This page indexes 706 Garbolino fishing rods across 87 series, with full specs for each: length, power, action, lure rating, line rating, pieces, and price where available.
Henri Garbolino founded the company in 1945 outside Paris, building fishing poles from metal alloys at a time when cane still dominated French banks. The firm moved early on materials: fiberglass composites arrived in 1960, in-house resin impregnation followed by 1962, and by 1965 the factory had abandoned metal entirely. Production relocated to Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine in 1969, carbon models launched in 1977, and in 1999 Garbolino commissioned its own calendering machine so it could roll carbon-fibre sheet in varying weights and modulus grades rather than buy stock prepreg.
Ownership has stayed inside the French tackle industry. Hook maker VMC's holding acquired the firm on Henri Garbolino's retirement in 1974; Paul-Henri Viellard bought it in 1988 and introduced the Viper Process rolling technology; in 2007 the business split into Vitech Composites for production and Garbolino Europe for distribution. Since 2012 Garbolino Europe has belonged to Arnaud Van Robais's SERT group, alongside Sunset, Sakura, Prowess and Anatec, with the fishing division consolidated at Blanquefort near Bordeaux.
Today Garbolino is one of Europe's principal match and coarse fishing brands. The French catalog centres on competition poles (XSLIM G, World G Champion, Euro Evolution), bolognese and anglaise rods, picker and feeder rods, and a deep truite au toc program built around adjustable-ring natural-bait rods. Garbolino UK, run by former England international Darren Cox, develops the UK Series poles and dedicated feeder rods for the British commercial match scene.
What Garbolino is known for
Garbolino is known first for competition poles: eight decades of long-pole manufacturing, from post-war alloy poles through the first fiberglass poles of the 1960s to today's XSLIM G, World G Champion and UK Series carbon poles fished on French, international and British match circuits. The brand is equally established in French truite au toc, where its natural-bait trout rods and adjustable ring system serve river anglers drifting baits in current. Around the poles sits a full match ecosystem of bolognese and anglaise rods, picker and feeder rods and pole spares, running from four-figure flagship poles to entry-level tackle.
87 series indexed below; the chip clouds organize them by primary use and by technique fit. A series can appear under multiple groups when its rod lineup spans more than one.
c casting weight (feeder/bomb/float + bait or lead), not a lure rating
Frequently asked: Garbolino
How many Garbolino fishing rod models are in the Fishing Rod Database?
Fishing Rod Database currently indexes 706 Garbolino rods across 87 distinct series, with full spec coverage on length, power, action, lure rating, line rating, and piece count.
What are Garbolino's largest rod series?
By rod count, the largest Garbolino series in the catalog are Essential (38 rods), Lexica (35 rods), Optima (34 rods), Zombie (26 rods), Supra (25 rods).
Where is Garbolino based?
Garbolino is headquartered in Blanquefort, France, founded 1945; the brand operates under SERT (Rivolier group).
Does Garbolino make travel or multi-piece rods?
Yes. Garbolino's multi-piece travel series include Challenger, Globe Trotter, Natural, Carnassier Au Posé Sprint Specimen-r, Starter Specimen, Viper Telecast. Piece counts of 4 or more pack down for backpack and air-travel carry, with most series offering matching 2-piece variants in the same spec windows.