Sensitivity: To test this stick's performance in the category of sensitivity, I tied on a DreamSmasher DSS Shad to see if I could feel the thump of that six inch swimbait's wedge tail as it swam through the water. Sensitivity with hard baits is one thing, but to be able and feel the subtle thump of a soft bodied wedge tail is another. The Grand Stallion GTX, of course, gives you a very good feel for these types of baits. I'd expect nothing less from a top tier stick like this, but have to perform my due diligence and validate these assumptions regardless. This stick performs very well in this department.

Fig 1 : The chart above illustrates the deflection characteristics of our Evergreen International Kaleido Inspirare GTX-C710XHX against the historical averages of similarly powered rods we've tested over the past twenty years

Power: The Grand Stallion GTX falls right in line with our all purpose swimbait rod average in terms of power. It has a very smooth power curve with a hint of that dual taper softness common in a lot of high end JDM sticks. That's where, under normal load, the rod fishes like a fast taper, but under the pressure of a good fish pulling at the end of the line, the rod will actually soften up a bit increasing your chances of landing your catch instead of pulling the hooks out. I had zero issues converting hits to hook ups to landed fish with the Grand Stallion GTX.

There's a lot of power behind that tip

Design & Ergonomics: Evergreen International's Grand Stallion GTX is a beautifully crafted, sensitive, powerful stick but uncharacteristic for the manufacturer, this rod is not balanced very well. This all goes back to its short, eleven and a half inch (11.5") handle. Its proportions are really more of a flipping/pitching stick than rod built for slinging big baits. If the GTX-C710HXH had a longer handle, balance would be much better, and that coveted two handed casting leverage would be far better.

Wrapped with titanium framed, Torzite guides by Fuji

Considering this stick two pieces and separates at the handle, it'd be an easy fix. All Evergreen International needs to do is borrow a page from their own playbook and offer a second, longer handle assembly like they did with the TMJC-74XXX Balista back in the day. The Grand Stallion GTX with a fifteen inch (15") or longer handle would make for a wonderful, go to swimbait rod in the high end, enthusiast market.

Every catch is extra fun on a stick like this

Price & Applications: The scoring metric on price for pieces of tackle like this should be inverted because in all honesty, the higher its price tag and seemingly more exclusive an item like the Grand Stallion GTX is, the more attractive it becomes to enthusiast tackle buffs like myself. The question of "worth" afterall, is entirely subjective. However, under the standard scale, $800 for a fishing rod is quite a hefty price. It'd be one thing if the Grand Stallion GTX were available in North America, but given it is made for the Japanese market only adds to the expense. Otherwise, if you can get your hands on one, short handle issues aside, it is a very good, multi-purpose big bait rod.

Evergreen bait + Evergreen rod = an unforgettable Ultimate Enthusiast moment

Conclusion: Talk about rod and bait symbiosis, while taking some product photos of the Grand Stallion GTX, I cast the Breamslide out so it wouldn't be in the photos obscuring or distracting from the rod. An angle here, and angle there and suddenly, I hear a splash behind me. A fish came up and inhaled the Breamslide as it was floating out on the water! I quickly put my camera down, reeled in the slack to see if anything was there and to my amazement, I immediately felt the weight of a fish. So I swung and the fish headed right for the surface, tail walking with the Breamslide hanging from its lips. Keeping the pressure on with the GTX's stout yet forgiving backbone, I was able to land the fish for the above photo opportunity, unhook it, and release back to the water. If only tackle reviews were always this efficient! Evergreen International's Grand Stallion GTX may not be perfect, but it's certainly close enough to win my Ultimate Enthusiast prize.