Abu Garcia Eradicator 6' 7" Slow Taper Special.

[Alphahawk]

I have had my eye on this rod since it first came out but was reluctant to purchase. From what I had gathered Abu Garcia is not a big ajing rod player in Japan. The rod is made in China and while I have several rods manufactured in China I have gotten used to build quality of "Made In Japan" rods...Graphiteleader and Tenryu....and was reluctant to buy a rod that is not actually "Made In Japan". After reading an assessment of this rod on another forum I decided I needed to give it a try. Let me just say I should have purchased this rod the day it came out. I was able to fish with it a little while yesterday and while I caught no big fish I caught a lot of smaller bluegill...shellcracker, and small largemouth. Bite detection is superb....fun factor is great....the rod is a slow taper for an ajing rod no doubt. According to Abu Garcia Eradicator webpage their 55 ton blank design does away with the dull....no sensitivity feel of slow taper rods. They are 100 percent correct. This is the most steely...crisp rod I have owned. When buying JDM ajing UL rods in the 300 dollar range one can get to splitting hairs when talking about sensitivity....but this is the most sensitive rod I own or have owned. It is a pure pleasure to fish with. Casting distance with 1 gram jig head is superb. The rod is rated up to 10 grams but in my opinion that is a stretch. The butt of the rod measures at 6mm..as best I can eyeball it with a ruler....tip is 1.25mm and weight is 55 grams. I have inspected this rod until my eyes got tired...the build is impeccable. I expected this rod to be good just from the specs...but the rod qualifies as great in my opinion. It certainly will get a lot of time on the water.

Regards

[ss30378]

Nice review, I've been tempted numerous times by Abu's JDM lineup but have yet to pull the trigger on anything.

[ftl1951]

Great review and spot on. I really enjoy this rod and agree about all your assessments. The components are quality and build is flawless. Congrats on the acquisition!!! Now post the video...lol...

[Trout Bloke]

This is a tubular tip rod?

[Alphahawk]

This is a tubular tip rod?

Yes.....

Regards

[Knotty]

Interesting rod. What type of fishing do you feel it is best suited for, Randy? Your usual twitching Trout Magnets on the bottom or something else?

[Alphahawk]

Interesting rod. What type of fishing do you feel it is best suited for, Randy? Your usual twitching Trout Magnets on the bottom or something else?

I have only used it with a 1 gram jig head with a Trout Magnet up until now. It certainly excels at that. I have several 3 gram vibration baits.....small crankbaits, and the 3 gram Niakis spinners I will try it out with once I get a chance. The feedback you get from this rod is fantastic. They have a 69 XUL that I am tempted to order...if I can find one.


Regards

[ultralight]

So, Alphahawk, did you try this with spinners and any other lures beyond 1 gram? Love to hear comments.

Does this remain the most sensitive of your rods?

What I am curious about is that they make both tubular and solid tips. The solid tips are much faster in action but are rated for lower weight lures while tey rate it light (i.e. 6' 10") while the 6'7" is SUL. Love to hear any other comments.

[heyitzpetah]

I actually bought the 6'10 LS. The rod has sensitivity for sure and feels great using tiny 1g swim baits and loads well on small blue gills and even bass. Very parabolic/soft bend when fish on, however when working lures it is very much an extra fast tip. Only threw a > 1 g inline spinner a few times and felt fine. Really felt the lure vibrating throughout the rod tip. Overall, an excellent rod like alphahawk mentioned, however I'm not sure I am comfortable with the micro guides just yet...

[ultralight]

Heyitzpetah, Interesting!

I have never been able to figure out the advantages of the tubular tip (i.e. Alphahawk's 6' 7" model) and the solid tip (yours.) I think the tubular is more popular in the Eradicator series for some reason though many of the high end JDM are solid tip. Its a bit confusing to figure out.

The thing that confuses me most though is the 6'7" and 6'10" ratings. The 6'7" is rated as 'Super Ultralight' while the 6' 10" is rated as Light. Yet when one looks at the lure and line rating, the 6'7" is considerably higher at the upper end than the 6' 10". The 6' 7" also is rated as a slower action than the 6' 10".

I'd love to hear anyone who actually compared both.

[ftl1951]

Heyitzpetah, Interesting!

I have never been able to figure out the advantages of the tubular tip (i.e. Alphahawk's 6' 7" model) and the solid tip (yours.) I think the tubular is more popular in the Eradicator series for some reason though many of the high end JDM are solid tip. Its a bit confusing to figure out.

The thing that confuses me most though is the 6'7" and 6'10" ratings. The 6'7" is rated as 'Super Ultralight' while the 6' 10" is rated as Light. Yet when one looks at the lure and line rating, the 6'7" is considerably higher at the upper end than the 6' 10". The 6' 7" also is rated as a slower action than the 6' 10".

I'd love to hear anyone who actually compared both.

I have three of the Eradicator rods, the 6’7” SULT, the 6’9” XULT, and the 6’ 10” LS. The 6’10” LS is much like a “normal” JDM Light Game rod. Stiff butt/bottom section with a fast tip. The butt diameter is larger than the other two, and while it fishes lightweight jig heads extremely well, it is not at all the same as the others. The SULT is very soft and “extremely“ sensitive. It has quite a parabolic action and is more like an area trout rod in its fishing experience. Take the XULT, and it is even softer than the 6’7”. I absolutely love all the rods. Their sensitivity is off the charts. I have fished light vibration rigs (McFly) with all the rods and my favorite for these is the 6’7”. I have used 1/16 oz spinners with all three and my feelings are that the two shorter rods have a more tip feel and bend so hook ups are better than on the 6’10”, but I would not use spinners as my first choice with any of these. They are really much more suited for lightweight jig heads. The McFly style vibration baits work well, too. Did I say the sensitivity is outstanding on all three...?? Lastly, I have used some ultra light minnow plugs and would say that all of them fish well with plugs and a little better so than with spinners. Not sure why, but it’s just my opinion. Well, this is really “lastly”, the 6’7” fishes heavier jig heads better (5g) than the 6’10” and the 6’9”, but the 6’9” casts lighter jig heads the best of all three. Guess that’s enough...

[ultralight]

FTL1951...WOW!!! Three Eradicators. Only nine more to go to fill out your entire collection...

Seriously though, THANK YOU for sharing from your hands on experience. This is invaluable.

Hope you don't mind a few more questions:

1. Do you have other high end UL or L rods in similar class, regardless of whether JDM or US made that you can compare these to? Would these take the cake in sensitivity?

2. In terms of power, would you rank them from high to low as 6' 10", 6' 7", and 6' 9"?

3. The 6' 10" seem to be obviusly the stiffest butt/mid given your description. Yet why would it be rated for both lighter lines and lures weight than the 6' 7"? The 6' 7" is a SUL and not very powerful... so this is what has confused me.

Thanks again for your invaluable data. I am intrigued by these rods per Randy's descriptions.

[ftl1951]

FTL1951...WOW!!! Three Eradicators. Only nine more to go to fill out your entire collection...

Seriously though, THANK YOU for sharing from your hands on experience. This is invaluable.

Hope you don't mind a few more questions:

1. Do you have other high end UL or L rods in similar class, regardless of whether JDM or US made that you can compare these to? Would these take the cake in sensitivity?

2. In terms of power, would you rank them from high to low as 6' 10", 6' 7", and 6' 9"?

3. The 6' 10" seem to be obviusly the stiffest butt/mid given your description. Yet why would it be rated for both lighter lines and lures weight than the 6' 7"? The 6' 7" is a SUL and not very powerful... so this is what has confused me.

Thanks again for your invaluable data. I am intrigued by these rods per Randy's descriptions.

I have a few other JDM rods, but to try to compare them would be difficult. There are some similarities, but each is different than the other. I would surmise the Eradicators 6’7” and 6’9” are “Slow Taper” versus the 6’10” giving the 6’10” a different action with a solid tip (hence the lighter rating) than the other two. The blank technology used in the Abu Garcia line’s 100% carbon blanks make all the rods extremely sensitive. I also have an Abu Garcia Diplomat Extreme that employs the same blank technology and find it one of the most sensitive rods in my lineup. It’s the DNES-632UL (actually 6’ 3.5” tubular tip) and it has a hybrid guide set up. There are Fuji K guides and CMG guides on this rod. I shared with Alphahawk that the sensitivity (feedback) on this rod is unparalleled. When a fish digs in and strips drag, you can feel the feedback through the guides/rod unlike any other rod I own. Truly amazing. Now, don’t get me wrong, these rods are some of the most sensitive rods I have fished, but I haven’t tried them all. The Abu Garcia rods that use the TAF Nano blanks are super light and ultra sensitive. I have an Evergreen Superior 6’4” SPRS-642UL-T “Sharp Cut” that would compare in weight and fishability, but the sensitivity is no better than the Garcia’s, and the price is nearly double...

So, I have to say my favorite rod I am fishing now is the Olympic Graphite Leader Super Bellezza 6’4” UL. I find I am taking this rod with me more and more. I do like to fish for trout most of the time, but after getting hooked (pun intended) on these JDM ultralights, I will fish for bluegill and other smaller panfish every chance I get. Most of these style rods are really well suited for water that is still to light current, not fast moving mountain streams. That style of fishing requires a different action and powered rod. But, if you’re looking for light, sensitive, gorgeous build, and value... Abu Garcia has a lot to offer.

[ultralight]

A million thanks Ftl1951, and all who commented.

[heyitzpetah]

FTL1951...WOW!!! Three Eradicators. Only nine more to go to fill out your entire collection...

Seriously though, THANK YOU for sharing from your hands on experience. This is invaluable.

Hope you don't mind a few more questions:

1. Do you have other high end UL or L rods in similar class, regardless of whether JDM or US made that you can compare these to? Would these take the cake in sensitivity?

2. In terms of power, would you rank them from high to low as 6' 10", 6' 7", and 6' 9"?

3. The 6' 10" seem to be obviusly the stiffest butt/mid given your description. Yet why would it be rated for both lighter lines and lures weight than the 6' 7"? The 6' 7" is a SUL and not very powerful... so this is what has confused me.

Thanks again for your invaluable data. I am intrigued by these rods per Randy's descriptions.

I have a few other JDM rods, but to try to compare them would be difficult. There are some similarities, but each is different than the other. I would surmise the Eradicators 6’7” and 6’9” are “Slow Taper” versus the 6’10” giving the 6’10” a different action with a solid tip (hence the lighter rating) than the other two. The blank technology used in the Abu Garcia line’s 100% carbon blanks make all the rods extremely sensitive. I also have an Abu Garcia Diplomat Extreme that employs the same blank technology and find it one of the most sensitive rods in my lineup. It’s the DNES-632UL (actually 6’ 3.5” tubular tip) and it has a hybrid guide set up. There are Fuji K guides and CMG guides on this rod. I shared with Alphahawk that the sensitivity (feedback) on this rod is unparalleled. When a fish digs in and strips drag, you can feel the feedback through the guides/rod unlike any other rod I own. Truly amazing. Now, don’t get me wrong, these rods are some of the most sensitive rods I have fished, but I haven’t tried them all. The Abu Garcia rods that use the TAF Nano blanks are super light and ultra sensitive. I have an Evergreen Superior 6’4” SPRS-642UL-T “Sharp Cut” that would compare in weight and fishability, but the sensitivity is no better than the Garcia’s, and the price is nearly double...

So, I have to say my favorite rod I am fishing now is the Olympic Graphite Leader Super Bellezza 6’4” UL. I find I am taking this rod with me more and more. I do like to fish for trout most of the time, but after getting hooked (pun intended) on these JDM ultralights, I will fish for bluegill and other smaller panfish every chance I get. Most of these style rods are really well suited for water that is still to light current, not fast moving mountain streams. That style of fishing requires a different action and powered rod. But, if you’re looking for light, sensitive, gorgeous build, and value... Abu Garcia has a lot to offer.

hot dang... you're making me want to get the super bellezza now, how unfortunate it is impossible to source these rods