DirtyD64 wrote:poisonokie wrote:I've got a stable full of OG Tatulas and Major Craft MS-X. They pretty much comprise my entire arsenal, so I agree whole heartedly. I've been touting the quality of the OG Tats for years. They blow everything else I'd tried before that out of the water.
As for Major Craft, I never hear anything bad about them. They definitely don't get the attention they deserve, especially considering the bang for the buck factor. They just haven't managed to proliferate the USDM.
I want to hear from more people using Major Craft rods for general purpose, like a 7'-7'3" M or MH for Texas rigs and small swimbaits and what not. I am sure they are great, and I can find reviews about their BFS, just haven't seen much info on their general purpose lengths/powers/actions...
Someone else stated it first, and I know no one likes to hear about cheap replacement rods, but the Abu Villain 2.0's I got sent for replacements (cost me $10 and sold the originals to bank fisherman who still love them) are pretty good rods. They have Fuji seats, and are amazingly sensitive and light (at least for what I have tried). If they had better guides, I would call them pretty underrated rods. Using the 7'6"MH, 2 7'Mediums, and a 7'ML xfast spinning version.
Oh man. Well, at the risk of sounding like a paid promoter, I have to say they are sublime. As hoohoorjoo hit on, they punch well above their price point in terms of build quality, components, sensitivity, balance, overall weight, you name it. I have nine total, all in the MS-X series. All but two have regular fast tapers, but they really all have progressive actions. The 66M and 610M regular rods just have stiffer tips that load a little deeper into the blank initially. Many of them are balanced without a reel at all, while all of them are balanced somewhere south of the nose of the reel mounted on them. I posted all the weights in the Rod Weights thread.
http://www.tackletour.net/viewtopic.php ... &start=195 I would say they are mostly below average, especially considering the fact that they are so well balanced.
I'd say they typically fish within their ratings. Their progressive tapers translate to effortless and accurate casts, and ease of working baits and fighting fish. I don't know if it's necessary, but I tend to really set the hook hard with these rods just because of the action. Even the BFS sticks can get great hook sets this way. As far as sensitivity goes, there is no mistaking the difference between a stump and a strike, which gives me confidence that I can aggressively set the hook and land the fish without too much fear of snags. They have loads of backbone and none of them are anything close to what I'd consider a noodle. The blank and small caliber Ti/SiC guide train combine for an extremely crisp and deceptively light feel as there is plenty of power for controlling fish without feeling over powered. The crisp and lively blank makes for excellent casting distance as well. I am consistently amazed by how far my baits will fly, as well as by the strength of the thump transmitted through the blank when it touches down.
Yesterday I was tossing topwaters with the 66M/R and it's by far the best rod I've ever used for that. I got incredible distance using a Zillion SV 6.3, 30# J Braid, and 16# Super Natural leader while casting a Shower Blows 105 (9/16oz) and Binksy (1/2oz), and it was sooo easy to walk those baits because of the short length. It makes a great jerkbait rod, too, though I feel the 65ML/RF handles that a little better. The 70H is the one I've had the least time with. It's a different animal altogether. It has double foot guides all the way up the blank and an extra long handle. Seems like it will be a great heavy cover/moderate slop and general purpose heavy stick.
I'd go into the strengths of each, but for the sake of brevity suffice it to say that they all excel for a variety of uses. Their tapers translate to a high level of versatility which allows me to think outsode the box in terms of which technique to use with each rod. As long as I stay inside the lure rating I can use any of them for moving baits and bottom contact equally well. That said, I am hanging on to my glass Tatulas and Zillion for cranking, as well as a 71MH/XF Tatula just in case and 66H/F Zillion, the latter of which turns out to be one hell of a skipping stick with a Zillion SV 9.1 and 50# PP. If anyone has any specific questions about a specific model, I'd be glad to go into more depth. The only ones I don't have are the 67MH, 70XH, as well as the Frog and Big Bait models.
Anyway, they are superb rods I think anyone would be thrilled to fish. The only thing I've found wrong with their construction is that 3 or 4 of them have slightly crooked blanks, but nothing you'd immediately notice looking at them and it doesn't affect their performance that I can tell. Also, there is no warranty, but given everything mentioned above, I wouldn't worry about that at all. Each comes with a nice, perfect fitting sleeve that beats the hell out of a rod sock and a comfortable rubberized non-slip coating on the reel seats.
This is the way.
