TackleTour

The Search For One : Guess Who's Back Building Rods?



Introduction: What do you do if a rod building legend called with the simple request of a consultation appointment the topic of which surrounds brainstorming ideas for a new series of bass rods they're looking to develop from the ground up? What do you do if this same legend and his team actually listened to your input by building an entire series of bass rods incorporating much of your input? Well, at TackleTour, that means getting our hands on the finished product, taking it into our lab for some measurements, and fishing the sticks to see if they got it right. Presenting our first official review of an Edge Rods by North Fork Composites bass rod, the 705-1, code name "The One".


Complete Article: http://tackletour.com/reviewedgerods705.html

Great review.

Great review Cal! I've been curious about this rod ever since I've heard about it. On TTF I keep hearing about NRXes being the ultimate in sensitivity, but this rod was designed by the man himself. Did you get a chance to fish them side by side?
Also on the illustration on the Edge site the reel seat looks different, which handle is the production version?

Good read, excellent review. Can’t wait for my custom Edge rod to arrive.

Mcyl wrote:Great review Cal! I've been curious about this rod ever since I've heard about it. On TTF I keep hearing about NRXes being the ultimate in sensitivity, but this rod was designed by the man himself. Did you get a chance to fish them side by side?
Also on the illustration on the Edge site the reel seat looks different, which handle is the production version?

The one with the wood was very limited and only available to a few early buyers. Most of them have the offset seat now.

I agree with the vast majority of the review, but oddly, mine doesn't have K-Series guides. It just has standard TiSiC guides. I would have preferred the midmicros. Also, the msrp went up to $575 early this year.

Looks like a beauty rod. Love the acid wrap. I would love to hook a screaming Chinook with that 8' cranking rod. On the longer rods I notice they use a reel seat with no trigger. Is this a new trend I've missed?

Surprise, surprise: "the balance is quite extraordinary". A coincidence that this rod's a full grip (like the MBR783C GLX2000 that's also superb)? I think not. All the PR guano in the world won't change the laws of physics!

I hate split grips myself. Full cork, decent cork if it's $500 too.

Snidley wrote:I hate split grips myself. Full cork, decent cork if it's $500 too.

I've always enjoyed split grips but I might build a rod with the black widow.
However I wish they were contoured

I enjoyed the review, except for this poppycock:

"The guides are ... spiral wrapped around the blank. ...the performance benefits of eliminating twist in the blank when the rod is under load helps prolong the life of your rod."

Come on, Cal--we're all fishing top-wrapped rods that should have been retired long ago because blank twisting killed them?

I can believe that spiral-wrapped baitcasters feel better in hand when fighting fish, as I have fought many fish on both standard casting rods and spinning rods. But a spiral-wrapped rod--like a top-wrapped rod--is going to experience torque on every cast, when it is loading at the end of the backcast and the back-accelerated lure tries to pull the guides toward it; if torque kills rods then spiral-wrapped rods are doomed, too.

If you have some evidence to offer to back up the quoted claim, I'm all eyes. Otherwise, I figure it was just...a load.

I don't know about 7' rods that are for catching Bass but I had an acid wrapped 10'6" G Loomis casting rod for species like Chinook salmon and Steelhead and the difference is astounding for that application. I can't believe that there are not more spiral wrapped rods from manufacturers and I also know that Gary Loomis at one time wanted to wrap all of his G Loomis product that way(but Philistines in the market would not buy them). If Mr Loomis thinks it's best I for one am prepared to agree despite the protestations of Joe Schmo on the internet.

Bronzeye wrote:I enjoyed the review, except for this poppycock:

"The guides are ... spiral wrapped around the blank. ...the performance benefits of eliminating twist in the blank when the rod is under load helps prolong the life of your rod."

Come on, Cal--we're all fishing top-wrapped rods that should have been retired long ago because blank twisting killed them?

I can believe that spiral-wrapped baitcasters feel better in hand when fighting fish, as I have fought many fish on both standard casting rods and spinning rods. But a spiral-wrapped rod--like a top-wrapped rod--is going to experience torque on every cast, when it is loading at the end of the backcast and the back-accelerated lure tries to pull the guides toward it; if torque kills rods then spiral-wrapped rods are doomed, too.

If you have some evidence to offer to back up the quoted claim, I'm all eyes. Otherwise, I figure it was just...a load.

Spiral wrapping for purpose of fight fish are in the realms of SW fishing Gaz.
The benefits for light tackle is that you need less guides at the tip to keep the line off the blank and hence gives you a lighter crisper tip and truer to the raw blank.

Does anyone have any insight why this rod jumped up $100 in one bound?

Gone Phishin wrote:Does anyone have any insight why this rod jumped up $100 in one bound?

They must have decided the rods were too good of a deal at old price.

DaveJ

Bronzeye wrote:If you have some evidence to offer to back up the quoted claim, I'm all eyes. Otherwise, I figure it was just...a load.

Right... because all we do in our articles over the last decade is feed you a load. Choose to believe what you want. I'm not twisting your arm.