New Baitcasting Rods from ICAST 2020

Here’s a roundup of new baitcasting rods from ICAST 2020:

13 Fishing Fate V3

Fresh from the lab, Fate V3 has broken out of its test tube and is here. Without trying to re-invent the wheel, they added Evolve Soft Touch custom reel seat and Airfoil Carbon grips to manufacture grip and feel at absurd levels. The PVG 36T graphite blank decreases the weight and increases the sensitivity. This rod is 100% gluten-free in order to be lightweight but includes tangle-free guides with Zirconia inserts.

Halo KSII Elite Rod

The Halo Fishing KS II Elite Series Casting Rods are made with premium Japanese Nano carbon fiber, which lends itself to a light, balanced, professional-grade rod. The KS II Elite Series Rods are built with high-end stainless steel guides with zirconia inserts to promote outstanding line management. Fitted with a two-finger reel seat that provides the rods with direct blank touch for enhance sensitivity. Complete with AAA-grade cork grips to provide the ultimate blend of performance and value.

Arundel Wild Side

This no compromise travel rod takes WILD SIDE’s nearly 7 foot medium heavy casting rod and allows you to take it anywhere in the world. The spigot ferrule or U joint construction is typical of high-end fly rods, but is standard in all WILD SIDE travel rods. It allows for no loss of operability, strength, or sensitivity. Finally, you can leave your rod tubes at home.

Kunnan Fiend Telescopic Casting Rod 7'6"

Built with toughness and designed with the ability to travel anywhere the avid fisherman desires. The new Kunnan telescopic rods are perfect for keeping in the car, taking on camping/hiking trips, or packing in your suitcase for your next vacation. These casting rods come in green or blue with a fully extended length of 7-6. The Medium Heavy action rods are great for bait fishing and versatile enough to use while trolling fresh or salt water. Designed with the adventurist in mind.

Kunnan Plasma II Slow Pitch Jigging Rod

One of the hottest trends in the industry today is the slow-pitch jigging method. Think light tackle and giant fish. Designed with astounding power and super lightweight technology, the Star Slow Pitch jigging rods are built with the serious fisherman in mind. Fuji components combined with a high-modulus graphite rod and acid wraps make for the perfect jigging rod.

Daiwa Rebellion

Rebellion has 19 blank designs with attractive cosmetics and quality construction are of Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) standard and influence. Eight casting rods, three cranking rods, three spinning rods and five unique travel rods. The rods are built around the advanced blank design incorporating Daiwa's HVF Carbon Technology. That creates a smaller lighter, more rigid blank. The X-45 Bias construction provides strength and prevents twisting. A strong grip on the rod is from durable EVA Handle.

Douglas XMatrix

The newest addition to the Douglas XMatrix casting lineup is the 7'4" medium-heavy, fast-action all-purpose freshwater and saltwater rod. Great for pitching jigs, Texas rigs, throwing spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, swimbaits, open water frogs and much more. Featuring a matte multi-modulus XMatrix carbon-constructed blank, Fuji reel seat, alkaline guides, high-density EVA grips, boosting a superior strength-to-weight ratio. Species: Bass, Walleye, Muskie, Reds and other freshwater and inshore species.

Okuma Psycho Stick Bass Rods

Psycho Stick features light and responsive blanks that are made from 46-ton, low resin carbon featuring UMR: Ultimate Matrix Reinforcement technology. These rods feature top-notch components with Fuji KW-concept angled guide frames, as well as Fuji Sic guide inserts with deep pressed frames. The SeaGuide injected carbon reel seat and rear grip is minimal. The double-locking screwdown carbon hood design keeps your reel firmly in place. Psycho Stick rods are backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

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Okuma Guide Select Cranking Rods

The Guide Select Cranking Rods consists of eight total rods constructed 24-ton low resin carbon blanks featuring Okuma’s UFR: Ultimate Flex Reinforcement tip technology, which increases the strength of the tip section by upwards of 400 percent. Guides Select Cranking Rods feature Fuji KW-Concept angled guide frames as well as Fuji Alconite guide inserts with deep pressed frames. The Fuji ACS trigger reel seat has a screw down carbon hood. Guide Select Cranking Rods feature a limited lifetime warranty.

Abu Garcia Veritas Rods

Engineered with Powerlux 100 micro resins, the new Abu Garcia Veritas rods are 5 percent lighter and 15 percent stronger, offering anglers uncompromising strength and durability without sacrificing weight or sensitivity. Powerlux micro resins fill evenly around the 30 Ton carbon fibers to achieve a higher break strength and improved impact and fracture resistance. Veritas performance features also include a custom Abu Garcia-designed reel seat, titanium alloy guides with Zirconium inserts and EVA split grips.

Fenwick HMG Inshore Rods

Built with the same Fenwick quality, experienced with the freshwater HMG, the saltwater Fenwick HMG Inshore rods offer the actions and components specifically built for inshore anglers. HMG Inshore rods are carefully crafted with the power and control needed to handle all inshore species, from small back-creek trout, to beach-cruising tarpon. 30 Ton Graphite blanks, Fuji Alconite guides, and premium cork handles give the HMG an upscale look.

Shimano Zodias 7'2" Medium-Heavy Casting Rod

Zodias couples a hollow Carbon Monocoque Grip into a CI4+ reel seat to achieve up to 130 percent more sensitivity than conventionally constructed rods, ultimately transmitting vibration from underwater structure, lure action or bites into the palm of an angler’s hand. Shimano’s Hi-Power X lies at the heart of Zodias and benefits anglers by increasing the transfer of energy through the rod for enhanced accuracy and casting distance as well as reduced blank twist for better control when fighting fish.

St. Croix Mojo Inshore

St. Croix’s popular Mojo Inshore Series is all-new for 2021. Mojo Inshore’s transformation begins with lighter, upgraded one-piece SCIII carbon blanks, further enhanced via Integrated Poly Curve (IPC) mandrel technology. Featuring full cork handles on light, medium-light, and medium power models. Medium-heavy, heavy and extra-heavy power rods have been upgraded with full-length cork and EVA combination handles. Retail prices range from $160 to $230.

Googan Squad Green Series Rods

Catch Co. and the Googan Squad built these rods for their biggest fans! By focusing on what matters to Googan fans, they were able to create the highest quality rod for under $100. Japanese composite 24/30 ton blanks are sensitive and durable. The custom ergonomic reel seat and grip were the result of weeks of testing. Integrated measuring tape on the rod allows anglers to easily show off their catch on social media, and the painted tips educate anglers on the action of their rods!

Googan Squad Gold Series Rods

Googan Gold Series rods are built with the true avid Googan angler in mind. The 30/40 ton high-end Japanese carbon blanks are some of the lightest, most sensitive rods in the world. Anglers will love the look and feel of the custom, pure cork handles, and the ergonomic reel seat. Ceramic insert Korean guides are light and help launch lures with buttery-smooth casts.

Favorite Rod HEX

The New HEX is a very light and very strong Pro series class with offerings in both spinning and casting models. The name defines the craftsmanship with a patented Hexagon blank featuring custom Kigan titanium guides with comfortable G-KOREA reel seat. The reel seat is a G-KOREA with mirrored finish. The blank is built from 30-, 40- and 46-ton dimension cloths. A unique heptagonal shape is included in the design as are KIgan titanium zero tangle guides and the highest quality Portugal cork and burl cork.

Fenwick Eagle

Representing the rich rod building history of Fenwick, the Fenwick Eagle rod series features proven classic Fenwick actions for targeting nearly any species. Built from 24-ton graphite and with the accumulated knowledge of 70 years of tinkering and testing with the best, the Fenwick Eagle series connects tradition and technology. Upgraded stainless-steel guides with aluminum oxide inserts provide increased casting performance with less friction, while the blank through construction and minimal reel seat transmit even the lightest bites.

Lew’s Super Duty Casting Rods

The new Lew's Super Duty series of rods will be full of features that Lew's has become synonymous for. Super Duty is constructed on premium HM60 graphite blanks with raw graphite finish. The charcoal-colored Winn Dri-Tac handles on each rod; bass fishing models will feature a full handle, and the multi-species rods will feature split Winn grips and full foregrips; all with Lew's Soft Touch skeletal reel seats. Along with the advanced grip and handles, Super Duty rods will feature the patented Lew's No Foul hook keeper and stainless-steel guides with aluminum oxide inserts, with multi-species models adding a zirconia tip for durability with use of braided lines. Super Duty rods will be trimmed out with matching charcoal guide wraps to complete a stealthy look.

MEGABASS Destroyer

In 1995, Yuki Ito prototyped the Destroyer of traditional bass rods, drawing upon his hand-carved ARMS to unleash an unrivaled fusion of craft and technological innovation upon the Japanese bass market. Each subsequent generation of Destroyer reached beyond the standards and conventions of their time to establish a new benchmark. A quarter-century later, "Project Living Legend" was established to ensure that each cycle of destruction and creation through innovation preserved Megabass' rich DNA, bringing anglers ever-closer to the ideal.

Guided by this spirit, the LAIHA program gave birth to a limited concept rod series in 2019, developed to test and refine standard-destroying technologies to push innovation past present limits. From this tireless effort, the 5-D Graphite System was born. Representing a paradigm shift in the blank construction process, 5-D enables a more perfect realization of the Destroyer® through a new method of patterning and layering, unlocking untold potential. Thus, with each generation, all change—especially destructive—is embraced in the technological pursuit of the angling ideal. Out of this cycle, Destroyer rises anew to challenge anglers to new heights.

G. Loomis IMX-Pro

Relying on nearly 30-years of manufacturing what many consider some of the best fishing rods anywhere, along with the input and field-testing leading tournament bass pros, G. Loomis adds to its IMX-PRO line-up 10 new rods with models to specifically use with swimbaits, bladed jig baits, Ned rigs, lipless crankbaits, and when working ledges. The new IMX-PRO bass rods include three extra-fast action swimbait models, the 862C SWBR 7-foot-2-inch medium and 863C SWBR medium-heavy power casting rods, along with a 'micro swimbait' medium power 882S SWBR 7-foot-4-inch spinning version for lighter ball headed swim jigs. Bladed jigs are one of the hottest techniques these days for bass, and within the IMX-PRO series, G. Loomis offers the fast action 862C BJR 7-foot-2 medium power and 863S BJR 7-foot-4 medium-heavy power casting rods. Ledge fishing at the right time of year can many times lead to personal bests, and G. Loomis is there to assist with the two IMX-PRO 7-foot-7-inch casting rods. They include the 913C JWR in medium-heavy and 914C JWR heavy power to properly work hair jigs, football jigs and flutter spoons.

Ever Green Combat Stick

Daiwa Corporation and Ever Green International announce a collaborate effort to produce a state-of-the-art fishing rod. The rod is designed to fish the popular Evergreen Showerblows topwater lures. It casts long and loads properly to optimize the bait; the tip action lights up the lure and the backbone is built for a positive consistent hook sets. The lightweight carbon graphite blank is sensitive, deft and light in the hand yet powerful enough to move a trophy fish. The strength to weight ratio is greatly increased through the use of lightweight carbon.