the other essentials, such as enough hooks and bait, then the Kaizen Green range is perfect for you.

The Green range uses materials that will give a high level of performance, but without breaking the bank, and are still a joy to use – to the extent that many of our Team Korda anglers, including Danny Fairbrass, regularly use them within their own fishing, and especially if using multiple sets of rods for different types of fishing.

Whilst Kaizen Green might be cheaper, it doesn’t feel like it when holding and using it, and nor does it look like it either, as all the items have a custom-built look to them and are very minimalist.

KAIZEN PRODUCTS

Korda Kaizen Platinum Rods

The whole purpose of designing the Platinum range of rods was to come up with the ultimate tool for catching carp, which felt and also looked great, and were a joy to use.

This of course involved using the best materials available to us, including when it came to the carbon used to make the rods on a specially designed mandrel, but it was more about designing something that met the expectations of anglers – including Korda boss Danny Fairbrass himself - from a high end rod when it came to casting and playing fish, as well as having a custom, understated look.

ZERO90 carbon was chosen because it could deliver a stiff, yet still very light blank (unlike inferior grades of carbon that require more layers to achieve the same properties), which allowed power to be transferred more easily during the cast, and with less effort, whilst also ensuring that not only do you achieve the distance you need, but also the accuracy thanks to greatly reduced twist in the blank, which can send a lead off course.

The manufacturing process involves the use of a fast tapered mandrel to build the blank, which enables a very fast tip speed to be achieved and a lot of the flex to be at that end of the rod unless under extreme pressure, as well as providing fast line pick up. This taper also gives these rods a cushioning effect at close quarters to help prevent hook pulls when a carp is near the net.

Whilst performance is the most important aspect of a fishing rod, we also understand that anglers want them to look the part – especially for a flagship model where no expense has been spared – and the components used, such as Sea-Guide TDG rings; a Fuji DPS reel seat; and stainless steel trim and a butt cap, made in the UK by JAG, give these rods a real custom look straight off the shelf.

If you really want to go even further to personalise them, then the Kaizen Platinum rods are also sold as a blank kit, that you can have built – or build yourself – using the exact components, whipping colours etc that you want.

The range includes 12ft rods in 3lb, 3.5lb and 4lb; 12ft 6in. 4lb; and 13ft 3.5lb and 4lb models. Plus spod rods in 12ft, 12ft 6in. and 13ft, so you can actually bait as far, and as easily, as you can cast your rigs. You can read more about the Kaizen Platinum rod range HERE.

Korda Kaizen Green Rods

The launch of the flagship Kaizen Platinum rod range was a big success, but plenty of anglers lamented the fact that although they would love to own a set and benefit from the performance offered, they simply couldn’t afford to spend that much on a set of carp rods.

Danny Fairbrass was keen that the attributes that made the Platinum rods so good could also be available to the masses, so we set about designing a range of rods that had all of the same features that anglers loved so much about the flagship models, but using materials that made them affordable to everyone. What we came up with was the Kaizen Green rod range, and it has proved to be incredibly popular.

Kaizen Green offers the sort of performance, feel, and look, that you’d expect from a much more expensive rod, but at a price where anybody can afford to have three of them, plus a matching spod rod.

The main difference between the Green and the Platinum rods is the grade of carbon used to build the blanks, plus some of the fittings are more affordable alternatives, but for many anglers, and unless you are pushing your rods to the limit, then you won’t notice a difference in performance when the rod is in your hands being used.

The Green rods are still built using a fast-tapered profile mandrel, that gives a very ‘tippy’ action and allows for great power transfer during the cast, but is still a joy to play fish on and offers enough flex in the rod tip that you don’t have to worry about hook pulls at close range.

When pushed to the absolute limit, the Green won’t transfer power through the blank during the cast to quite the same degree that a Platinum would do; nor will it recover quite as quickly; and the more affordable grade of carbon also allows for slightly more twist to the blank under extreme loading. But will you actually notice this? The answer for many anglers is that they won’t do.

All of the Kaizen Green rods have a hand-built, minimalist look to them, with a very subtle logo on a matt-finish blank, plus black whippings, and with a Japanese shrink wrap handle that is flared at the end to allow a good grip during casting.

The Sea-Guide TDG rings were chosen so as to be a bit more resilient to being knocked around, and feature twin legs and are made from stainless steel.

There are eight different fishing rods in the range, plus two spod rods and with a third soon to be added to fill the gap between the two existing models.

As well as the more standard 12ft and 13ft models, which you can read more about HERE, for the first time we have added three different 10ft rods that are perfect for use on smaller venues where you are fishing at shorter ranges, or anything that involves fishing from a boat, and these have become very popular across Europe. You can read more about the 10ft models specifically HERE.

It is no good being able to cast your rig a long way and very accurately if you aren’t also able to get your bait around it as well, so 12ft and 13ft spod rods are part of the existing range and perform extremely well, even when using a large spomb, and casting expert Terry Edmonds has used them to cast incredible distances.

A third spod rod is also about to join the range and will bridge the gap between the 12ft and 13ft models, so keep an eye out for its release. Like with fishing rods, a longer rod will help you to cast further, in the right hands, but some anglers find a 13ft rod doesn’t feel comfortable to use, so we have introduced a 12ft 6in. spod rod to the range.

Korda Kaizen Green Floater Rod

A floater fishing rod is also due to be added to the Kaizen Green range in the spring of 2025 and has been specifically designed for that purpose.

It has been designed specifically for that type of fishing and the sort of tackle that is used for surface fishing, and so will do the job far better than just using a spare rod that you have laying around.

Often when trying to catch carp off of the surface you will be using quite small hooks and light hook links, in order to get a bite, and if you are using the wrong sort of rod all of that effort of getting a carp to take the bait in the first place can be in vain if a stiff rod causes the hook to pull during the fight, or worse still, results in the hook link parting as the fish makes a sudden lunge.

The Kaizen Green Floater Rod is 12ft 2.75lb test curve, and unlike the rest of the range, it is a through action blank that will allow you to bend into a fish and control it during the fight, but without fear of causing a hook pull or line breakage.

Its action will also give you plenty of ‘feel’ when it comes to accurately casting lighter controller floats – a mis-cast can ruin your chances completely in these situations – and the 40mm butt ring, plus single leg guides throughout the tip ring, are perfectly suited to its uses.

This rod has been extensively tested by Neil Spooner, who loves floater fishing and was involved in its design, and he has already used it to good effect to land some very large surface caught carp.

Korda Kaizen Green Net

The whole purpose of a landing net is to enable you to land a fish as easily and safely as possible, and with as little chance as possible of a disaster during the netting process which results in a loss after you’ve done all the hard work.

Every aspect of the Kaizen Green Net has been carefully thought out to aid in that process, so you can concentrate fully on the fight, whilst knowing that it won’t let you down at the critical moment.

There is nothing worse than trying to lift the handle, and the net itself not responding, and potentially allowing a carp to slip back over the net cord. To rectify that issue, the Kaizen Green Net features a reverse tapered carbon handle, which makes it very rigid and therefore incredibly responsive – when you do lift it with one hand, you know that the fish is going into it immediately.

The lightweight design also means that it will float, without the need to attach anything to it for extra buoyancy, so if you do need to wade into the lake to net a fish, you don’t have to worry about your net sinking into the depths whilst you’re playing the fish, and having to try keep hold of it.

The 42 inch Hexmesh is fish-friendly and deep enough that once landed, a carp can be safely retained whilst you sort out your weighing and camera gear, and get the rod back out, and you don’t have to worry about the carp getting out, as a stainless steel spike on the end of the handle can be pushed securely into the ground.

As well as being highly practical, this landing net is also stylish and well built, and packed full of features, which you can read more about HERE.