Victory Is Near

[A-Jay]

1 minute ago, Glenn said:

 

Well??

 

LOL @Glenn ~ 

 I'm going to take more time on the water with them before I go total Tackle Tour Review.

However, here's a small sample of my initial thoughts from on the water 2 days ago:

Fish Hard

A-Jay

[WRB]

I kept my sons Phenix finesse spinning rod for a drop shot rod. The last trip the Tennessee handle was flexing the cork indication it was worn out so decided to retire it.

I pick up  SC Victory 6’10 MLXF rod last week and plan to fish next week.

I really like the handle design being cork and overall workmanship of this rod. The rod weighs 3.2 oz, very light and well balance with a Stradic 1000 reel. Always read SC rods were higher power then rating. The Victory MLXF is over rated in power, tip is very soft and a would have been happier with Medium power.

I will fish it and let actual on the water use determine how the rod performs with drop shot.

Tom

 

 

[Glenn]

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I'm going to take more time on the water with them before I go total Tackle Tour Review.

However, here's a small sample of my initial thoughts from on the water 2 days ago:

 

Oh just a few 5+ pound smallies in one day?  That's all?  LOL!  Man, you're an animal on the water!  

 

I'm trying to figure out which Victory rod I want to get, so this is helping me decide.

 

Thanks!

Glenn

 

[A-Jay]

17 minutes ago, Glenn said:

 

Oh just a few 5+ pound smallies in one day?  That's all?  LOL!  Man, you're an animal on the water!  

 

I'm trying to figure out which Victory rod I want to get, so this is helping me decide.

 

Thanks!

Glenn

 

Thanks and you're Welcome ~

Get them all !

A-Jay

[Bluebasser86]

Score another one for the Victory "Full Contact Finesse".

[WRB]

Today’s outing with my spinning drop shot rod MLXF, 6’10”.

Very nervous with this rods tip being very soft. The rod performs well with 1/8 oz finesse drop shot 6” wacky hook Robo straight tail worms. The feed back is excellent however firm left hook set is needed to load this rod. 7 bass between 2 to 3 lbs the rod handles this size bass easily. 

Tom

[UNC1078]

Thanks for that report Tom. I am thinking about picking up the 6'10" ML as a dedicated 1/15 oz ned rig rod.  I currently use a Megabass Addermine for that purpose, which feels a bit overpowered for such a light bait. I can't really feel the bait with the Addermine.

 

I have tossed this size ned rig on an ultralight rod before and loved that I could actually feel the bait.  But I want more backbone so I am hoping that the St croix victory 6'10" will fit the bill - allowing me to get better feel without lacking backbone.

[CountryboyinDC]

I finally got to fish my Victory (7'1 MH/F) enough to have some opinions on it.

1. Definitely less powerful than my 7' MH/F and 7'MH/XF Avids.  Today's fish seemed to only want 1 bait, a 3.3 Keitech Fat Impact on a keel weighted hook.  This is still on the light side for this rod.  I use a Falcon Finese Jig rod (6'10 MH/F) that loads much better for this, as do several rated medium power.  The power may be appreciated if I actually hooked a fish that challenged it, but I didn't.  The one here is my largest caught on the Victory (I got one slightly bigger, 15" on a finese jig that I missed with the Keitech, but 12-14" fish were on the menu today).  I have limited time dragging a Carolina rig with a 3/4 oz sinker on another outing, and that seemed right at this rod's limits.

2.  The 2 piece reel seat didn't bother me today.  Then again, I wasn't reeling a crankbait for hours, dragging a C-rig across a grid, or anything like that.  You have to pick up your paddle often where I was today, so you are constantly putting the rod down for that.  The EVA may look kind of cheesy, but it seems functional.  

3.  The guides, which I thought would be crappy (they're some aluminum oxide ring), didn't bother me in the least.  So maybe Alconite (and definitely Torzite) are wasted on me.

4.  Sensitivity - I had high expectations for this rod, particularly given it's weight.  Not NRX sensitive, but noticeably more so than the Avids.  I didn't find that to be the case.  In fact I missed several fish that anecdotally I feel I would have realized were bites with other rods.  Maybe it's me getting used to wearing sun gloves, the EVA around the reel seat, or my imagination.  But I was getting frustrated at one point about it, then I started landing a few.

 

No giants, just some respectable smallies living the hard life in the riffles of the South Fork of the Shenandoah. 

[WRB]

TReturned the VS610MLXF for the VS71MF, be aware of the soft 10” tip action.

 

Tom

[NorthernBasser]

Does anyone have a list of the models that will be coming out later this year? I could've sworn I saw it posted somewhere. 

[HookInMouth]

Anyone have experience with both the Grunt and Marshall? Looking to maybe add a Victory rod for 1/4 - 3/8 Texas-Rig and not sure which one would serve better. They seem similar and I haven't been able to lay hands on them locally.