Evergreen Cougar Elite 7 RS

[Polkfish1]

So many intriguing rod drops by EG lately it’s hard to keep up. I’m still dreaming of rapid gunners and black roses, but have plenty of rods that fill those positions. This one however would actually fill a need. I have a prescription for something versatile, medium, and that should excel with treble baits in the 7ft length. Damn you EG...

https://www.evergreen-fishing.com/goods ... mfSxf.html

[dennis_rf]

Wow that thing is heavy.
I sold my Inspirare Super Cougar as the weight to power ratio just wasn’t satisfying (for that price point). Balance was ok but once you start working the bait you feel the weight of the blank, it’s not just in the handle.
I understand they upped the length and power a bit but that’s still plenty heavy for a 3/4oz (we all know they don’t go as high as advertised) 7 foot rod.

Fun finding:
If you fix up a 7‘ MLF Point Blank next to a Inspirare Super Cougar, push the Point Blank a bit back on the rig and compare the curves under load, you basically find the same action and power. The Point Blank being a bit longer in the back (7‘ rod, obviously) and 1“ longer on the tip. The difference in action / power is marginal and not noticeable when fishing - but the weight is day n night (3.5oz vs 4.2oz rod while the PB balances even better). The Cougar feels like it has more power when it actually has not. I think that’s due to the weight.

100g

E1F36757-A152-44C2-B0E5-F19CA434A333.jpeg (24.42 KiB) Viewed 2795 times

200g

E9CF0EB1-A7B9-455C-A781-FE029F0D4AC2.jpeg (23.91 KiB) Viewed 2795 times

300g

9216CC70-3CFE-4A7B-BBE1-A6AB004A8A34.jpeg (33.67 KiB) Viewed 2795 times

400g

C9AAA7C3-666E-4711-B4BC-85847342A4B3.jpeg (34.88 KiB) Viewed 2795 times

[Hogsticker2]

Wow that thing is heavy.
I sold my Inspirare Super Cougar as the weight to power ratio just wasn’t satisfying (for that price point). Balance was ok but once you start working the bait you feel the weight of the blank, it’s not just in the handle.
I understand they upped the length and power a bit but that’s still plenty heavy for a 3/4oz (we all know they don’t go as high as advertised) 7 foot rod.

Fun finding:
If you fix up a 7‘ MLF Point Blank next to a Inspirare Super Cougar, push the Point Blank a bit back on the rig and compare the curves under load, you basically find the same action and power. The Point Blank being a bit longer in the back (7‘ rod, obviously) and 1“ longer on the tip. The difference in action / power is marginal and not noticeable when fishing - but the weight is day n night (3.5oz vs 4.2oz rod while the PB balances even better). The Cougar feels like it has more power when it actually has not. I think that’s due to the weight.

100g
E1F36757-A152-44C2-B0E5-F19CA434A333.jpeg

200g
E9CF0EB1-A7B9-455C-A781-FE029F0D4AC2.jpeg

300g
9216CC70-3CFE-4A7B-BBE1-A6AB004A8A34.jpeg

400g
C9AAA7C3-666E-4711-B4BC-85847342A4B3.jpeg

Nice. Love me some PB

[Allsorts]

In my opinion (full disclosure - I love Evergreen and have never handled a PB although have some experience with GL high end rods), rod weight is far less important than rod balance. A lighter, top heavy rod is less pleasant to use than a heavier one that is properly balanced. With steadily lighter reels, this is increasingly important. Where does the PB balance with the same reel on it?

There does seem to be a trend that rods using the new super thin Toray 'Playing card' material are slightly heavier, maybe blanks walls are slightly more dense and so heavier? Pure uninformed speculation, perhaps someone has a more technical insight? If Toray sell their graphite fabric by the meter, thinner fabric is a smart move - bit like the guy who promised to increase P&Gs toothpaste sales by 20% by increasing the size of the dispensing hole...

[dennis_rf]

I can provide the balance point comparison when I’ve been out fishing with the friend I sold the Super Cougar to. Could take a while though, it’s pretty cold in Germany.

I can say though, the balance point of the PB is closer to the reel.

I tend to disagree with your opinion - at least where weight is important, I’d rather have a less balanced rod which still has little weight to the front than a heavier blank which is balanced thanks to the handle section. As I still have to work and move this weight. I am thinking working topwater lures like a 65 Sammy, Pop-Rs, Duo pencil 85 or small jerkbaits like Pointer 65-78 and so on. Working a jika / texas rig or aggressively hopping a 1/4oz ball jighead with a 3“ keitech, it really doesn’t matter too much.

Prior to selling the rod I’ve been out with said friend to compare both rods. Aldebaran, 10lb sunline assassin FC on both. Same rigs and lures. Bottom contact we couldn’t feel a difference in sensitivity. When steadily retrieving a 1/4oz Derabreak with 3“ keitech as a trailer, we could feel the blade shaking in a clearer, more intense way with the EG. If I’d describe the difference in sound waves, the EG felt like a deeper pitch sound as well. Here, the weight doesn’t matter.
As steady retrieve baits aren’t my main focus, this wasn’t a huge factor in my decision. I didn’t feel the extra buck for the EG is worth the improved sensitivity with vibrating baits. For others it might - in the end my friend wanted to buy the the EG and didn’t ask me to build that same PB for him

Circling back to the new Cougar elite 7 RS I still think 4.8oz is head scratching much for a 7’ medium rod.

[Allsorts]

So many intriguing rod drops by EG lately it’s hard to keep up. I’m still dreaming of rapid gunners and black roses, but have plenty of rods that fill those positions. This one however would actually fill a need. I have a prescription for something versatile, medium, and that should excel with treble baits in the 7ft length. Damn you EG...

https://www.evergreen-fishing.com/goods ... mfSxf.html

So true! Also Super Steed, Degel, Black Raven Extreme....and I've only just started to get to grips with the Black Rose...

[Allsorts]

I can provide the balance point comparison when I’ve been out fishing with the friend I sold the Super Cougar to. Could take a while though, it’s pretty cold in Germany.

I can say though, the balance point of the PB is closer to the reel.

I tend to disagree with your opinion - at least where weight is important, I’d rather have a less balanced rod which still has little weight to the front than a heavier blank which is balanced thanks to the handle section. As I still have to work and move this weight. I am thinking working topwater lures like a 65 Sammy, Pop-Rs, Duo pencil 85 or small jerkbaits like Pointer 65-78 and so on. Working a jika / texas rig or aggressively hopping a 1/4oz ball jighead with a 3“ keitech, it really doesn’t matter too much.

You make an important point of course, if primary use was for topwater, jerks usw then that is mostly tip down with lots of wrist action so overcoming rod inertia is more important and so weight and rod action are really important considerations. As you know, the Cougar was designed as a spinnerbait rod, i.e. winding rather than twitching or jerking and setting relatively heavy single hooks at range with FC or monofilament lines - also tip down presentations. When fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass, the takes are usually very clear so sensitivity is important but not critical - getting a good hook set is. I'm not surprised that it was difficult working the hard baits mentioned, especially as they are small and would better be worked on an ML rod with a slightly more forgiving action, Super Steed etc. All that said - the new Cougar is surprisingly heavy. I've got a Black Rose which is 2-3 powers stronger, made with the same base material and yet it is still lighter than the new Cougar.