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CB Rod Wars Part #9 : Gan Craft's Scarface
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Date: |
8/20/09 |
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Tackle type: |
Rod |
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Manufacturer: |
Gan Craft |
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Reviewer: |
Cal |
Total Score: 7.25 - GOOD
Introduction:
It’s not often we here at TackleTour are late to the party, but with my recent focus on swimbaits, it’s left little room in my budget to try out new JDM manufacturer product.
Gan Craft has been producing lures for sometime, but just recently burst onto the TT Enthusiast scene with their rods. This was thanks in large part to TackleTour team member David Thatcher who made his quest to acquire one of their sticks quite public in our discussion forum. Their rods are now relatively easy to source and we’re happy to report their highly touted cranking stick, the KB-003-68M Scarface, is an official participant in our 2009 Crankbait Rod Wars.
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Gan
Craft KB-003-68M Scarface
Specifications
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| Material |
Fiberglass |
| Length |
6'-8" |
| Length from Back of Reel Seat to Base |
10.75" |
| Line Wt. |
10 - 16lb test |
| Lure Wt. |
3/8 - 1 oz |
| Pieces |
one |
| Guides |
8 + tip (Fuji Ti SiC) |
| Power Rating |
Medium Heavy |
| Taper |
Mod-Fast |
| Rod Weight |
7 oz |
| Manufacturing Country |
Undetermined |
| MSRP |
42K JPY |
Impressions: It’s always great fun to receive not just a new stick from overseas, but a new stick from a new-to-me manufacturer. I originally intended to acquire a
Gan Craft rod for our 2008 Swimbait Rod Wars, but the specifications on their rods simply did not meet my requirements. Namely, their sticks rated for heavy baits were just too short and I had already been there done that with the Megabass Mephisto.
Introducing the Gan Craft Killers Series "Scarface" cranking stick
So, despite budget constraints during these tight, economic times, when it was time to stock up for the Enthusiast category of our Crankbait Rod Wars, this stick was at the top of my list.
Fig. 1 : This RoD Deflection Chart shows the deflection characteristics of the
Gan Craft KB-003-68M Scarface (yellow curve) versus the overall average for all of our Crankbait Rod Wars participants per category. You can see by the curve, the Scarface
matches almost perfectly, the average curve for our Medium cranking sticks meaning it should really suit quite well for all purpose cranking duties.
I’m happy to report, it does not disappoint. The Scarface is an intricately detailed stick with fun inscriptions like “You will be in danger” right on the reel seat. Having more of a “street” feel to it rather than refined and sophisticated, make no mistake about it, this is an artfully crafted product very much in the spirit of another JDM rod manufacturing giant, Megabass. That’s good news for those who prefer this kind of intrigue in their sticks, but bad news for those who value more simple and stark rods ala Evergreen International.
The Scarface matches nicely with Daiwa's Limited run Millionaire Ringa
SSS.
In terms of feel, the Scarface falls right in between the two other strictly JDM cranking rods acquired for our Year of the Crank coverage, the Evergreen International Super Nova and Daiko Burroughs BRSC-70MG. Of those three rods, the Scarface is closest in feel to past favorite, the Megabass F3-610GT3 Shiryu only the Scarface has an ever so slightly lighter tip as compared to the Shiryu.
The Scarface comes with a full foregrip (integrated into the locking mechanism of the reel seat) and split rear grip.
Gan Craft places a subtle hint on the Scarface to remind us the real reason the majority of us go fishing - to have fun and not take ourselves too seriously.
Real World Test: Early on I had the Scarface paired up with the limited edition Daiwa Millionaire Ringa SSS. The polished silver
styling's of this reel match the black and red motif of the Scarface well.
Despite the fancy styling's, the Scarface's reel seat is a standard Fuji exposed blank seat.
Casting: The Scarface is somewhat reminiscent of Evergreen's Super Nova in that its tip loads super easily and casting with this rod is a breeze. its tip is not quite as soft as the Super Nova as the Scarface handles baits through its rated range of three eighths to one ounce a bit better though I prefer to stick with three quarters of an ounce max on this stick.
The Scarface has some very nice details and shadow lines.
With a lot of cranking sticks, I find I need to adjust my release point during a cast to compensate and regain accuracy due to the more moderate taper the majority of these sticks possess. Perhaps the Scarface benefitted from my fishing several other sticks prior to it, but strangely enough, I found no such adjustments necessary with this stick.
More into street than sophistication, the Scarface is not without its own, unique JDM
styling's
The sweet spot for this rod seems to be with baits right around half an ounce in weight like Lucky Craft's BDS3, but it cast well with Bill Norman DD22s, Lucky Craft LV500MAX and Redemption Spinnerbait baits, and Rapala SR8 Shad Raps.
A close-up of the rear grip on the Scarface.
The Scarface can handle a DD22 but is better suited for baits like the Lucky Craft BDS3.
Next
Section: Sensitivity, Power & Features
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