Top of the line when it comes to 13 Fishing rods, meet the Archangel

Quality/Construction: The Archangel rod was clearly designed by obsessed bass enthusiasts. This is a rod that is overbuilt in just about every way conceivable. I imagine the team at 13 fishing sitting around a conference room table saying we can create a rod series with all “these” components, it is going to cost a lot, and were not sure how many anglers are going to buy it, and yet the project was green lighted because the company believes that there is a big enough enthusiast market to support such an exciting yet risky venture. Visually the Archangel rods certainly look the part and are clean and elegant, and the use of metal components in the grip and butt give the rod a very high end appearance.

The Archangel pairs beautifully with the company's Concept reels

The thread wraps around the guides are all red which are nice highlights from the black blank and painted grey reel seat. The epoxy and threadwork on the rods is exceptional, with a smooth transition and excellent alignment. One of the things that makes this rod unique in the 13 Fishing lineup is that it is built in Japan, which is more expensive, but where quality control and craftsmanship are key priorities.

The rods cast beautifully and can handle everything from light plastics to hardbaits

Performance: A premium rod deserves an equally premium reel and the Archangel looks like it was designed with the entire Concept Series in mind. In our tests I primarily paired it up with lightweight magnesium based Concept KP (which unfortunately is going away), but the rod balances out well with most of the Concept Series reels. The Concept reels sit very low profile on the Archangel’s painted Fuji reel seat, providing a comfortable platform in which to cast with and palm during retrieves. One of the first things I noticed as we began our tests was just how crisp and responsive the Archangel rod felt when casting lures of just about any type in the stick’s rated lure weight spectrum of 3/16-5/8 oz.

The Concept KP sits nice and low on the Fuji real seat

Casting: I’ll just come out and say it, the Archangel casts exquisitely. It loads extremely well and the light yet crisp tip allows anglers to make pinpoint casts with baits within its rated range, and I even had no issues going higher than the 5/8oz as well, casting baits up to 3/4oz. without feeling like the tip was even stressed. The rod loads nicely can overhand cast confidently or simply roll cast to the side, whipping lightweight lures with precision. As always, sheer casting distance depends on many factors, but suffice to say I never felt like I was short on distance or accuracy with this extremely crisp feeling rod.

A flick of the wrist and the crisp tip zone does all the work

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