Casting: My real curiosity with this blank was whether or not the lure ratings were true. Honestly, given its weight, and knowing my history with Phenix Rods's conventional builds and how I find most of them underpowered for their ratings, I was dubious at best. So I started with a good sized bait, but one that wasn't too heavy. Sly Guy Lures's 9.5 Replica trout weighs about 4.6 ounces - the 790H handled it no problem. Zander happened to have on board, an Illude Swimbaits/Lunker Fighters Grenade Gill. This is a 6 oz wake bait in a gill profile. He handed it to me and I switched baits.

I started with a ~4.5oz lure (Sly Guy's Replica Trout) to get a feel for this rod

Hanging that bait off the tip of the USB-C 790H gave me the impression the blank was slightly overloaded. Then I made a soft lob cast - not bad. Next cast, I leaned into it a little more - still pretty good. By the third cast, I was leaning into the rod fully and it actually handled the bait fine. That was the heaviest bait we had on hand at the time, and though it took some time for me to build confidence slinging that weight with the 790H, turns out, it's more than capable. On subsequent trips, I fished Megabass's iSlide 262T (6oz) on it with no issues whatsoever.

I then went all the way up to a 6oz lure, Illude's Lunker Fighter Grenade Gill. The USB-790H handled casting duties with all of them perfectly

With nothing in my arsenal to challenge the 790H's upper limit of eight ounces, I decided to take a chance going over that rating with a DRT Ghost (9oz) to see how it would fare. This bait definitely overloaded the blank. Lob casts were do-able, but not with any good, fishable distances. Honestly, once I discovered this blank can handle the 262T, I was pretty satisfied. My arsenal of baits are mostly six ounces and below in weight. After that it jumps to 9 with the Ghost, GanCraft Jointed Claw 303, and some super large rats from Illude/Lunker Fighters.

After building confidence on the 790H's ability with 6oz lures, it became one of my go-tos to slink the iSlide 262T. My confusion here has to do with the size of the fish that struck the lure!

Sensitivity: Sensitivity wise, my initial assessment with the blank, prior to building, turned out to be pretty spot on. I'd say the blank is average in sensitivity but not what I'd expect from something built from high modulus graphite. It really feels more like an intermediate modulus blank. That's not to say it's bad. Again, I'd rate it as average. In the world of fishing big baits, sensitivity is not the primary concern. More important is the ability to sling your baits and the right taper and power to set hook and gain the upper hand when the fight is on. With proper rod position while fishing, detecting a bite is not difficult. However, the ability to feel what your bait is doing is very important and not once did I feel the 790H was deficient in this area.

Fig 1 : The chart above illustrates the deflection characteristics of our Phenix Rods USB-790H (blank) against the historical averages of similarly powered rods we've tested over the past twenty years

Power: An area where the790H truly excels is in power. Granted, this blank is rated with a fast taper, so with a lure rating of up to eight ounces, and a fast taper, I'd expect it to be powerful. It does not disappoint. But speaking to that taper, the expectation is this blank is better suited to fish soft swimbaits. Try as I might, I during this stick's testing period, I could not get a bite on soft bodied bait. Admittedly, my tests in this area were cut short due to the success our Editor in Chief, Zander, was having fishing a different style bait with the stick I built for him from this same blank.

After checking out my 790H, Zander wanted one of his own but he prefers a more traditional handle configuration, reel seat, and guide layout (no spiral). Total weight 6.4 oz.

After checking out my initial build on the 790H, Zander was so stoked about the feel of the rod, he asked if I could build him one too. Naturally the answer was yes, but his preference is for a full rear grip and conventional wrapped guides. The full weight on his build was considerably more but still a respectable 6.4 ounces. Ignoring the taper rating, the first bait Zander tied up to his stick was a Lanciotti Lures Psycho Gill and unlike me, he had immediate success. So while I'm struggling to catch a fish to test the rod's abilities using a soft bait, he's catching on a hard bait. Obviously, sometimes, overthinking the appropriate application for a stick or combo can be a detriment. Sometimes, you just have to tie something on and make a cast!

Unlike me, on his very first day with the stick, he catches on a wake bait!

After witnessing Zander's success, it didn't take long for me to switch back to my iSlide 262T, and later, my own Psycho Gill to begin catching fish too. The softbait bite can be very rewarding but takes a lot of patience. In the meantime, that hardbait bite is difficult to ignore and while I still think the 790H is better suited for single hook, jig style soft baits, it can certainly handle duties with big, hard bodied, treble hooked baits too.

The 790H comes with a fast taper. This typically means the built rod will be better suited for soft plastics, but the 790H can do it all

I had one catch on the 262T where the fish got away and avoided its photo opportunity. My initial thought was the rod's taper was to blame because it wasn't forgiving enough when the fish jumped. But we all know that's typically when the fish get away no matter what you do. Despite my efforts to keep it in the water, this particular fish performed a double jump reminiscent of Andrew Wiggins grabbing a rebound and immediately putting it back in the hole for two points. I managed to stay in touch on the first jump, but then was caught off guard by its sudden follow up jump where the bass rejected my iSlide and scored its release.

Not exactly the size I was looking for but proof enough the 790H can handle the iSlide 262T and deliver a catch!

Design & Ergonomics: The two factors that attracted me to this blank are its best traits - length and weight. Most dedicated big bait launchers want as long of a stick as they can get. I am not in this camp. Casting distance is their justification. Far more important to me is the ability to stow that rod in my rod locker and, if and when the time comes, ship it off to someone for whatever reason. The cost of shipping a tube that is over seven feet, eleven inches (7'-11") these days is outrageous. Depending on your supplier, this can also affect the ship to you cost. Life for me is just easier when a fishing rod is 7'-9" or under.

On the build, the B-USB-C 790H comes with a natural graphite surface so wrapping is neither enhanced nor impeded. It's relatively simple to tape double footed guides in place as you wrap and to hot glue the single footed guides. As a rule, I'm terrible at securing single footed guides to the blank before the wrap, but that's no fault of the blank's. I either use too much hot glue so it's too thick or not enough so the guides pop off as I begin the wrap. Probably my least favorite part of building a rod.

Over thinking the appropriate application for your stick or combo can be a detriment. Sometimes you just have to tie something on and make a cast

Tip specs on the blank were accurate for me. I ordered the blank and guides all at the same time. To my delight, the tip top fit with no issue. It's definitely the skeptic in me, but I've not reached the level of trust when ordering blanks to where I can comfortably accept the manufacturer's specifications. So for me, any order placed for components before verifying measurements on the blank myself is risky. I was quite happy and fortunate it worked out in this instance. After handling the blank and realizing how thick the back end was, I was also relieved the SKTS16 reel seat fit and I did not have to order the SKTS17 (larger inside diameter) instead.

I wanted a second build for myself, so I thought I'd change things up with a full grip. Total weight 5.8 oz.

Price & Applications: The total price for parts ($245) on this particular build is laid out in the parts table found earlier in the article. Prices will of course vary depending upon the actual components chosen and do not include shipping, taxes, thread wrap, epoxy, and all the other little miscellaneous things that make a build possible. Make no mistake about it, wrapping your own rods is not really a way to save money. Case in point, the stock, built rod from Phenix on this same blank, their USB-790H, retails for $299 before shipping and tax. All those other unseen costs, including labor, come out to more than the $50 difference for me.

Conclusion: Phenix's B-USB-C 790H blank exceeded my expectations in a big bait stick that carries a lot of power, but not a lot of weight. I'd have been happy with one or the other, but the fact you can fish both hard and soft bodied baits effectively with it is a bonus. Also encouraging is the fact you can buy this as a complete rod at your authorized Phenix Rods retailer. Just don't confuse it with the Ultra Swimbait Classic series of the same model number. They might perform similarly, but this newer version will be lighter.

Given the way in which Zander unlocked this stick's darkside, it has henceforth become know to us as the Psycho Stick
 

If you didn't jump to the end, skipping the entire write up, and actually took the time to read through this entire journey with me, thank you. One last point I'd like to make. I've always enjoyed how Megabass gives most of their built rods nicknames for ease of reference. It makes the experience more fun and opens up the opportunity for a degree of lore to be associated with each specific model. I'm certainly not proficient nor consistent enough in my builds to begin doing the same. However, in this instance, given the way in which Zander helped unlock the lore (or darkside if you will) of this build, I feel an exception is in order. I will share how this stick has now come to be referenced between us. Instead of the 790H or the Phenix Build, this stick, in its three configurations has spontaneously and henceforth become known to us as... the Psycho Stick.