About the pull the trigger and order a spinning rod for jerkbaits and topwater. Was looking at the 6’9” zodias originally but now considering the 6’10” tatula. Any input on which is better? Or neither and get something else?

Shimano imo made a big mistake having made In China printed boldly on the Zodias rod handle, it’s not a badge of honor. Deal breaker for me.

Tom

 

If I'm correct they may both be made in China.

To me, it depends on how you hold the rod.

If you hold the rod with most or all of your fingers in front of the reel stem, then get the tatula.

If you hold the rod with the reel stem between your middle and ring finger, or with most fingers behind the reel stem, then get the Zodias.

Both are good rods.

Either rod would work pretty well, it would just depend on your preferences.  The 6'8 SC Victory might be 1 to consider as well.

I like a Zodias MH for that.

Great, thanks for the input! I’ll check out the victory, the 2 places I looked I believe they were out of stock but I’ll check again. 

36 minutes ago, Reel said:

I like a Zodias MH for that.

I looked at a MH as well, I’ve seen a 7’ M in store that I’ve been able to hold and just felt a MH might be a bit much for small treble hooks

The tatula rods are really really nice for the $. Just bought another ML spinner. 

7 minutes ago, thunderblack said:

The tatula rods are really really nice for the $. Just bought another ML spinner. 

Ive heard great things, I just want to make sure the action is going to be good for what I’m going to use this rod for. I’ve never got to hold a tatula in person

I think you will be happy with either. Both will work great for what you are doing. I prefer cork and also (6'-10) length for jerkbaits but both are minor preferences. 

13 hours ago, WRB said:

Shimano imo made a big mistake having made In China printed boldly on the Zodias rod handle, it’s not a badge of honor. Deal breaker for me.

Tom

 

Products must be marked with the country of origin, but it's usually a sticker you can just peel off.  

  

Sorry to bring this back up. Anyone with experience with any of the Ark rods in the 6’10” medium light? I like the price a bit more but the “medium light” worries me a little even though the lure rating is 1/8-1/2oz

I lied, 1/16-1/2oz which seems rather broad

On 10/31/2021 at 6:50 PM, WRB said:

Shimano imo made a big mistake having made In China printed boldly on the Zodias rod handle, it’s not a badge of honor. Deal breaker for me.

Tom

 

The Poison Adrena line is also made in China, though the notice is in very fine print.  Not a great selling point, but the rods are still pretty awesome.

On 11/1/2021 at 8:29 AM, KP Duty said:

Products must be marked with the country of origin, but it's usually a sticker you can just peel off.  

  

Printed in white bold letters on the blank between the split grip handle.

Agree a label can be removed.

Tom 

You won’t go wrong with either. Most of my rod are Shimano Zodias/Crucial and Tatula. For Ark rod I used to have one. It quite heavy and also tip heavy when compare with both Zodias/Tatula. For budget in mind nothing beat Tatula rod.

On 11/1/2021 at 8:16 AM, bigspirit said:

Ive heard great things, I just want to make sure the action is going to be good for what I’m going to use this rod for. I’ve never got to hold a tatula in person

The 6'10" Tatula is a little bit stiffer than anything I'd use for a jerkbait personally although they are good rods, and from experience I would say the 6'10" MH/F is the most sensitive.

 

I would be more inclined to go with the 6'6" M/F or the 7'2" MH/R (either the graphite or glass version) in the Tatula line.

 

I use the St Croix Mojo Bass 6'8" M/XF "Topwater" rod for most of my jerkbaits. The tip is soft but short but there isn't a whole lot of backbone, but I like a faster tip with jerkbaits because it helps greatly with bite detection on a twitch. The 6'8" M/F Jerkbait or 7'1" M/F plastics rods are also decent for jerkbaits, but I like the M/XF which is a little lighter in power and a faster tip.

I own a Zodias 6'10" MH that I use for worm fishing. It's the most sensitive rod I have ever used.   I swear if a fish gets closer than 6" from my bait, I can feel it before it bites!  Seriously, it's one heck of a rod.  Would I use it for jerks baits?  Maybe.  It's very light, but somewhat on the stiff side.   

Great to hear, i meant to update this thread but had a busy couple of days. I ordered the 6’9” M Zodias from *** Fishing. Should be here today. I’ll get a feel for it and let you all know my thoughts so if anyone else finds this thread one day maybe it’ll answer their question too

On 10/31/2021 at 8:37 PM, bigspirit said:

About the pull the trigger and order a spinning rod for jerkbaits and topwater. Was looking at the 6’9” zodias originally but now considering the 6’10” tatula. Any input on which is better? Or neither and get something else?

I used that tatula for jerkbait’s it was good but unfortunately my son shut the car door on it. My replacement rod was the a daiwa Kage 7’ all around and it’s awesome I throw vision 110s on it great.

Well, was supposed to be here this past Saturday and didn’t show up until today. Not the end of the world, right? I’ll just use it this coming weekend. Wrong. USPS had other plans apparently…

 

ALF has already sent a return label. They said they’ve had multiple issues with this same problem, unfortunately. Guess it’ll be another 2 weeks before I get to (hopefully) figure out how this rod performs 

 

The good thing, at least you ordered brand new from reputable place and they are taking care of the problem. Imagine if you buy used from someone else.

Anyway Let us know how it works for you when new one get here. 

 

On 10/31/2021 at 9:50 PM, WRB said:

Shimano imo made a big mistake having made In China printed boldly on the Zodias rod handle, it’s not a badge of honor. Deal breaker for me.

Tom

 

Me to, I’m making moves. I have 5-6 Exprides and a few Tatulas that have to go among others. eBay.

Switching over to Kistler. Ordered 3 Helium’s today. Sale prices. I’m tempted to order 2 Zbones before it ends. 

Kistler has quit using the NFC blanks. At least they are assembled in Texas if that's what your looking for.

Well, I’ve got to use it on 3 outings so I’ll give my feelings on it so far. 
 

Overall, love the rod. It has a short handle so it doesn’t impede while working a topwater or jerkbait - which is what I got this rod for primarily. Fast enough to work the bait well but not too beefy to rip treble hooks out. 
 

Sensitivity is fantastic. I really got to break it in fishing saltwater this weekend for speckled trout and redfish. Feeling bites was stupid easy, granted, they normally grab it pretty good. However, I’ve never been able to feel the change in bottom composition like I could with this rod. 
 

Now the “not perfect” things. 
 

I didn’t notice it immediately when I got it but there is one eye about 3/4 the way down the rod that is a little out of line. Not thrilled about it but it’s not enough that I’ll lose casting distance or sleep over it. 
 

First outing throwing a jerkbait I had 10lb flouro to 10lb braid connected with an Alberto knot. After 20 minutes or so I noticed I could hear my connection knot going through the guides more than earlier. I check the knot and somehow it was starting to unravel. I was done for the day so not a big deal. 
 

Well, fishing the salt this weekend I had my 10lb going to a 15lb flouro leader again with an Alberto knot. Hadn’t been fishing long and all of the sudden I make a cast and watch my swim bait and leader go flying through the air and complete weightlessness. Came disconnected at the knot. 
 

Now, I’m not saying I didn’t tie a bad knot (two times in a row). But what I AM saying is I’ve NEVER had that happen to me before with this knot. My theory is the really small guides are catching it and over time causing it to loosen and unravel. I went to a uni to uni and didn’t have anymore issues. Might try a blood knot too. Either way, would have been ticked if it was a vision 110 that went sailing on me. 
 

So I may have to adjust my knot usage on this rod. It is what it is if that’s the case. Other than that, extremely pleased with the rod and loving it. Sorry for all the words!

On 11/28/2021 at 8:02 AM, rangerjockey said:

Kistler has quit using the NFC blanks. At least they are assembled in Texas if that's what your looking for.

Rods arrived, no label showing Made in the USA? Did some searching. Shows the Helium blanks as made in Japan by Toray. I have no idea what I have bought. Anybody have the answer?