Ike's new rod.... baitmonkey is going to kill for this one

[fatmanslim247]

http://www.tackletour.com/previewabugarciaveritas.html

I like it, Abu Garcia is going to cause me to go broke

[Dan:]

I don't get it. Another value priced rod? Why? Make a cool looking rod with a really good blank and great components!

Also, I don't think I like the white. Looks too much like a wal-mart catfish special

[Paul Roberts]

Looks like manufacturers have recognized that that is the price range to shoot for. With the insurgence of Japanese tackle I've seen pricing go through the roof. Even looked like companies have been testing how far they can go (think Steez). Now that our wallets have been stretched, it appears the horizon has been fathomed. Couple this with the present economy, and "value" appears to matter to more anglers.

I've seen the first graphites hit the market and watched prices drop on the older technology, making really good fishing rods available to the masses. IM6 beats glass hands down in so many ways. And of late, I've watched the Loomis edge fade, as new rods have appeared that begin to compare, for half the cost.

As interest in high performance rods continues, production has boomed. There are SO MANY good rods out there. I'm looking to see production techniques and sales volume continue to meet the interests of anglers -high performance sticks for less money.

With the BPS Carbonlite hitting the racks this winter, I expect to see more. I'm certainly willing to look at them.

As to the Veritas, I love the white -very cool. But...I'm not going to own one bc of the type of fishing I do a lot of -clear shallow pressured water, where bass turn inside out at the flash of line, much less a white rod. I had always thought if the Carrot Sticks end up being that light and sensitive and a good deal, I'd buy one and spray paint it black. My rods are for use, not show.

[SWMIBASSER]

Ignoring gloss, which a black rod can have, white is much less visible under water looking up, than black is.

I guess if you wanted to be that picky you could paint all your rods primer gray, or matte baby blue.

Just sayin'

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

Seems similar to the argument for camouflage clothing

as opposed to bright colors. Although I prefer greys,

khaki, and greens, the pros find a way to snag a few

wearing bright yellows, red and even white with

audacious patches!

I don't think it makes a bit of difference what you

wear or the color of a rod. The fish don't care.

8-)

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I don't get it. Another value priced rod? Why? Make a cool looking rod with a really good blank and great components!

Also, I don't think I like the white. Looks too much like a wal-mart catfish special

What are your thoughts on AJ's new swimbait rod purchased from RedlineRobert? :-?

I think the white ABU is badass. Just hope the rod fishes as nice as it looks....

Now the question will be, which reel to pair up with it?

[roadwarrior]

I thought that was a combo? The total was

less than the cost of the reel and the rod

was basically free.

:-/

[NewAngler]

I think the contrast between an all white rod, and all black reel would be sickly. But I dig color contrasts, others will have different opinions. Who knows, maybe Abu will come out with a ghost reel or something...

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I thought that was a combo? The total was

less than the cost of the reel and the rod

was basically free.

:-/

I was referring to the color of the rod in the OP.

Not long ago, there was a big rush to find an orange or black reel to pair up with the Carrot Stix.

Now, other than the old stradics, where have you seen a production white reel?

[Pantera61]

I thought that was a combo? The total was

less than the cost of the reel and the rod

was basically free.

:-/

I was referring to the color of the rod in the OP.

Not long ago, there was a big rush to find an orange or black reel to pair up with the Carrot Stix.

Now, other than the old stradics, where have you seen a production white reel?

It matches reel well with the new Revo Premier and the STX and the Revo Elite.

[J Francho]

I thought that was a combo? The total was

less than the cost of the reel and the rod

was basically free.

:-/

I was referring to the color of the rod in the OP.

Not long ago, there was a big rush to find an orange or black reel to pair up with the Carrot Stix.

Now, other than the old stradics, where have you seen a production white reel?

Put one of these on it....

[b.Lee]

I like it! They are doing what they can for the economy.  And I am sure Mike will refine it over the next year

[KYntucky Warmouth]

Again I say, at least they had the sense to use foam instead of cork

[Tin]

Again I say, at least they had the sense to use foam instead of cork

x2   

Looks...p, i, m, p.

[Paul Roberts]

Ignoring gloss, which a black rod can have, white is much less visible under water looking up, than black is.

I guess if you wanted to be that picky you could paint all your rods primer gray, or matte baby blue.

Just sayin'

That's only if it's against the sky. But there's MUCH more to it than that for me.

When sight fishing for bass in very clear water, mono lines flashing in the air can turn fish inside out. It's not as big as line landing on the water, bc sun angle varies. But, I've seen it, and have gone to braid for sight fishing, which doesn't flash, and even more importantly, it lands like cotton thread. Rod motion scares fish too I've seen this. Rod color probably matters depending on sun angle and background. I fish from shore a lot and a white rod is gonna stand out against shorelines. If you are able to stand directly over a shallow fish (like a spawner who isn't going anywhere) then the issue is already moot. But I've seen more than enough to make me realize that bass CAN see us, and respond adversely.

Some examples:

Line flash scares shallow fish. I came to this first in fly-fishing. Fly-lines are brightly colored to aid in casting. I found they absolutely freaked shallow fish out. So I began dying my fly-lines dark and the difference is HUGE. I've seen it with trout, bass, stripers, and false albacore.

Shallow bass CAN see you, and it can make a BIG difference. I know this from a bunch of experiences. The most telling are during my spring spawn checks when I re-visit the same bass every other day for the duration of the spawn. They can see me very well. They can see my subtle movements, and they react to my presence in a particular way, which ended up interesting, but altered their behavior. I took to wearing drab clothing. The few times I went in a bright white or bright yellow shirt, they spied me way too quickly. With drab clothes I could use shoreline cover or topography to approach much more closely undetected. Bass can see VERY well when they are in shallow clear water, and they can see out of the water too.

Casting motion can scare or put fish off. When I'm casting to a sighted fish close up under bright conditions I have found that side-arm casting can make or break a given fish. Some fish, and I'm not talking about spawners locked on a bed, if they see the rod motion, will bolt from the shallows. As to rod color, I don't really know, all my rods are carbon gray or brown. But from what I've seen, I'm not going to buy a white or yellow rod that flashes in the sun on a cast (thinking about my experiences with fly-lines in this), or one that stands out against shadows, trees, or steep shorelines.

If a bass sees you but doesn't bolt, will it care? They sure can. One day several years ago, I spotted four large LMs holding along a shoreline of a large pond. This was late June well past the spawn. A couple other anglers said they wouldn't bite anything. I approached quietly, but somewhat visibly, and tried several things including 4 wacky'd finesse worms, plastic craws, and a swimming worm, to no avail. I noticed though that when I approached, the bass would react to my presence, but subtly. Their erect fins would sag a bit, and they'd drop a bit lower in the water column they sulked. They saw me, and appeared to care. SoI rotated back through each fish and approached low to the water's edge and kept hidden behind shoreline brush. Casting was difficult from behind bushes but the bass did not see me, and did not sulk. And I caught three of the four bass. Two tipped up for the swimming worm on the first cast like a trout coming up for a dry fly. Number three took the worm on the second cast. She was interested but turned away on the first. And took the worm killed and twitched on the second. The fourth had moved and spotted me on my attempted approach, and she vacated. The bass I lipped were two 19s and a 20 top fish in this water.

Hmm...

Seems similar to the argument for camouflage clothing

as opposed to bright colors. Although I prefer greys,

khaki, and greens, the pros find a way to snag a few

wearing bright yellows, red and even white with

audacious patches!

I don't think it makes a bit of difference what you

wear or the color of a rod. The fish don't care.

If KVD is already standing up tall in a 20ft bright yellow bass boat you are probably right, clothing, or rod color, won't matter much. He's also lucky he's got all those logos to break up his jersey LOL. But I also know, under bright clear conditions, he touts LOOOONNG casts and has been described as one of the longest casters on the tour. My guess is he does pay attention to stealth, where needed. Sight fishing under bright sun in shallow clear water with a solid white shirt is not the best of ideas, IME.

BTW: As far as camo clothing when hunting deer, bright clothing is only bright to humans. Deer are colorblind. Bright Hawaiian shirts are popular amongst bowhunters for deer, bc of the broken patterning the color has nothing to do with it. Now, wear a Hawaiian shirt in a duck blind and your buddies will boot you out!

[Primus]

Paul Roberts, I enjoyed your post. Good read and give me a few things to think about.

[Paul Roberts]

Paul Roberts, I enjoyed your post. Good read and give me a few things to think about.

Thanks. I've been handed lots to think about along those lines by fish. If they care, I care.

[FishnBen]

Looks like a great rod for a great price. I had the chance to talk to Ike Saturday night about these rods, and he said he's been very impressed so far. He also told me that they're developing a new carbon fiber rod, that is supposed to have similar properties of the Steez, even better, and at a price point of $200!!! He said those are probably about a year away....so the future for Abu rods looks extremely bright!

[Pantera61]

This rod feels very good in hand.

[Jason Penn]

Looks like a great rod for a great price. I had the chance to talk to Ike Saturday night about these rods, and he said he's been very impressed so far. He also told me that they're developing a new carbon fiber rod, that is supposed to have similar properties of the Steez, even better, and at a price point of $200!!! He said those are probably about a year away....so the future for Abu rods looks extremely bright!

I wonder if BPS & Abu are having their rods made in the same place? The CarbonLite lengths & actions seem similar to the Vendettas.

I'm pretty impressed with the weight and feel of the 6'9" Vendetta I have so I'll check out these new rods when they're available.

[steezy]

http://www.tackletour.com/previewabugarciaveritas.html

I like it, Abu Garcia is going to cause me to go broke

Stop it, this is killing me ! 

Ike has switched from $400+ Steez rods to $99 budget rods!  Of course, if you pay me enough to fish with it I'll fish with a broom handle and tell everyone its great.

Next thing you'll see is Ike flippin with a cane pole.

[K_Mac]

Steezy I'm not sure Ike would endorse anything for the right money, but when I read that the new rods "have similar properties of the Steez rods, even better" I couldn't help but think that was more about his past relationship with Daiwa than the quality of the rods. You and I fish at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to $$$ spent on equipment. I use inexpensive stuff because that is what fits my budget, but we both understand that there is a very real difference in high end rods compared to rods at the lower end. Whether or not it justifies the dollar difference is an on-going discussion. 8-)

[FishnBen]

I don't think it had anything to do with the relationship Ike has with Daiwa. He told me this personally, and there was a lot of enthusiasm in his voice when he did (yeah, it's ike, of course there was enthusiasm, but it was genuine). He explained the new technology they'd be using to make these rods and it made sense to me. Remember, I'm not talking about the new $100 rods he will be using in the classic; I'm talking about the rods that he told me will be coming out in about a year or so that have similar properties as the steez (which he wasn't comparing because he WAS with daiwa and has bad feelings now-he was just comparing because steez uses cutting edge technology to make one of, if not THE nicest rod on the market), and these will be at about a $200 price point. But still, $600 or $200??? I'm a college student....so that makes me extremely excited!

[NOVA Angler]

http://www.tackletour.com/previewabugarciaveritas.html

I like it, Abu Garcia is going to cause me to go broke

Stop it, this is killing me !

Ike has switched from $400+ Steez rods to $99 budget rods! Of course, if you pay me enough to fish with it I'll fish with a broom handle and tell everyone its great.

Next thing you'll see is Ike flippin with a cane pole.

If they continue their success I guess Ike and Skeets moves show its not all about having top of the line equipment.  Bummer huh? 

Don't get me wrong, I know money is the driving force behind their decisions but still...it's kind of funny.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

http://www.tackletour.com/previewabugarciaveritas.html

I like it, Abu Garcia is going to cause me to go broke

Stop it, this is killing me !

Ike has switched from $400+ Steez rods to $99 budget rods! Of course, if you pay me enough to fish with it I'll fish with a broom handle and tell everyone its great.

Next thing you'll see is Ike flippin with a cane pole.

If they continue their success I guess Ike and Skeets moves show its not all about having top of the line equipment. Bummer huh?

Don't get me wrong, I know money is the driving force behind their decisions but still...it's kind of funny.

Agree 100%

Nice stuff helps, but the guy holding the rod is the most important part.  No amount of money will change that...