Lews Mach 2 bait cast combo

[jr231]

I'm looking for a little insight on this. Any input at all is appreciated. 

[fishnkamp]

That is a relatively new offering. It looks like Lews decided to make a run into the realm Abu Garcia has owned for many years with their Black Max and Silver Max combos.  They have made it a modern looking combo with its cool appearance.  There are some performance pieces used on that rod. First if you have never had a rod in your hand with a set of Winn grips they are great. They are made by Winn, which makes tons of golf club grips. The grips will feel a touch sticky to your hands and stay that way when wet or cold.  I had two G Loomis spinning rods stripped and rebuilt using these grips in a "natural" color.  I love them.  The rod has "airwave" guides on it. These are special guides, in fact the first guide has a double guide built together, one big one tiny) and it was designed to quickly straighten the line coming off your reel immediately assuring no rod/line slap and greater casting distance. These are premier guides. That is what i can tell you from the parts and pieces side. Unfortunately I have not had one in my hand yet, so I can not tell you how it feels or fishes. I can say my friend Kris had a custom spinning rod built with those guides on it and he is amazed by how well it casts. Lews is well known for building a good reel and has built a rod using top notch components.   So I would expect it to be a good solid performer. If you get it come back and tell us what you think of it. Apparently they have at least 2 gear ratios and rod combos

Here is a picture of one of my G loomis rods I had redone. If you look closely it looks like cork but you will recognise the Winn pattern that looks carved in it.This was originally a full cork handle. It is now much lighter and better balanced as well.

[j bab]

Go for it.

In my opinion it's a great combo. You get the cool factor from the green accents and the Winn grips, but more importantly I believe that Lew's reels are good for the money and you should get years of fishing out of that combo.

[Robert Riley]

I've been selling them very well at my F&S. I've been recommending it as a great "next step combo" for people that have already gotten their first casting setup. What I've found is the best selling point of this combo is that it is a truly fast rod, it's definitely a heavy stick for a combo rod. In my store, it's really the black sheep of the combos. 

Salesmanship aside, if its quality is anything like the mach 1 combo, it should be great. I got one for my fishing buddy for his bday, but we haven't been able to get it out on the water yet. I can't say much about the rod, but it looks to me that the reel is just the speed spool turned "SLP." With that knowledge, search around these forums for info on the speed spool if you haven't read all about it already. 

If you don't mind me asking, what are you looking to pay for it? I've seen the price range from 139.99 to 179.99. We're selling it for 169.99 at my store. 

[jr231]

My girlfriend bought it for me.. for 159 (I think) . I don't have it yet. It's for Christmas. 

[fishnkamp]

That rig will work fine. You have a terrific gf. Make sure you take care of her. My girlfriend never fished before we started dating. She is addicted to smallies, now we dated all through high school,& college  ( a total of ten years) and have been married for over 28 years. I had to keep her she was a good catch!!!

[jr231]

10 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

That rig will work fine. You have a terrific gf. Make sure you take care of her. My girlfriend never fished before we started dating. She is addicted to smallies, now we dated all through high school,& college  ( a total of ten years) and have been married for over 28 years. I had to keep her she was a good catch!!!

That's pretty Awesome. Mine likes to fish, as long as we are on the fish and stay on em... ha-ha. Ill take her crappie fishing with small minnows. She likes that alot. 

 

[Looking for the big one]

I'm personally not a fan of the bright green handle, it seems kind of gaudy in my opinion. That's just aesthetics though, it doesn't matter what I think, and the fish don't care either. I have yet to find a bad Lew's product, and hope that this one follows that trend.