Lew's Team Signature Andy Montgomery skipping rod

[Fishin Dad]

Any opinions from those who have used this rod.   Specifically the 7’1” version.  I can’t seem to find much for reviews on them.  I have seen anywhere from  “horrible broomstick” to “awesome for skipping”.   Nothing really in depth or from anyone I trust like Bassresource.   
Please comment if you have fished this model.   Thanks in advance!

 

Fishin Dad

[dodgeguy]

 

[RW]

I just got the shorter Montgomery rod from midway a few days ago for I think $130 ish bucks on sale. I was hoping to handle one before buying but at that price I was forced to buy it…

 

Just put a reel on it today as a matter of fact. I have not fished with it yet. Tied on a 1/2 ounce jig with a baby dbomb trailer to get a feel for it.  I think it will load fine with that. It looks sharp. Not as nice as an Expride or a rebellion but I think nicer than a tatula elite as far as looks and feel. It’s got around 15% flex I think. 
 

I’ll try it out when the weather gets in the 50’s and post here afterwards. All of my other jig rods are over 7’. I’m vertically challenged, so I hope it makes it easier for me to skip. 
 

[Fishin Dad]

19 hours ago, RW said:

I just got the shorter Montgomery rod from midway a few days ago for I think $130 ish bucks on sale. I was hoping to handle one before buying but at that price I was forced to buy it…

 

Just put a reel on it today as a matter of fact. I have not fished with it yet. Tied on a 1/2 ounce jig with a baby dbomb trailer to get a feel for it.  I think it will load fine with that. It looks sharp. Not as nice as an Expride or a rebellion but I think nicer than a tatula elite as far as looks and feel. It’s got around 15% flex I think. 
 

I’ll try it out when the weather gets in the 50’s and post here afterwards. All of my other jig rods are over 7’. I’m vertically challenged, so I hope it makes it easier for me to skip. 
 

Thanks RW!   Post up when you get a chance to give it a try!   Hope you love it. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

What is it about a rod that makes it a “skipping “ rod?

[dodgeguy]

A tip that loads nice with a good backbone. What makes any rod technique specific ? We will never get 2 guys to agree.thats why I think labeling rods for techniques is misleading. I prefer the old way of length then action then lure weight.

47 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

What is it about a rod that makes it a “skipping “ rod?

 

[suzuki2903]

Skipping rods will have a shorter handle and is a short length rod  with a strong back bone as well… needed? Not always but a they have a rod for everything nowadays. 

[Fishin Dad]

11 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

What is it about a rod that makes it a “skipping “ rod?

I understand what you are saying.   It is just there is no standard in the industry to know exactly how a rod feels without using them all.  I know I could read the rod deflection numbers, power, action, weight, etc., but I would prefer to know how it fishes in hand with someone who may skip docks a lot as well.  I like a softer tip to load up but something that transitions to backbone to get them out.   I know this is subjective, but I value opinions on here.    I own 25-30 casting rods, but would like to narrow down my next rod purchase(s) to try to get one close to what I may like.  
I figured if Lews made a rod, with input from the best skipping pro in the biz, it should be appropriate for the job.   I saw it on sale and thought I may try it, but wanted input.   
I just didn’t want another rod if people say it was not great for the job I intended it for.  
Y’All let me know if you know of a rod that you feel is a great skipping rod.   Thanks.  

[RW]

That is exactly what I was thinking and my situation. An extra problem for me is that I am short. I have several nice jig rods but they are over 7’.  They don’t work well for me skipping. Also, My boat is a tin vexus. I don’t think it sits very high off the water. 

 

In Montomery’s skipping video with Evers, Evers wants to skip better and asks Andy for advice. Evers has two rods, a shorter rod and a longer rod that he normally used for skipping. Andy told him because he is short, he will be much better off with the shorter rod. Evers chose to listen to him and use that shorter rod. Evers admits that it is easier for him with the shorter rod and he thought he was more accurate. Although Andy was sort of promoting his rods, Evers was not using one. He had rods with the right action as described by Andy in the video. I think it was a good video from someone that is considered one of the best at skipping.

 

The reason I bought that rod was there are not that many shorter rods with the action needed. I got it at at great price and figured it would be worth a try. 

 

[FrnkNsteen]

I agree that some of the technique specific descriptions can be a little misleading. For instance, I have have a few different rods that are labeled as "Spinnerbait" rods and I don't use any of them for spinnerbaits. In my opinion, most of them have too soft of a tip for me and I end up using them for other things.

 

In the case of Andy Montgomery signature Skipping Rod, he has a few different videos I liked, one was a short youtube vidwo he did with Edwin Evers where they talked about skipping. The other was a 1/2 hour episode for a fishing show where he talked about his skipping jig and Skipn Buzz buzzbaits.

 

In both cases, he described his opinion of a good skipping eod as a 6'10" - 7'1" MH Fast rod that has a soft tip that loads quickly to a good strong backbone. He described that he liked a rod with the soft tip being in the upper 20% of the rod with quick transition to an 80% backbone.

[NavyToad]

I bought the 7’1” model last summer hoping to learn to skip lures. Using a Tatula SV, I was able to skip lures accurately and without too many backlashes within a couple days. As a skipping rod it has worked well for me and I’d hardly consider it a broomstick. The rod is good quality and I like the Wynn grip handle. I started in open water just getting the cast angle right to where the bait would skip and went from there. I’m a huge Andy Montgomery fan and took his word for it that this rod would be good for skipping. I wasn’t disappointed and I don’t think you would be either.

[Deleted account]

On 1/26/2023 at 10:47 PM, RW said:

It’s got around 15% flex I think. 

 

ChatGPT, what does this mean?...

[RW]

Not sure what chat gpt is. I meant that around  15% of rod length flexes with moderate load. 

[bulldog1935]

17 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

What is it about a rod that makes it a “skipping “ rod?

 

16 hours ago, dodgeguy said:

A tip that loads nice with a good backbone. What makes any rod technique specific ? We will never get 2 guys to agree.thats why I think labeling rods for techniques is misleading. I prefer the old way of length then action then lure weight.

 

@dodgeguy nailed it here. 

I'm usually skipping under cypress overhang in wide spots in rivers from a kayak. 

The rods I found best for this are pretty fast with the flex in the tip. 

this load curve is a 6' graphite MH (that close kayak stuff) rated 5/8 to 1 oz. 

[Fishin Dad]

1 hour ago, NavyToad said:

I bought the 7’1” model last summer hoping to learn to skip lures. Using a Tatula SV, I was able to skip lures accurately and without too many backlashes within a couple days. As a skipping rod it has worked well for me and I’d hardly consider it a broomstick. The rod is good quality and I like the Wynn grip handle. I started in open water just getting the cast angle right to where the bait would skip and went from there. I’m a huge Andy Montgomery fan and took his word for it that this rod would be good for skipping. I wasn’t disappointed and I don’t think you would be either.

Thanks NavyToad!   That’s what I wanted to hear.  I found the rod for $123 so I might give it a go and add it to the arsenal.   I skip docks and trees a lot in our lakes.  I LOVE the Tatula SV!   I have 4 of them and two Zillion SV now.  I tried the Lew’s SP (Skip and Pitch) and didn’t like it at all compared to the Tatula.   I still have it, but use it more for pitching than skipping now.  I actually much prefer the Tatula over the new Zillion SV.   I love the old Zillion SV though.  

Thanks for the feedback and good skipping to ya!!