KISTLER (KistlerRods.com)
Kistler bills its new Helium 2 LTX rods as “the lightest fishing rod on the planet.” Each rod weighs just over 3 ounces (even lighter than Kistler’s original Heliums) and features a sure-grip split handle wrapped with graphite “Ampli-Fibers” that increase sensitivity for better feel and more hookups. The Smart Touch reel seat has a texture coat so it grips better, and the line guides have smooth copper zirconia ring inserts to keep friction to a minimum for longer casts. The rods are available in Crankbait, Specialty, Spinner Bait, Spinning, Topwater, and Worm & Fishing Jig models (spinning and casting).

LAMIGLAS (Lamiglas.com)
Three new Skeet Reese signature rods are available from Lamiglas. The SR 743S is a longer drop-shot rod that maintains a hair-trigger tip while adding some meat to the butt section for pulling fish from more challenging cover. The SR 765R adds six inches to the 705R, increasing casting distance, and with it the dive depth of cranks. And finally, the SRFT 7108, a power rod designed for “punchin’ through heavy cover and extracting vegetation-covered bass.”

Lamiglas also has introduced several new saltwater rods, including the seven-model series of Kayak Rods made especially for fishing from these specialty craft, plus the Ron Arra XSRA 1205 surf rod, and the XMG 50 Series of steelhead rods.

QUANTUM (QuantumFishing.com)
Quantum says its new Alliance Series is the most extensive line of graphite rods in the company’s history. There are 17 casting models in all, ranging from 6-foot bass rods to a 10-foot salmon rod, with various actions from medium to dipsy. Among the 11 spinning versions are rods ranging from 5-foot, 6-inch light actions to 7-foot medium. The rods specific to muskies, walleyes, salmon, stripers and trout are identified by the appropriate fish art icon on the rod blank just above the handle foregrip. All are built with HSX42 hi-strain graphite, Fuji aluminum-oxide Concept guides and blank-through-reel seats.

Quantum also added three new signature series rods to its Tour Edition PT lineup. The Gerald Swindle PTC664FGS is a 6-foot, 6-inch topwater popping rod with a soft tip but strong backbone. The Tommy Biffle PTC767FTB is a 7-foot, 6-inch heavy-action flipping stick that Biffle says makes other heavy flipping sticks feel like mediums. The Greg Hackney all-purpose 7-foot, 11-inch jig rod is ideal for braid, but unlike most jig rods, it’s built with a parabolic action.

OKUMA (OkumaFishing.com)
Okuma designed its new durable E-glass Oceanic rods specifically for offshore big-game saltwater species. The series includes two spinning models, five bait-casting models and four trolling models. There’s also a kite rod to round out the series. Features include Pac Bay SIC Guides, aluminum and Fuji reel seats, AFTCO roller guides and EVA foregrips.

SHIMANO (Shimano.com)
Shimano has expanded its Crucial bass rod series with four new spinning rods. For smallmouth anglers, the series now includes the 7-foot, 2-inch CRS-X72M and the 7-foot, 6-inch CRS-76M, both constructed with sensitive IM-9 graphite blanks and designed for use with tubes and grubs. Crankbait and jerkbait anglers are offered the 7-foot CRS-CX70ML and the 7-foot, 4-inch CRS-C74M, engineered with TC4 blank construction for durability and sensitivity.

With more and more anglers specifically targeting big carp, Shimano has introduced two new 7-foot, 7-inch casting rods designed with carp fishing in mind: the Convergence CVS-77HT, featuring an IM-6 graphite blank, and the Sojourn SJC-77HT, with a graphite composite blank. And for the muskie angler, Shimano released the new Sojourn 7-foot muskie rods: the medium-heavy SJC-M70MH and the heavy-action SJC-M70H.