An
Affordable Cranking Stick for Spinning Rod Fans - The Abu Garcia Veritas
| Date: |
1/11/20 |
| Tackle Type: |
Rod |
| Manufacturer: |
Abu Garcia |
| Reviewer: |
Cal |
Total Score: 7.91 - GOOD
Introduction: Last year, we shared with you our thoughts on Abu Garcia's new Revo Winch W30 - a low gear ratio spinning reel designed for moving bait enthusiasts. But no cranking or any technique specific reel is complete without a corresponding rod, right? Naturally, Abu Garcia knows this to be true and makes a stick to perfectly match with the Revo Winch W30. Here now is our look at the Veritas VTSSW70-5 Winch Spinning Rod.
|
Abu Garcia Veritas VTSSW70-5
Specifications |
|
Material |
30Ton Graphite |
|
Length |
7'-0" |
|
Line Wt. |
8-17lb |
|
Lure Wt. |
1/4-5/8oz |
|
Pieces |
One |
|
Guides |
7+tip Ti Alloy Frames w/ Zirconium Inserts |
| Rear Handle Length |
10.5 |
|
Power Rating |
Medium |
|
Taper |
Moderate |
|
Rod Weight |
4.8 |
| Origin |
Made in China |
|
MSRP |
$99.99 |
We've already written up the Revo4 Winch
Spinning reel, now it's time to zero in on the matching rod
Impressions:
The Veritas VTSSW70-5 is a seven foot, zero inch spinning rod made of 30-ton graphite and outfitted with titanium framed guides with Zirconium inserts. It's graphite, but what makes it suitable for moving baits is the stick's moderate taper meaning it bends more through its length than a rod designed with a fast or extra-fast taper.
The middle portion of the reel seat has an exposed blank and a
very small taper to fit the contour of your hand. Like many competing
skeleton-style seats just how comfortable this feels in hand depends on the
individual user's preferences
This Veritas rod is finished with a very minimal EVA foam grip and features a custom, Abu Garcia double lockdown reel seat with a
ratcheting adjustment. The middle portion of the reel seat has an exposed blank and a very small taper to fit the contour of your hand not unlike the spinning reel seat on Phenix's Feather series bass rods, only less pronounced.
Ready for some testing
Real World Tests: I of course, had the VTSSW70-5 paired with Abu Garcia's Revo4 Winch Spinning Reel. The reel was spooled with two hundred yards (200yds) of six pound Sunline Sniper FC. My primary intent was to fish small, paddletail swimbaits with this combo.
The reel seat as it appears when everything is tightened up
Casting: The VTSSW70-5 is labeled as a moderate taper rod, but it's plenty quick in loading and recovery to help you deliver your baits on target. In fact, while working a bait, the stick didn't feel very moderate at all and that's a good thing. When you're switching back and forth between combos, you want consistency in how rods behave during your cast so as not to interrupt your rhythm casting and placing baits where you need.
Both the EVA foam and the logo section of the rear grip serve as
the locking mechanisms for the reel seat. The section with the logo is racheted
Sensitivity: Where you start to realize you're not fishing with a standard spinning stick is sensitivity. While the VTSSW70-5 is not almost dead like some glass or really low quality graphite cranking sticks, it's certainly not on par with even its faster tapered siblings like the VTSS70-4. Of course, it's not meant to be either. Remember, this rod's intent is to be fished with moving bait applications where the takes are usually pretty obvious - usually.
Fig 1 : The chart above illustrates the deflection
characteristics of our Abu Garcia Veritas VTSSW70-5 against our cranking rod
averages
Power: If you have familiarity with a manufacturer, you can usually figure out a rod's intended power by deciphering the code of its model number. For instance, with the afore mentioned VTSS70-4: VTS = Veritas; S = spinning; 70 = the rod's length (7'-0"); 4 = the rod's power in Abu Garcia's power rankings. When I first looked at this stick's label, I somehow read it as VTSSW70-S and figured that "S" at the end stood for "slow" as in the rod's taper. I didn't think twice about that until I began to write this review and needed to figure out the rod's intended power. Then it came to me that the "S" was actually a "5" which is Abu Garcia rod speak for medium power.
Next Section: Medium
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