TackleTour

Shimano Product Manager Robby Gant talks about the new Crucial Rod Series



Introduction: The original Crucial rod series was, dare we say it, "crucial" to Shimano in their bid to get bass anglers interested in pairing the company's reels with their own rods. The originals were a huge success and delivered performance, styling, and an exceptional over the counter lifetime warranty, all for a very reasonable price. Since then Shimano has continued to up the ante with even higher-end freshwater rods including the Cumara and Cumulus, proving that Shimano doesn't just build great reels, but that they also build great rods as well. Stepping up to the challenge of redesigning the entire Crucial lineup for the 2012 season is Robby Gant, and we sit down with him to talk about the updated series.

Complete Article: http://tackletour.com/interviewrobbygantcrucial.html

Cabelas had these in stock the other day I was there, very lightweight and good looking rods (more black than the Cumaras). The dealbreaker though is the hook keeper design, not compatible with the pitch-skipping technique. On a windy day, the line will get hung up around that hookkeeper, especially if you use light braid and like to cast & retrieve often.