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Phenix's Oxymoron Trout Stick : The Iron Feather
Since their reincarnation in 2008, Phenix Rods has been busy
re-inventing their product line searching for their niche in the very
competitive and over saturated bass rod market. But bass fishing is certainly
not the only gamefish for which Phenix makes product.
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Seeking perfection, the Pinnacle “Perfecta” Tournament Class
rods
The new Perfecta rods are the highest end rods the company has
introduced to date and feature Fuji components combined with a new proprietary
blank design called DHC5. While the rods appear attractive at first
glance do they really have what it takes to warrant the name Perfecta?
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The Search For One... St. Croix's Mojo Bass
Our review of this product line
is long overdue, so to make up for the delay we put the Mojo line through an
accelerated test. How did we do this? Why, by taking an MBC70MHF south of the
equator to do battle with peacock bass in the Amazon! |
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Powell Teams up
with Pro Angler Jared Lintner to create a rod specifically for Squarebill
Cranks
Square bill crankbaits are some of the most
exciting hardbaits to fish as they can really get down and dirty when it comes
to calling bass tight within structure to strike. Powell has partnered with Pro
Angler Jared Lintner to release a 6’9” rod specifically designed for this
technique. |
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The Search For One
with the Legends… St Croix’s Legend Elite and Xtreme
For The Search For One I’ll take a closer look at the traditional
2010 Legend Elite and the next-gen 2010 Legend Xtreme casting rods
in the most popular 7 feet medium heavy, fast model. |
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The Search for One... Carrots with Flavor Enhancing Micros?
So, what's up e21? Is there a
stick within their arsenal worthy of our Search for One campaign? Of course the
answer is yes. Presenting our third look into the Carrot Stix crop and our review of the CMG691MH-F-C Carrot-Stix Micro.
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Cast, Crank, REACT!! : Cumara CUCX711MH
We put the biggest and
baddest stick in that series to the test to see just what it can handle.
Introducing our review of the Shimano Reaction Series CUCX711MH.
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The Search For One...
Lamiglas Certified Pro
The XFT764 comes in a very old school, telescopic blank. I found this surprising given the propensity of one piece bass sticks in the market today up to eight feet in length. This rod also features a full rear grip and foregrip of cork, a Fuji ECS reel seat, and Fuji stainless steel framed Alconite
guides.
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The
Samurai Sword of Frog Rods, the Daiwa Steez XBD
Making use of top end
components the Steez XBD reminds us of a samurai sword when it comes to design
and precision and might just be the most refined frog rod we have seen to date.
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The Search For One... Temple Fork Outfitters Enters the Bass Market
Temple Fork Outfitters out of
Texas, makes no secret about the fact Gary Loomis helped with the rod
specifications of their new, complete, Gary Loomis Signature series bass rods.
Here now is our first look at these affordable bass rods from Temple Fork
Outfitters.
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One
hundred years in the making, the Powell Endurance Rod Series
Powell
celebrates 100 years in the rod building business with the introduction of the
Endurance line of rods. These rods feature Fuji components and a purple motif
that helps the rods stand out versus Powell’s other products as well as
competitor offerings in general.
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Ignore the Labels and Just Fish It : Lucky Craft's LCMG 761XHF
Last year, Lucky Craft’s Fat
Mini Magic Cranking Stick ran away with double award honors during our Crankbait
Rod Wars, and while their Search For One entry is still busy dueling amongst the
other remaining contestants, we thought we’d check out what Lucky Craft’s big
bait sticks are all about.
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The Search For One... Kistler Puts the "Z" in CuZtom
Two years in the research and development process,
and with the help of Gary Loomis’s new blank manufacturing venture, North Fork
Composites, Kistler Custom Rod’s ZBone build to order fishing rods are out on
the market replacing the buzz that was once inspired by the Helium LTA He69APC.
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ICAST Preview: A Sneak Peek at Pinnacle’s new
“Perfecta” Tournament Class rods
Pinnacle is making a move
towards higher end offerings
and this ICAST the company
will be introducing a new
line of rods that make use
of the latest design and
technology while still
remaining reasonably priced.
Let’s take a pre-ICAST look
at Pinnacle’s soon to be
introduced Perfecta rods.
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The Search for
One… Scary attention to detail, Zombie’s X-Heavy Pitching Rod
The Search for One continues
with a rod designed right here in our backyard. Zombie Rod and Tackle draws on
their custom rod building experience to introduce a series that is designed for
anglers that are looking for a rod that showcases a combination of performance
and character. |
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Abu Garcia has Reached the "Verdict"- New Rod Preview
It is time to think
about the "Verdict," Abu Garcia's brand new fishing rod which will officially be introduced this
July at ICAST 2010. Let's take a first look at what this new rod series has to offer
anglers. |
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The Search For One... Shimano's Perfect Storm, Cumulus
Early this year at the Big Rock show in Las Vegas, we got our first look at the new top end Shimano Bass Rod, the Cumulus. Floating in above the former USDM top end line, Cumara,
the Cumulus line is mostly about finesse and entirely about light weight. |
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The Search For One… Abu Garcia’s Vendetta Is Anything But Cold
One of the more
impressive value driven rods debuted at last year’s show was by Abu Garcia. The
Vendetta has since made its debut and to very good fanfare across the country. Presenting our review of Abu Garcia’s VTC69-6 Vendetta.
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The Search For One.. Damiki's Long Anticipated Angel Blade
The
Angel Blade rods from Damiki are interesting from a couple of perspectives.
First of all, the casting rods from this line have purple blanks and dense foam
grips. We remarked on this in our ICAST 2008 write up but what self-respecting
enthusiast can’t get into a purple blank? |
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The Search For One ... American Rodsmith's Top End Offering
The H3TUA-MBR benefits from some of the same titanium infused blank technology as the H3T-DFCR70 cranking stick.
Its treatment is elevated further by the custom nature of its reel seat and the
choice of guides (REC company’s Recoil guides plus custom configured
tungsten-carbide insert tip top). |
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What a Difference a Guide Makes: Kistler's Micro MG TS
The race to come out with the
first production run rod with the new Fuji Micro Guides and get that rod into
the hands of the TackleTour editorial staff is over. Presenting our official
review of Kistler Custom Rods Micro Magnesium TS McMag70MHC. |
