We're proud to
introduce you to Ahi Assassin Jigging Rods. I'll say out front, I am a
Calstar and Seeker sort of guy, I prefer USA made rods, no question
about that bias. It took a lot to get me to accept that a quality
rod could come from overseas. But, I'm also a realist, and when it comes to
jigging quite honestly the USA firms were slow to produce a high
quality piece that fit the new technology of Spectra lines and
deep
drop lures, in my estimation. That category of rod does indeed
demand some different action than we use for bait or lure fishing.
As a result, we took off the blinders and did some homework, talked
to folks both in the USA and clients from other countries. I did
some traveling, too. As a consequence of jumping on the learning
curve we were introduced to some folks that offered a fresh approach
to jigging synthesizing technology with technique. We are now working with a New Zealand owned firm
which has their own plant in
China. They are the producers of our Ahi Assassin jigging rods. The same firm
produces high end rods for the Australian and New Zealand market,
and the feedback we've received about them has been very positive, our
confidence high in this new source of quality rod building. They do
not make inexpensive rods, understand that in the Australian market
it's not at all uncommon to buy a rod for $1K. High end has a
market, and junk is not accepted well. The firm we are tied to does
not make cheap Chinese rods, they are not made to hit a price point,
they don't build the type
of rod that many reel companies have brought to market here. They
build world class rods, and we are indeed fortunate to have
made contact with the owners of this firm to bring us the best
dedicated jigging rods on the market. Big statement, but once you
feel the rods you'll understand that it's not an idle boast.
Conventional Guides (overhead) |
Spinning Series |
A bit of background, several
years ago a few fellows from New Zealand set up a manufacturing
facility in an economic development zone in China, nothing unusual
about that, several large firms have done the same, including
Mustad, Penn, ZeeBaas, Shimano... But, two of the partners live
there and run the factory. They know what they are doing, also they
well know our local West Coast rods. I spent a long time with one of
'em going over the history of the old Sabre firm, Calstar, Truline...
They know our history well, and know the actions we've grown up
using. They build their rods for their own market, but have the
ability to produce to our specs, too. They are a much more expensive
firm to do business with than the more typical Chinese producer of
rods. Their technology is better, too. I've been to their plant twice now, and it's impressive, more impressive than anything I've
seen here to date. Their plant is located well off the beaten path,
simply because they did not want others to have easy access to
knowledge about what they were doing and their techniques.
Let me provide some background
on the Ahi Assassin rods, all the rods we offer are made from Carbon
and Fiberglass, but unlike Seeker and Calstar's design, these rods
use both carbon and 'glass all the way through the rod's length, but
the amount of carbon at the tip is less than the butt. The carbon is
reduced consistently from butt to tip, and the glass increases
consistently from butt to tip. The Ahi Assassin rod blanks do not
stop laying carbon fibre on at a certain point, so there is no
strength concentration on the blanks, consistency of material and
thereby consistency of action is the goal and it's achieved! The
weight of our blanks is very light and the action of our jigging
rods is exceptional, the bend is parabolic to help provide your jigs
the very best action and to help with the additional stress caused
by fishing the newer Spectra and braid lines which have no stretch.
The rods action helps in taming a larger grade fish too since
there's always pressure on the fish, they don't get a second wind.
To
finish these rods, we chose state of the art components from ALPS.
The guides are made to deal with Spectra for the life of the rod's
use, and the action of the rod will help maintain pressure on a fish
instead of creating a break-off from too stiff an action and too
little stretch of the super line. The new rods work with you, they
work with the jig, and they help you work a fish! All the rods in
this series are
6
1/2 feet in length. That's a mid-ground position, some folks
preferring a 6 footer for jigging, some liking the flexibility of a
7 footer. At 6 1/2 feet, we can cover both ends well and if you
chose to use the rod for fishing bait, so be it, you can cast well
and deal well a larger fish given the rod's superb action. The
guides selected will deal well with Spectra lines, and in the case
of the spinning rod, we reverse the largest guide to help prevent
wind knots.
Please click on the images,
you'll have a larger view of the rods and can check detail more
closely. The wrap is our distinctive CharkBait red, with silver and
black trim. The rods are triple wrapped, and the resin used is pure
old school. No cheap fast cure resins used, these take time, four
hours curing time, 3 coats. That's something you don't find on many
rods these days. And, it shows upon inspection.
The
reel seat is also a distinctive and functional ALPS design. For the
two lighter rods in conventional form we are using ALPS new double
trigger jigging seat. The heavier action rods, given a likelihood of
folks wanting to use a reel clamp, offer a conventional seat. Both
seats use a double lock-down, so once a reel is in place, she's not
going anywhere whether a clamp is used or not. But, given some
stamped steel reel feet used by some firms we felt that we'd better
allow use of a clamp for the heavier rigs - it is not needed on the
lighter rods which are made for handling 65# and down line test.
The hypalon is sanded, for a
smooth and richer feel. Again, this is something that's not
typically done on factory made rods. And there are some nice
cosmetic touches you'll notice on these rods upon your inspection.
The gimbals are unique
ALPS
ball style jigging designs.
Jigging rods are rated a bit
differently than conventional bait or lure rods. Jigging rods
are designed with lure weight a key component of their design. The
way the rod bends is critical, it's action with a specific weight
lure is a critical part of it's design, of even greater importance
than it's test rating. We incorporate both specifications, but
please do understand that the most important characteristic of these
rods comes from matching them with a particular lure weight rather
than line test rating. Also, please note the physical weight of
these rods compared to any other on the market, they are lighter,
the components better, they're more powerful and the action superb
for this style of fishing.
