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Revisiting Evergreen International's Temujin Crossfire Series of Rods : The TXFC-68MH Stallion
(continued)
 Particularly gratifying was the Stallion's ability to handle some of the smaller swimbaits in the market today. The Lucky Craft Real California 130, MattLures Baby Bass, Sunrize Tackle BigHammer, River2Sea Wood'n Minnow, Fish Arrow Spooky Jack, among others, were all very easily fished with the Stallion. Swimbaits not working? No problem, tie on a three-eights ounce jig, add your favorite trailer, and the Stallion is a pitching machine.
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The simple, but elegant thread wrap of our Evergreen Stallion
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The Stallion features two double foot guides, seven single foot guides, and then the tip top
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Sensitivity: The Stallion comes in slightly above average in terms of sensitivity. Not quite among the most sensitive rods I've used, but certainly not in the lower tier either. One of my favorite combinations for this rod was teaming it with a Daiwa Alphas F spooled with 12lb Sugoi Fluorocarbon. The Alphas F was light enough not to be a distraction on the rod and the Sugoi Fluorocarbon did a really nice job of picking up some of the more subtle jig bites and transmitting the information through the Stallion into my hands.
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The requisite butt cap of our JDM Evergreen stick
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The subtle detailing of the fixed counterweight butt cap of our Stallion
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Power: Though the Stallion tested out similar to the MBR783C GLX in deflection tests, it really fished more like the MBR844C GLX on hookset and pulling fish out of weedbeds. Were it not for our RoD WRACK, I'd never have thought the Stallion shared
characteristics with the G.Loomis MBR783C GLX. On actual casts and retrieves, the Stallion felt even more stout than the MBR844C GLX, so it is a difficult rod to really describe other than to say, it has plenty of power when and where it counts.
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The split rear grip of the Stallion features a woven graphite tube between the two sections of the grip
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The foregrip/reelseat lockring of our Stallion features a very handsome winding check cap
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Features: Sporting a split rear, hypalon grip, integrated lockring-foregrip, Fuji titanium framed guides with SiC inserts, a fixed counterweight butt end, and exposed blank reel seat, the Stallion does not dissappoint feature wise and is inline with what I'd expect from top-end stick. If there is any area of disappointment, it comes when factoring in the price of this rod. One would hope, in the Stallion's price range, a rod of this length and configuration might also include some exotic materials incorporated in the blank, but no such claims are made by evergreen for the Stallion or any of the other Temujin Crossfire rods, these are straight graphite blanks.
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This chunky bass was no match for out Stallion paired with a Daiwa Alphas Type F reel, spooled with 12lb Sugoi Fluorocarbon
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Application: The Stallion's strength definitely lies with the rod's
versatility. Its stated lure weight range is accurate, and if anything, understated as I was able to cast and fish lures up to two ounces with this little powerhouse. Matched with the right reel, the Stallion works well on the other side of its lure weight recommendations as well. This is one impressive rod with a wide range of abilities.
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A closeup look at the Stallion's svelte reel seat by Fuji Tackle
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The Stallion's painted reel seat blends in perfectly with the rod's color scheme
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Warranty: Evergreen's official market does not include North America. As such, there is zero official warranty support here. However, there is an active distribution network in Italy, so for our European readership, please check with your local vendors for availability and warranty information on Evergreen sticks in your area. Same holds true for other parts of the world. For now, if you're in North America, you're out of luck so acquire at your own risk.
Ratings:
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Evergreen TXFC-68MH Stallion Ratings (?/10)
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| Construction/Quality |
Our Stallion arrived straight and true with very clean assembly |
10 |
| Performance |
A very versatile and powerful stick |
8 |
| Price |
One of the few downfalls of this stick |
4 |
| Features |
Top end components on a straight graphite stick |
8.5 |
| Design (Ergonomics) |
Understated when compared to other JDM sticks, but elegant nonetheless |
9.5 |
| Application |
Choose your bassing technique, and the Stallion can probably handle it |
10 |
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Total Score
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8.38 |
Pluses and Minuses:
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Plus Minus
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| J The very definition of "All Purpose" |
L Very difficult to acquire |
| J Very well balanced |
L Impossibly expensive |
| J Top notch components |
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| J For once, a JDM stick that is accurately rated |
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Among its many benefits, the Stallion makes a wonderful jig stick
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Conclusion: This is the rod I was hoping the Steed would be. Though a tad bit more powerful than I prefer for an all purpose type stick, there is no denying the versatility of this rod. It is quite extraordinary really. There remains a sizeable gap in Evergreen's Temujin Crossfire series of rods, between the Steed and the Stallion but both rods are undeniably fun to fish. Besides, this gap is only important if you want to acquire and fish this entire line of rods. On the other hand, if your goal is an all purpose stick that can handle the muck of heavy cover situations yet not be a burden to fish in open water situations, the Stallion could be your ticket to this daily double.
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