i got to say that i agree with javaroone.... in the long run it will probably be more beneficial to spend and extra £50 or so to get that extra couple of metres of pole..... bearing in mind you will probably be fishing about 8 metres out at least most places unless you're down the margins and if you hit a decent sized fish you won't have any sections to ship out and inevitably lose some good fish..... as for playing the fish..... you probably will lose a few fish to start off with but you will soon get used to it and establish a new comfort zone....  Tight Lines.....

hi mate i would try something a bit longer like 11 or 12 meters as at 8.5 your only really going to by able to fish the inside lines and miss out on the far bank side of small canals you should be able to pick up a good all rounder cheap