Steez Ags "The Sensor"

[jejenkyns]

Hey there,

 

Anyone have this rod? The stats look strange, MMH XF, metal stinger tip, 8-14lbs line, 1/8-3/4oz. Sounds like half BFS, half M+???

 

Anyways, looks really interesting to me. Would I be correct in assuming the sweet spot covers 3/8-5/8 or is that too generous? Is it sensitive? Or does the stinger tip sorta dull the sensitivity? Do you find it an accurate rod or is it difficult to target cast with?

 

Thanks!

[softwateronly]

2 hours ago, jejenkyns said:

Hey there,

 

Anyone have this rod? The stats look strange, MMH XF, metal stinger tip, 8-14lbs line, 1/8-3/4oz. Sounds like half BFS, half M+???

 

Anyways, looks really interesting to me. Would I be correct in assuming the sweet spot covers 3/8-5/8 or is that too generous? Is it sensitive? Or does the stinger tip sorta dull the sensitivity? Do you find it an accurate rod or is it difficult to target cast with?

 

Thanks!

I picked up a used one in December and unfortunately haven’t been able to fish it much yet. Took it to an unfrozen river and dragged a 1/4oz ned/jackal ishad around, cast well and felt everything.  Later fished a 1/2oz blade bait and felt my one and only bait as it was vacuumed off the bottom. Tip was very soft then transitioned into some solid backbone and the fish stayed pinned. The tackletour review was why I grabbed this rod and so far I feel like the review is very accurate. 
 

scott

[Shismano]

TLDR: Pros-Fun rod, does what any ML and M spinning rod can do and more with one rod. Cons- Weighs more than it should.

 

It was my main "Power BFS" rod last year. I have it setup with a Steez SV TW and lightweight AliExpress spools from Kawa and AMO. It can cast 1/32 jig & TRD with no issues with these spools. Though straight up a 1/8 oz lure, the rod wouldn't load as much, but you need a true UL BFS rod do that so I didn't care for it.

 

I like it for finesse bottom contact like lighter free rig, Tokyo rig and Texas rigged Neko. Also, works great with soft/hard jerk baits and topwater. If you like a soft tip to work those baits.

 

The tip is soft due to the SMT tip. I don't know if it makes a difference in terms of sensitivity, but more time on water will be needed. I might use it as visual indicator more like Tackle Tour suggested.

 

The rod might not be for everyone expecting an NRX+ 852c alternative, the 852c is way faster tip/stiffer/more backbone and it's more like M/MH.

 

IMO, the Sensor is more ML tip/M back bone. You can do what a ML and M bass spinning rod can and more with one rod. There's a time and place for a finesse bait caster with more efficient pitching, line management, and more powerful gear.

 

Negatives:

 

Balance point suffers with lighter reels, but the tip doesn't feel heavy at all.

 

IMO, it's heavy for a high-end medium power rod. It weighs 4.2oz, it should be 3.8oz or under. You may say, that's just a few oz/grams, but hey I'm spending $500+ I expect it to be top tier. The Glass and Graphite Rebellion rod that are longer, MH,non-AGS weighs the same.

 

 

[Tatulatard]

Solid tips are a unusual.  You either love them or hate them.  I'm on the fence myself. They do make for a very good strike indicator and for a bottom contact rod they can reduce the amount of movement the bait makes towards the angler with rod hops when the rod tip loads.  This can be good or bad depending on what you want. I like it.  Weight wise I like a heavier well balanced rod.  Give me a complete rod. More often than not the pursuit of super light weight yields rods that are unfinished without machined and anodized aluminum parts giving a decidedly low end and incomplete appearance often paired to a tip heavy balance.  The opposite of "high end' or "tip tier".  Aluminum winding checks and lock nuts give way to nothing at all or thread work at most.  See: the edge epitome abomination rod.  

[softwateronly]

1 hour ago, Shismano said:

TLDR: Pros-Fun rod, does what any ML and M spinning rod can do and more with one rod. Cons- Weighs more than it should.

 

It was my main "Power BFS" rod last year. I have it setup with a Steez SV TW and lightweight AliExpress spools from Kawa and AMO. It can cast 1/32 jig & TRD with no issues with these spools. Though straight up a 1/8 oz lure, the rod wouldn't load as much, but you need a true UL BFS rod do that so I didn't care for it.

 

I like it for finesse bottom contact like lighter free rig, Tokyo rig and Texas rigged Neko. Also, works great with soft/hard jerk baits and topwater. If you like a soft tip to work those baits.

 

The tip is soft due to the SMT tip. I don't know if it makes a difference in terms of sensitivity, but more time on water will be needed. I might use it as visual indicator more like Tackle Tour suggested.

 

The rod might not be for everyone expecting an NRX+ 852c alternative, the 852c is way faster tip/stiffer/more backbone and it's more like M/MH.

 

IMO, the Sensor is more ML tip/M back bone. You can do what a ML and M bass spinning rod can and more with one rod. There's a time and place for a finesse bait caster with more efficient pitching, line management, and more powerful gear.

 

Negatives:

 

Balance point suffers with lighter reels, but the tip doesn't feel heavy at all.

 

IMO, it's heavy for a high-end medium power rod. It weighs 4.2oz, it should be 3.8oz or under. You may say, that's just a few oz/grams, but hey I'm spending $500+ I expect it to be top tier. The Glass and Graphite Rebellion rod that are longer, MH,non-AGS weighs the same.

 

 

The sensor is my 2nd steez rod and neither it nor the power pitch have great balance. Both took some reel swapping to find a comfortable match. But once comfortable, I find them to be extremely sensitive and versatile rods, and some of my favorites. They seem like an ever so slight miss on high end production rods for the price to me because of this. 
 

scott 

[jejenkyns]

6 hours ago, softwateronly said:

The sensor is my 2nd steez rod and neither it nor the power pitch have great balance. Both took some reel swapping to find a comfortable match. But once comfortable, I find them to be extremely sensitive and versatile rods, and some of my favorites. They seem like an ever so slight miss on high end production rods for the price to me because of this. 
 

scott 

Thanks for sharing your experience Scott. I appreciate it. Sounds like 1/2oz is not problem, check. Just curious what the weight of the reel you ended up with was. I'm planning on pairing this with an MGL 150 most likely. I believe they weight around 6.5-6.8oz.

 

Thanks.

7 hours ago, Shismano said:

TLDR: Pros-Fun rod, does what any ML and M spinning rod can do and more with one rod. Cons- Weighs more than it should.

 

It was my main "Power BFS" rod last year. I have it setup with a Steez SV TW and lightweight AliExpress spools from Kawa and AMO. It can cast 1/32 jig & TRD with no issues with these spools. Though straight up a 1/8 oz lure, the rod wouldn't load as much, but you need a true UL BFS rod do that so I didn't care for it.

 

I like it for finesse bottom contact like lighter free rig, Tokyo rig and Texas rigged Neko. Also, works great with soft/hard jerk baits and topwater. If you like a soft tip to work those baits.

 

The tip is soft due to the SMT tip. I don't know if it makes a difference in terms of sensitivity, but more time on water will be needed. I might use it as visual indicator more like Tackle Tour suggested.

 

The rod might not be for everyone expecting an NRX+ 852c alternative, the 852c is way faster tip/stiffer/more backbone and it's more like M/MH.

 

IMO, the Sensor is more ML tip/M back bone. You can do what a ML and M bass spinning rod can and more with one rod. There's a time and place for a finesse bait caster with more efficient pitching, line management, and more powerful gear.

 

Negatives:

 

Balance point suffers with lighter reels, but the tip doesn't feel heavy at all.

 

IMO, it's heavy for a high-end medium power rod. It weighs 4.2oz, it should be 3.8oz or under. You may say, that's just a few oz/grams, but hey I'm spending $500+ I expect it to be top tier. The Glass and Graphite Rebellion rod that are longer, MH,non-AGS weighs the same.

 

 

Thanks alot for sharing your experience! I'm unsure about a stinger tip as I've never owned a rod with that design before, but I must say, I have been intruigued for sometime and was considering importing a Steez Firewolf for awhile. What size weights are you throwing with your free rigs and tokyo rigs? Curious what those rigs might weigh in your case. 

 

I've never owned a Loomis rod but they do make an 802C that looks pretty interesting to me. The specs on those look strange to me as well. What weight range do you normally throw on a 2 powered Loomis rod by chance?

 

Honestly my most used rods are a ML and various M casting rods and the idea that I might be able to just bring one rod out to cover both powers is incredibly intruiging.

 

I'm not as concerned about the weight if it isn't tip heavy, but ideally I'm throwing about a 6.5oz reel on this thing.

 

Thanks again.

7 hours ago, Tatulatard said:

Solid tips are a unusual.  You either love them or hate them.  I'm on the fence myself. They do make for a very good strike indicator and for a bottom contact rod they can reduce the amount of movement the bait makes towards the angler with rod hops when the rod tip loads.  This can be good or bad depending on what you want. I like it.  Weight wise I like a heavier well balanced rod.  Give me a complete rod. More often than not the pursuit of super light weight yields rods that are unfinished without machined and anodized aluminum parts giving a decidedly low end and incomplete appearance often paired to a tip heavy balance.  The opposite of "high end' or "tip tier".  Aluminum winding checks and lock nuts give way to nothing at all or thread work at most.  See: the edge epitome abomination rod.  

Never owned one myself and I'm a bit skeptical. I've heard they can be very innacurate due to the backbone not loading correctly despite the tip. Probably depends on the particular rod though. Thanks for your help!

[jejenkyns]

Anyone tried 5/8 total weight on this thing? If I could do 3/8 to 5/8 comfortably I'm sold.

[softwateronly]

33 minutes ago, jejenkyns said:

Anyone tried 5/8 total weight on this thing? If I could do 3/8 to 5/8 comfortably I'm sold.

Yes. Should have wrote earlier that I also threw a 3/4oz blade bait. Tip is soft but certainly enough rod there to handle 3/4oz. 
 

I have mine paired up to a jdm zillion G which I think comes in around 6.4oz. Balances on the front of the lock nut. 
 

I’m really looking forward to pushing it around when I finally get time on the water; finesse jigs, neds, mojo rigs, t-rigs, blades, square bills, jerks, tail spinners, spybaits. It feels really versatile to me. 
 

scott

[Bandersnatch]

8 hours ago, softwateronly said:

The sensor is my 2nd steez rod and neither it nor the power pitch have great balance. Both took some reel swapping to find a comfortable match. But once comfortable, I find them to be extremely sensitive and versatile rods, and some of my favorites. They seem like an ever so slight miss on high end production rods for the price to me because of this. 
 

scott 

I’m not here to be daiwa fan boy but try comparing this to an 893 or 894 NRX. You need a brick reel to balance them. I found that the overall steez package weighed less than my 893/894 because the difference between a 7.2 and 6.1 oz reel. 

[softwateronly]

26 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

I’m not here to be daiwa fan boy but try comparing this to an 893 or 894 NRX. You need a brick reel to balance them. I found that the overall steez package weighed less than my 893/894 because the difference between a 7.2 and 6.1 oz reel. 

Im with you, they’re great rods. Better than my conquest in almost all things. The power pitch is the one that really loves a heavier reel, once I threw a bantam on there it became my favorite jig rod. Anything lighter just limited all the perceived benefits of a high price rod.  I feel like a 1/2” forward placement of the reel seat would open it up to many more reels for me.  
 

 

scott

[Shismano]

6 hours ago, jejenkyns said:

Thanks for sharing your experience Scott. I appreciate it. Sounds like 1/2oz is not problem, check. Just curious what the weight of the reel you ended up with was. I'm planning on pairing this with an MGL 150 most likely. I believe they weight around 6.5-6.8oz.

 

Thanks.

Thanks alot for sharing your experience! I'm unsure about a stinger tip as I've never owned a rod with that design before, but I must say, I have been intruigued for sometime and was considering importing a Steez Firewolf for awhile. What size weights are you throwing with your free rigs and tokyo rigs? Curious what those rigs might weigh in your case. 

 

I've never owned a Loomis rod but they do make an 802C that looks pretty interesting to me. The specs on those look strange to me as well. What weight range do you normally throw on a 2 powered Loomis rod by chance?

 

Honestly my most used rods are a ML and various M casting rods and the idea that I might be able to just bring one rod out to cover both powers is incredibly intruiging.

 

I'm not as concerned about the weight if it isn't tip heavy, but ideally I'm throwing about a 6.5oz reel on this thing.

 

Thanks again.

Never owned one myself and I'm a bit skeptical. I've heard they can be very innacurate due to the backbone not loading correctly despite the tip. Probably depends on the particular rod though. Thanks for your help!

 

 

I've thrown 1/4oz weight + plastic on The Sensor. I think it weighed under 3/4 oz total. I like using braid to leader, so hitting hook sets is fine even on a wide gap VMC hook on Tokyo Rigs. My go to around weed edges is 1/4 Tokyo Rig with a Missile Bait 6.5" Quiver worm, so probably weights around 5/8oz and it doesn't feel stressed.

 

Like @softwateronly, I've thrown 1/2+ Blade baits last fall and it handle well. It may of sling out these baits further because how catapults baits with that soft tip. I have a Steez "The One" though it's spinning, it has decent power and consider the Sensor to have a bit more power too. Both covers all my finesse fishing needs, of course I add an NRX+ 872s for even more fun.

 

The Sensor balances fine with mide 6oz reel. I might try it with an Alphas SV TW with a KKR spool on the way, since it palms the best.

 

The new NRX+ are pretty powerful, the 872+ is my long cast drop shot. I typically use 3/8oz to 1/2 tungsten with Robo worms or wacky Yum Dingers. I like fishing it more like Carolina Rig. I don't own an 852s or 852c, I'm sure it's the same blank for S or C. My buddy has an 852s, it's a touch more powerful than the 872s. Call me crazy, but I've fished 3/4 weights on finesse Tokyo rigs with a small paddle tail and casting into 20+mph wind. It was the only way to reach Smallmouths in heavy current/wind. I reeled it back like a Biffle Head and banged rocks with it. The rod felt fine, but I tend load and test the rod over their ratings. I'm that guy that fishes 2.0oz DRT TKs on 7'2 MH Zodias rods that's rated for 1oz max.

[jejenkyns]

Thanks everyone. So I just ordered my Sensor rod. I'm pretty excited to fish it next week! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[LonnieP]

On 3/23/2023 at 12:08 PM, softwateronly said:

The sensor is my 2nd steez rod and neither it nor the power pitch have great balance. Both took some reel swapping to find a comfortable match. But once comfortable, I find them to be extremely sensitive and versatile rods, and some of my favorites. They seem like an ever so slight miss on high end production rods for the price to me because of this. 
 

scott 

I put a 22 Zillion HD on my new Power Pitch and it balances nicely. I think it weighs 7.1

[softwateronly]

2 hours ago, LonnieP said:

I put a 22 Zillion HD on my new Power Pitch and it balances nicely. I think it weighs 7.1

 

Are you the new bait monkey?  This site is expensive!  Seriously though, that's great to know.  I put my HD on a tequila bacarrac and haven't looked back.  If I wanna switch it up, that's where I was thinking.  The 6oz reels just felt off to me, probably just a personal preference.  Great rod though, absolutely has the perfect action for fishing jigs in cover.

 

scott

[jejenkyns]

On 3/23/2023 at 11:32 AM, Shismano said:

TLDR: Pros-Fun rod, does what any ML and M spinning rod can do and more with one rod. Cons- Weighs more than it should.

 

It was my main "Power BFS" rod last year. I have it setup with a Steez SV TW and lightweight AliExpress spools from Kawa and AMO. It can cast 1/32 jig & TRD with no issues with these spools. Though straight up a 1/8 oz lure, the rod wouldn't load as much, but you need a true UL BFS rod do that so I didn't care for it.

 

I like it for finesse bottom contact like lighter free rig, Tokyo rig and Texas rigged Neko. Also, works great with soft/hard jerk baits and topwater. If you like a soft tip to work those baits.

 

The tip is soft due to the SMT tip. I don't know if it makes a difference in terms of sensitivity, but more time on water will be needed. I might use it as visual indicator more like Tackle Tour suggested.

 

The rod might not be for everyone expecting an NRX+ 852c alternative, the 852c is way faster tip/stiffer/more backbone and it's more like M/MH.

 

IMO, the Sensor is more ML tip/M back bone. You can do what a ML and M bass spinning rod can and more with one rod. There's a time and place for a finesse bait caster with more efficient pitching, line management, and more powerful gear.

 

Negatives:

 

Balance point suffers with lighter reels, but the tip doesn't feel heavy at all.

 

IMO, it's heavy for a high-end medium power rod. It weighs 4.2oz, it should be 3.8oz or under. You may say, that's just a few oz/grams, but hey I'm spending $500+ I expect it to be top tier. The Glass and Graphite Rebellion rod that are longer, MH,non-AGS weighs the same.

 

 

well I bought one and it is indeed much heavier than I expected. Feels best with a 7oz reel to me right now. Love the action though. These are just impressions from holding the rod after it arrived. Can't wait to get it out on the water tomorrow.