The Search For One ... Exel-lence from
Lamiglas In a
move that belies their somewhat conservative nature, Lamiglas’ new, Excel series
of rods feature a metallic brown finish (Lamiglas describes it as a deep
metallic copper), split rear cork grip, and no fore grip design.
Abu Garcia Veritas
Rods: A Blend of Truth, Nanotechnology, Performance and Affordability Already seen on our TackleTour Forum, Abu Garcia will soon
be revealing a new affordable rod named Veritas. This new bass rod will be one
notch higher than the Vendetta but still have a great price of under $100. Let's
see what this new "next generation" rod is all about.
ProducTTpreview : Rapala Makes a Splash in the "CDM"
Rapala Canada have introduced for 2010, several new series of rods that can officially be dubbed CDM, and we’re here to preview these products that are sure to peak the interest of Enthusiasts all over the world. Presenting Rapala Canada’s new rod lineup for 2010.
PRODUCTTPREVIEW : Rise of
the "Zombie" Rods Born in the backyard of
the California Delta a new rod company introduces their line of application
specific fishing rods. Zombie Rod & Tackle has roots in custom rod building and
now brings a branded line of flipping and pitching rods to market, these rods
definitely exhibit some enthusiast appeal and are designed for power fishing.
CB Rod Wars part 18: Megabass's New GTZ Series
After having already reviewed product from each of their two series of crankbait rods, the GT3 and GTC series, we thought for sure our Year of the Crank Crankbait Rod Shootout was going to go on without a participant from Megabass...
PRODUCTTPREVIEW:
e21 Goes Micro Since the departure of Boyd Ducket from the e21 camp, there have been a few other changes within the company. These changes have done little to stop their drive to produce new and effective fishing tools, and as we've come to find, e21 is joining the micro-guide craze. They are the second rod manufacturer to get in our hands rods with these new guides.
PRODUCTTPREVIEW:
Dobyns Rods New Savvy Series
Last year, when Gary Dobyns debuted the second
generation version of his bass rods, they were received with great fanfare from
tournament anglers all around. For 2010, Dobyns is addressing this criticism
with the reintroduction of an alconite outfitted rod at an even lower price
point than the original Champion Series.
The Search For One... Setting the Baseline With Not Just Any G.Loomis
Kicking off our “Search for One”, it’s time to discuss that one
fishing rod. Imagine decades ago when fishing meant heading to your local
waterway with nothing more than one rod, one reel, some hooks, weights, and your
bait of choice.
CB Rod Wars Part 17: American Rodsmiths' Titanium Reinforced H3T-DFCR70
The H3T-DFCR70 comes with a blank built from the
combination of three different materials, graphite, fiberglass, and titanium.
That’s right, we said titanium. Not since Lamiglas’s Ti2000 blanks had we seen a
US rod company build a full line of bass rods with titanium infused into the
blank
Finesse Fishing with Damiki's Dark Angel S701ML Spinning Rod Earlier this year, and as part of our
Crankbait Rod Wars, we took at look at Damiki’s Dark Angel C761M-CR. While this
stick scored respectably in our review, we were really hoping for a bit more
from this new-to-North America company. So we thought we’d take our
investigation a bit further
The e21 21 Gold Carrot Stix, an interesting blend to say the
least
Rarely do we see such a meteoric rise in
popularity after a company’s introduction even with ICAST Best of Show awards to
their credit. Touted as the first manufacturer to use bio materials in their
blank (actual carrot fibers)...
CB Rod Wars Part 16: Cranking for Strikes with the Airrus
Wildlife Copperhead
Feeling overwhelmed with the amount of information we’ve provided
you? Well, don’t stop there because we’re still wrapping up a bunch of reviews
that you simply cannot miss. Next up? The Airrus Wildlife Copperhead Series, WL701M, is one of our lightest
crankin’ rod contenders.
CB
Rod Wars Part 15: A Powerhouse of a
Cranking Rod, the 8 foot Powell 806CB Powell expands their lineup with a cranking rod
designed for deep diving crankbaits, the 806CB is a power cranking stick that is
built out of graphite versus glass for improved sensitivity. Though intended for
cranks this rod proves to be well rounded and capable of much more...
CB Rod Wars Part
14: Launch a Crankbait With Quantum’s Tour KVD It is no wonder why Quantum
tapped KVD to help design and brand some of their products. Right
in time for TackleTour’s Crankbait Rod Wars is Quantum’s Tour KVD cranking
sticks that’s designed with a blend of fiberglass and graphite to KVD’s exacting
specifications.
CB
Rod Wars Part 12: The Cumara Reaction Rods up the ante for Shimano After a couple months logged
on the water with three of the Cumara Reaction rods we have formulated some
pretty strong opinions of the new series. The Cumara Reaction rods are the
company’s top of the line freshwater rods and are specifically designed for
fishing moving baits in varying types of cover.
The lightweight Castaway
Skeleton series goes Camo Castaway rods is a venerable
name in the custom rod building industry and continues to design and manufacture
rods right here in the U.S., their newest creation is the upcoming Camo Series
which is an expansion of the company’s popular lightweight Skeleton Series.
CB Rod Wars Part
10: Crankin' with Carrots, That's E21's 21
Carrot Gold Since ICAST 2007 our email
boxes and discussion forum have been full or requests for review on a particular
product. This product was touted as being the first in the industry with
bio-fibers integrated into the blank to supplement the graphite at a time when
graphite supplies were growing more scarce...
CB Rod Wars Part
8: Daiwa’s Steez Fle-X-Lite Cranking Sticks are Scary Slick As the crankbait rod wars
continue we turn our attention to the premium Steez Fle-X-Lite from Daiwa and
see if this rod is worth the high price of admission. These all graphite rods
are designed to be the ultimate cranking rods when it comes to weight and
sensitivity while still offering fiberglass flexibility.
CB Rod Wars Part #7 : Our First Detailed Look at Dobyns Rods Gen 2 Product
With ICAST 2009 coverage
wrapping up it is time
to get back to the
Crankbait Rod Wars. At the onset of our Year of the Crank field work back in the fall of 2008, we already had on hand, several sticks from various manufacturers. One of these manufacturers was Dobyns Rods...
Kistler Custom Rods Returns to Form with Micro Rods and Custom, Build to Order Rods
One company formerly at the forefront at this type of risk has been relatively quiet over the past couple of years. Kistler
Custom rods was well known for bringing custom rod features and technology to
the forefront and assuming the risk of providing these features on a mass
production rod
Officially, we’ve only
scratched the surface of
product remaining to
evaluate. Unofficially,
we like what we’ve seen
from this reborn rod
manufacturer so far.
Next up? A seven foot,
seven inch, heavy
powered graphite stick.
Introducing Phenix Rods’
Ultra MBX 707H fishing
rod.
First Look: Skeet Reese Signature Series Tessera Rods
Wright & McGill Company released information on the new Skeet Reese Signature Series Tessera rods that will be debuted at
ICAST in just a few weeks. The initial lineup will include models specifically deigned by Skeet for a specific technique that will help you catch more fish.
CB Rod Wars Part #6:
Lucky Craft's Fat Mini Magic
After several starts, stops, and rumored OEM sources, Japanese Lure Manufacturing giant, Lucky Craft has finally landed on North American Shores with their own line of fishing rods. As a detail that I’m sure comes as no surprise to anyone, each of their rods are Lucky Craft lure specific.
CB Rod Wars Part #3 : New Kid on the Block Damiki
When we came to the
decision that 2009 would
be the Year of the Crank
here on TackleTour, this new manufacturer was one of the first we contacted to see if they wanted to take part in our Crankbait Rod Wars. We’re happy to report, their response was an overwhelming yes, and here is our report on the Damiki Dark Angel C761M-CR Medium Cranking Stick
CB Rod Wars Part 2 : Is It Jackall's Year?
The Jackall Poison rods are site to behold and are quite befitting what we’ve come to expect from a rod designed for the JDM
market – right down to
their customized rod
sleeves. Imagine
our added excitement to
learn, included in their
rod lineup are not just
one, but two rods
intended for throwing
cranks.
