The Best Swimbait Rod

[The Pond King]

Hey guys,

I'm in the market for a swimbait rod.

I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a Phenix M1 Swimbait Casting Rod in 8' Heavy. I've felt this rod in hand at the store and have been really impressed. For a rod of it's power and length, it's really light, balanced, and sensitive. I also like the asthetics of it as well. This would be my first rod from Phenix.

I've researched other brands and could not find one that I thought was better than the Phenix M1 and would like to hear your recommendations as I highly value them.

I don't have any budgetary limits. The sky is the limit, so you can recommend to me any stick whether its a good bang for the buck rod or the most high end.

Best regards,
The Pond King

[Aquaftm45]

Hey guys,

I'm on the market for a swimbait rod.


I don't have any budgetary limits. The sky is the limit....
Best regards,
The Pond King

Artex/DRT Zero, Border Patrol or Hacker depending on what size bait.

https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/closedsear ... 084005512/


https://www.divisionrebeltackles.com/artex

[Polkfish1]

Hey guys,

I'm on the market for a swimbait rod.


I don't have any budgetary limits. The sky is the limit....
Best regards,
The Pond King

Artex/DRT Zero, Border Patrol or Hacker depending on what size bait.

https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/closedsear ... 084005512/


https://www.divisionrebeltackles.com/artex

Yup; fits the bill exactly

[Aquaftm45]

Yup; fits the bill exactly

Budget check..

[The Pond King]

Buying one right now lol

[bronzefly]

The Megabass USA Destroyer Onager is a fantastic swim bait rod for 4 to 8 oz baits. It's well balanced, sensitive, and definitely powerful. I haven't had any meaningful time on the water with its brand new little brother, the Mark 48, but that will change soon and I'm looking forward to using it with some baits in that 1 to 4 or 5 oz. range...

[ShimanoFan]

For me it depends on the size of the swimbait as to which rod I use.

[Polkfish1]

Bank fishing the Artex swimbait rods with big baits like a champ: https://youtu.be/CiWsJTG4WSU

[Aquaftm45]

Bank fishing the Artex swimbait rods with big baits like a champ: https://youtu.be/CiWsJTG4WSU

Saw this a couple a days ago. Great Video!
I think that is why these are re-selling for 4-5X retail. The fish sees the rod, then automatically bites your bait...

[The Pond King]

That video was probably one of the coolest videos on catchin hawgs on swimbaits I've probably ever seen! So dope!

I really want an Artex rod now. The Megabass rod is something I'll consider too now. I've got some things to think about and seriously mull over because of your guy's recommendations. Instead of pulling the trigger so quickly and impulsively, I might save up for the Artex or Megabass instead of getting the Phenix.. this is a tough choice.. but where can I find the Artex at a reasonable price? Surely this rod isn't $3000 USD is it? If it's $500 or so like the Megabass, than I think I can manage, but I cannot drop $3000 for a fishing rod lol. If it's $3K, then I may just stick with el cheapo Phenix.

Anyways, I really appreciate your guys' recommendation. I didn't even consider these rods, and I didn't even find them during my research for the ultimate swimbait rod. You guys are truly hardcore enthusiasts!

[Aquaftm45]

If you don't want to spend 4X retail on a Artex, your best bet is to find as many shops as you can who will potential do reservations for them in the future. (they make small batches of the rods) Make communication with them and be patient. Follow the DRT facebook page. If your lucky, you will pay around $800 including shipping.
Secondarily you can go with a Studio Composite/Individual Development rod, which are more available and a rod of similar quality (from all of my blog readings). Finding sources are time consuming, so that is as much of a treasure map as I will divulge. (plus I think there are new rules).
Really have to watch that "no limit budget" business on this forum. You will be broke in no time.

[Polkfish1]

I’ve been eyeballing Artex for about a year now. I just can’t bring myself to pay that much over retail even though I seldom mind overpaying when the monkey gets too crazy. A member on this forum had those not quite artex but similar drt x studio composite rods on the classifieds at a price that seemed quite reasonable given supply and demand, import costs, etc. I gave those a long look, but too long as they went pretty fast. I think the above advice is good. These drt guys seem like a tight knit group of fishermen/enthusiasts that aren’t too concerned about getting big/rich, it seems. They just make a handful of awesome products to practice their craft. You have to be in the know it seems to land one of those sticks at retail. At least that’s my perception. I’ve also had my eye out for tulala recently and drt x tulala collaboration rods. Those are more accessible it seems, but it’s still not quite as easy as just ordering a megabass stick to suit your needs instead. The bigger tulala sticks are priced quite reasonably retail.

[bronzefly]

That video was probably one of the coolest videos on catchin hawgs on swimbaits I've probably ever seen! So dope!

I really want an Artex rod now. The Megabass rod is something I'll consider too now. I've got some things to think about and seriously mull over because of your guy's recommendations. Instead of pulling the trigger so quickly and impulsively, I might save up for the Artex or Megabass instead of getting the Phenix.. this is a tough choice.. but where can I find the Artex at a reasonable price? Surely this rod isn't $3000 USD is it? If it's $500 or so like the Megabass, than I think I can manage, but I cannot drop $3000 for a fishing rod lol. If it's $3K, then I may just stick with el cheapo Phenix.

Anyways, I really appreciate your guys' recommendation. I didn't even consider these rods, and I didn't even find them during my research for the ultimate swimbait rod. You guys are truly hardcore enthusiasts!

The Mark 48 is $425 shipped from most any Megabass of America retailer that stocks them like The Tackle Trap, plus you have full support and a US warranty. Those Artex rods look incredible, but I have no idea about availability, cost, or warranty...

[The Pond King]

Man, I really want the Artex rod now but with how hard it is to get, it's just not feasible. I'm not going to put in that much effort to get the Artex. I don't mind dropping the cash as much, but I don't the got the time for that. I want the Artex because it looks sooo cool and after I started going high end in recent years... there's really no going back.

People have said on the forums that after you get up to a mid grade level of rods like around the $200 range - like an Avid for example - that there's significant diminishing returns. I personally disagree with this. High end gear is head and shoulders above anything mid grade both reels and rods from my experience, and if you got the money to spend, you will notice significant improvements. It really is a slice of fishing heaven when you get to fish with high end gear.

I also get pleasure in just playing with the rods and reels and appreciating them at home, so even if I don't have time to go fishing, I still get value out of the money spent. It's a great stress reliever. Watch TV and play around with fishing gear lol. They're my toys. Some people like to play the guitar. This is what I like to do. Call me a werido. I don't care.

In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I wish I didn't incrementally upgrade my rods and instead saved my money just bought high end gear.

Anyways, I digress. I know the Artex rod would be so pleasurable to fish with because I own high end gear and know what it's like, and I also know that all the fish are gonna automatically bite your bait because the rod looks so cool.

I really want the Artex even more now because no else on the water will have one most likely. I'll be the only one. And let's be real, who doesn't want to show off nice gear and make people envious. Instead of keeping up with the Jones', I want the Jones' to keep up with me. They didn't make the NRX rods with the bright blue guide wraps for nothing.. it was definitely meant to be seen from afar, so that people in the know will recognize that guy is a legit fisherman with nice gear. Kinda went off tangent and don't know where I was going with all of this, but I'll end it here : )

[_diggy_]

Old thread worth revisiting