Megabass 2018 Orochi XX F4.5-74XXS Enforcer Spinning Rod Product Review

Rod Review

Re-Enforcing the Viability of Spinning Gear, Megabass's New F4.5-74XXS (continued)

Sensitivity: I was mostly targeting docks and occasionally flooded vegetation with the Sidus, enjoying both my ability to place these baits with the Enforcer, but also sense those pickups.

If you're search includes a spinning rod with which to fish weighted or unweighted soft plastic stick baits, I can say right now that the Enforcer belongs on your list.

One of the benefits of the old Orochi XX lineup was the crispness of the blanks and their good sensitivity. This character is continued in the refreshed lineup but somehow refined. It's difficult to characterize, but the Enforcer has very good sensitivity and very well suited for soft plastics and other vertical presentation techniques.

Fig 1 : The chart above illustrates the deflection characteristics of our Megabass 18 Orochi XX F4.5-74XXS Enforcer against its sibling, the EMTF and our new MH baseline rod, G.Loomis's 2017 MBR843C GLX.

Power: In that preview back in March, I mentioned the Enforcer probably fell somewhere between a medium to medium-heavy powered stick. That evaluation was made without benefit of our RoD WRACK. The very first stop for all four of those brand new Orochi XX sticks after I picked them up from MB HQ was TT HQ and an appointment with our RoD WRACK. As charted above, you can see the Enforcer, together with the new EMTF, chart out considerably softer than our new medium heavy baseline stick, G.Loomis's 2017 MBR843C GLX. It is definitely a medium powered bass rod in the traditional sense.

Checking out that taper.

But then you get into the actual lifting power of this stick once you set hook and I'd swear this rod is more powerful than it charts. On subsequent trips with this rod, I tied on a Vision OneTen Silent, just to test the rod's versatility. While I find fishing a jerkbait on spinning gear somewhat awkward, the Enforcer really shined in this application and responded so well to some very bone jarring hits (because of the Fireline). Many of the fish that day were foul hooked, which causes them to fight even harder, but the Enforcer never relented.

This stick weighed in at our labs at 4.9 oz.

Design & Ergonomics: We already touched upon the majority of the Enforcer's styling cues. Ergonomically, this stick weighed in at our labs at four point nine ounces (4.9 oz) and a balance point of eight and quarter inches (8.25") above the midline of the reel seat. It is tip heavy. Typically, balance is not as critical on a spinning rod because the reels are generally heavier than their casting counterparts AND your hand position while holding the combo to fish is usually above the reel, but at the same time, good balance never hurts.

The new Orochi XX lineup features SiC guides with stainless steel frames.

One item I do miss on this stick is a hook keeper. With casting gear, the practice these days is to hook your bait in the top bar of your reel, but no such spot exists on a spinning reel. Instead, you have to resort to looping the bait around the reel's handle, or hooking the frame of the stripper guide. In situations like this, my strategy is usually to make use of Fuji's Ez Keeper but I don't always have one on hand to install.

Lab Results for Megabass 18 Orochi XX F4.5-74XXS Enforcer
Model	Avg RoD (2-32 oz)	Taper	Measured Weight (oz)	Balance Point (inches)	Balancing Torque (ftlbs)
Megabass 18 Orochi XX F4.5-74XXS Enforcer	2.03	Fast	4.9	8.25	0.24
MBR783C GLX2000	1.72	Fast	4.8	5	0.11
TSFO 26 Rod Avg	1.69	--	4.92	7.65	0.19
NRX 852C JWR	2.01	Xtra-Fast	3.7	8.5	0.15
2017 MBR842C GLX	2.39	Fast	4	6.5	0.15

Despite the upgrade in guides, cork, and a new blank, Megabass of America offers the Enforcer at $299.

Price & Applications: The F4.5-74XXS Enforcer retails for $299 and is a very versatile stick suitable for everything from unweighted soft plastic stick baits, to weighted soft plastics, jigs, jerkbaits, shallow running cranks, paddletail baits, spinnerbaits, the list goes on.

Perhaps the best thing about Megabass of America's refreshed Orochi XX lineup is the fact they upgraded the blank and components for each rod in the series yet kept the price point the same.

The F4.5-74XXS Enforcer is a very versatile stick suitable for everything from unweighted soft plastic stick baits, to weighted soft plastics, jigs, jerkbaits, shallow running cranks, paddletail baits, spinnerbaits, the list goes on.

Ratings:

Megabass 18 Orochi XX F4.5-74XXS Enforcer Ratings (?/10)
Construction/Quality	A more refined wrap than the previous generation	9.5
Performance	Very surprising power, excellent casting performance, overall, a very intriguing stick	9
Price	Impressive that Megabass has held the pricepoint even with all the upgrades	7.5
Features	Better cork than the previous version and upgraded guides!	8
Design (Ergonomics)	Orochi XX gets a JDM look	8
Application	A true Search for One candidate in a spinning configuration	9
Total Score		8.50
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable! For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus	Minus
+ Surprisingly powerful	- No hook keeper
+ Very versatile	- Tip heavy
+ Upgraded components
+ More JDM-esque styling

Conclusion: Megabass of America's F4.5-74XXS Enforcer is brand new to the Orochi XX series and a very worthy addition to an already robust lineup. For those anglers out there who prefer spinning gear to casting, this stick could be "The One."

For anglers who prefer casting gear to spinning gear and choose to bypass this stick because of it, you're missing out. I only half heartedly purchased this stick and did so with the primary motivation of figuring out why - why is there a need for this stick in Megabass's Orochi XX lineup?

For those anglers out there who prefer spinning gear to casting, the Enforcer could be "The One."

I knew a few of their prostaff had been clamoring for a spinning rod with which to fish tubes, and after looking at the rod's spec and sampling the late model prototype back in March, I felt it might be capable of more. It certainly is, and on the few trips I've had with this stick on the boat, I found myself looking for new and different baits to tie onto the end of the line so I could continue fishing and testing the rod's capabilities. Limited only by the line I was using, the Enforcer has yet to disappoint me. How much do I really like this stick? Well, typically, after I finish a write-up on any particular product, I put it away and move onto the next. In the case of the Enforcer, I just purchased a brand new spinning reel I intend to review and I think it would fit perfectly well on this particular rod. The answer to the question apparently is why not?

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