fishballer06

Water here is in the high 40's and lower 50's. My best baits have been bladed baits and Keitech swing fatties.

Abu Garcia Ike Series 7' Medium Spinning Rod Review So I got my Ike Series 7' Medium power spinning rod in and took it out this weekend and fished with it. I paired it up with a Shimano Saros 2500 that was spooled up with Sunline Sniper FC 7lb. test. I fished this setup using a 1/2oz. Damiki Vault blade bait (horizontal and vertical jigging it) and a LC Pointer 78. Looks/Feel: First impression out of the box was impressive. The color isn't a super bright purple like some pictures make it seem. It's a darker, smoky type purple and it looks really good in person. The weight of the rod is very light and feels pretty well balanced. This rod definitely feels lighter in the hands than my GLoomis E6X 6'8" M and my BPS Extreme 6'6" M. This is surprising to me because this rod is longer in length, however, it could be that the EVA on this rod helps with the weight. Speaking of EVA, the foam on this reel handle is the firmer, good feeling EVA, and not that cheaper, spongy feeling EVA that some rods seem to have. As for the reel seat, this is the one part of a spinning rod that I am very picky about. Every rod out there seems to have a different reel seat on it and some are better than other in terms of comfort. This rods reel seat is very comfortable for how I hold it and I really like the design of the seat. Upon use, I had no issues with this reel seat slipping or having troubles locking down. Features: This rod has a lot of great features to it. The blank is nice and light and is rated as a 36 ton graphite blank, which I believe is the same 36 ton graphite blank that comes on the more expensive Veracity lineup of rods. I touched on the reel seat earlier, which is made by Fuji. That in itself explains the quality and comfort. The EVA foam is high quality and the grips are split. The rod also has a small, closed loop hook keeper on the under side of the blank right above the reel. This is my favorite style hook keeper for a spinning rod because it doesn't allow the slack line to get caught/wrapped up in the keeper. The guides on this rod seem to be of great quality, and the foot of each guide seems to be held firmly in place. Actual Use: On the water, I was impressed with this rod on the very first cast. I was able to sling a 1/2oz. blade bait much further with this rod than I could with my 6'6" and 6'8" rods. So the added length probably helped with this. The 70/30 action on this rod seems like it was made for working a blade bait along the bottom. The tip has the perfect softness to it to lift that bait up and feel every vibration on the lift and then feel the flutter on the fall until it hit the bottom again. That same tip also helped me launch lighter jerkbaits on it like the LC Pointer 78. I didn't get a chance to throw any lighter Shad Raps on this rod, but I'm sure that soft tip will help the rod load up and throw those type of baits just fine. At one point in the day, my partner asked if he could use my blade bait rod (which was this rod). I handed it to him and his first reaction upon holding it was "Wow, this setup feels awesome." After his first cast and working the bait back to the boat, he couldn't get over how great the setup worked for that presentation. Overall Opinion: I was skeptical to try this rod at first. I've owned/used nearly every rod in the $100-180 range (Veritas, Veracity, BPS Extreme and Bionic, SC Premier and Mojo, GL E6X, Fenwick HMG and HMX, Shimano Crucial) and while most/all of them are good rods, I wouldn't say any of them are amazing. However, this rod comes in at $130 retail and it is very impressive from what I have found in my one day of use so far. I know there aren't many reviews out there on these rods yet, so I wanted to post this up so people could get an idea on these if they are considering this rod. This rod gets my nod of approval and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a rod in this price range.

Agreed. I love the Dobyns 684CB for DT4/6's, Wiggle Warts, and Shad Rap RS's.

The bantam Curado is the best workhorse of a reel in fishing, hands down.

I got my Ike rod in yesterday. I bought the 7' M-F spinning rod, which is rated with a 70/30 tip. The rod is very impressive and from just holding it and looking at it, I must say I like it a lot. It feels lighter than my 6'8" M-XF Loomis E6X. The 30% tip part seems to be spot on. This rod seems like its going to be perfect for what I will be using it for, which is lighter crank/jerk baits. It should also work great for smaller topwater lures as well.

20# for most applications. 30# for salmon and in the spring whenever I'm vertical jigging crappies in the brush. The 30# is needed for straightening out the hook whenever I get snagged, which happens dozens of times per day.

I'd go with a Medium, Fast. While I do own a ML spinning rod, I don't feel it's quite right for heavier tubes, and lighter crank/jerk baits.

Spot. Small mouth/jaw. Lines on belly.

I'd probably finish in the top 2

I bought one spool of Red Label and it's the twistiest line I've ever seen. I bought 3 spools of the Assassin. I plan on using them in the spring time.

I'm curious why you haven't considered the Dobyns Savy in that lineup? The 692 Savy is my go to drop shot rod. The 693 would probably work for both drop shot and small jerkbaits like the husky jerk.

Just got the 3000 in yesterday. Can't wait to use it!

Looks good. I should have mine this week I'm guessing. My Stradic arrived last night.

Different reel seal, different guides.

No, this is a spinning rod.

I pulled the trigger and bought the 7' M-F rod. What have I got to lose? I'll let everyone know what I think once it arrives. Hopefully I can use it before it gets too cold out.

That green perch.... MMmmmm

I like the Terminator's because they don't get bent out of shape. I also like the R2S Ish Bling spinnerbaits as well. I've also heard lots of good things about War Eagle's stuff as well.

I don't think I caught a single fish on a frog this year.

Best advice I can give is to not cover up your nostrils or the side of the glasses where the lens/frame meets the arm. That doesn't give your breath an escape route except up into the lens.

I've used the Pline FC and their Fluroclear (co-poly) a few times. Both are excellent lines.

Every time I fish a buzzbait and I take my eye off the bait, this happens. Every. Single. Time.

If nothing else, the Bantam Curado's are readily available for cheap on the used market. I'm sure you could find another, or find one that good for parts.

Edit: See post #22 for my detailed review I just ordered myself a new Stradic 3000, and naturally, I need a rod to go with it. I'll be using this rod for throwing light lures that I can't quite handle on my baitcasting setup; small squarebills, small shad raps, small jerkbaits, you get the idea. My price range is in the $100-200 range and I have owned/used most rods in that range (Crucial, Premier, Avid, Savy, E6X, Veritas, Veracity, HMG). Some of these same rods are currently up for consideration as well, however I am also looking at the new Abu Ike Series rods, which sit at around $130 retail. I know these rods are fairly new, and none of my local stores carry them, so I wanted to see if anyone here has held/used one? What are your opinions on them? The blank is a 36 ton graphite blank, just like the Veracity, which I really enjoy and own 2 of already. They've got a Fuji reel seat, which I also like and am used to on many of my other rods. Both features of which are a nice piece of mind, but I'd just like to know some personal opinions before I go dropping any money. Hopefully some of you guys can help me out. Thanks.

I use a ton of different trailers. Swing Impact Swing Impact Fat Easy Shiner Fat Albert Double Fat Albert Split Tail Trailer Pit Boss Menace Grub Deizel Minnow Beat Shad Grass Pig Skinny Dipper Evil Twin Tail