First Take: Cashion Icon FFS

[Koz]

My new 7' 4" Cashion Icon FFS M/F spinning rod came in today and I have to say I'm impressed. I paired it with a new Daiwa Procyon AL LT spinning reel.

 

Most of my arsenal is comprised of Exprides and various St. Croix baitcasters. In fact, before today I had only one spinning combo, a ML/S Falcon rod that I used for mainly drop shots. That soft tip on combo didn't do a good job with jig head minnows.

 

But this Cashion rod really imparts the proper action when shaking a minnow and does it with minimal movement. It's light, and compared with that Daiwa it doesn't wear me out when shaking a minnow. The rod is designed to handle light jig heads and baits that are all the rage with FFS fishing. The diameter of the tip end is really, really small. I worry about breaking it off if I'm navigating under trees. I'm really going to have to watch out, especially since this rod is 7' 4" and most of my rods are 7' and 7' 2".

 

The grips are comfortable and not bulky at all, another reason why it didn't wear me out while I was constantly shaking the bait. It also casted well (as did the Daiwa with 10 pound braid) with what I was throwing. It will be interesting to see how it handles the lighter and smaller jig heads and baits.

 

After setting it up today I fished off my dock for about 30 minutes with a Dirty Jigs head and a 5" Damiki Armor Shad. The bass were once again blowing up beyond my casting distance, but I did hook up with one fish but didn't land it. It was actually quite odd because I neve felt the fish hit the bait. As I was shaking the minnow I felt tension in the line and reeled down. The fish came straight at me barely pulling, But when it did pull a little I realized I hadn't set enough drag and as the fish was near the dock it made a run looped back and the line slacked and I lost it. It never came to the surface so I assume it was probably just a 2 pound catfish.

 

Anyway, I really like this rod and the reel as well. I'm going to try and get out on my kayak this weekend and put them both through their paces. If I still like it in a week, the next time I need a baitcasting rod I'll try another Cashion.

[softwateronly]

@Koz  I've had good hook up luck by just reeling faster into the drag while slowly lifting the rod.  If I pulled it out of her mouth, the extra speed, rise in the water column, and then deceleration as I go back to my tempo often gets them right back on it.  Congrats on the rod, hope you get to break it in with a biggun soon.

 

scott