G_money Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 Hey fellas, just wanted to give an update on this, because well this is really cool and unusual: Cousins Tackle a Saltwater company is just rolling out bass rods this year. They have some of their entry and mid-level rods up on TW right now if you're interested. Rods are rolled and hand built in Orange County, CA. I called to inquire about getting one of their new high modulus Xi rods, which aren't out yet...just had some questions. And long story short spoke with their chief rod designer and owners Wade Cunningham. He previously designed and built rods for Shikari (who use to produce really nice blanks for custom builders, Fenwick, and others. Anyways he told me would build me one custom since they aren't out yet...just the designs and specs. So I'll keep you guys updated, should have the rod in a few weeks. Needless to say being a tackle junkie, I'm pretty stoked!! And when he said these should be very similar to the old high modulus Shikari's...well I was sold! I've never had customer service so straightforward and pleasant to deal with. If anything I am extremely picky and objective on rods, so I will see it will be going up against NRX, GLX, and NFC HM graphite rods in my arsenal. Can't wait to put it through the paces! Tight lines 3 Quote
Super User kickerfish1 Posted January 27, 2015 Super User Posted January 27, 2015 Sounds good. Check back again when you receive the rod and fish it. Simple clean build or tricked out with "the fancy stuff"? Quote
G_money Posted January 27, 2015 Author Posted January 27, 2015 Sounds good. Check back again when you receive the rod and fish it. Simple clean build or tricked out with "the fancy stuff"? Since the rod's have already been prototyped for a few shows this winter, and all that, the amount of customization was limited. Which is fair because it isn't a custom rod; it's just the first one they've built for sale. They did let me pick the guide size though (size 6 running guides with 5.5 tip top)...they didn't go micro but kind of tweener, their rods will have size 5's on them. Oh and the guides are Fuji titanium guide tangle free alconites, basically the only better guide is the same frame with SiC inserts...but at $300 that's a really solid guide. I may see if they'll put a cork foregrip on it, but I don't care either way. It has some new Fuji seat that isn't even available for custom builders yet. Quote
Hogsticker Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 Similar to Shikari eh? We shall see. Didn't Gary Loomis buy all the Shikari mandrels when they went out of business? Did this guy design blanks for them or just build rods? Good choice on the guides. 1 Quote
G_money Posted January 27, 2015 Author Posted January 27, 2015 Similar to Shikari eh? We shall see. Didn't Gary Loomis buy all the Shikari mandrels when they went out of business? Did this guy design blanks for them or just build rods? Good choice on the guides. I don't want to give wrong information, so I'll preface this with I'm not positive but: I believe he designed blanks for Sage, Seeker, Shakari, and Fenwick. There is a link to a cool video on western bass in the spring 2014 mag. Quote
SDbassin Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Have you tried out any of the im-8 rods yet? Thinking of maybe picking one up and seeing how it compares to my micro magic and avid x Quote
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