Lucky Craft LCS 701MXF Spinning Rod Product Review

Rod Review

What The Finesse?!? : Feeling Lucky... Craft?

Date:	3/21/12
Tackle type:	Rod
Manufacturer:	Lucky Craft
Reviewer:	Cal

Total Score: 7.92 - GOOD

Introduction: Lucky Craft, what is the first thing that pops into your mind when hearing the name of this manufacturer? Square bill cranks? Jerkbaits? Spinnerbaits? BASS Elite Pro Skeet Reese? Lipless Cranks? The hard bodied swimbait that we blew up in one review and then exonerated in another? How many thoughts pass by before you recall that this manufacturer, best known for shattering the $10 per lure pricing barrier and creating a market for high priced cranks, jerkbaits and more, has a line of fishing rods that do the complete opposite within their market segment? What the Finesse are we talking about? We're referring to JDM-styled fishing rods, with high end components for a price point that does not break the bank. Introducing our look at a third stick from Lucky Craft's rod lineup, the LCS 701MXF.

Introducing Lucky Craft's LCS 701MXF Spinning Rod.

Lucky Craft LCS 701MXF Specifications
Material	Graphite
Length	7'1"
Line Wt.	6 - 20lb
Lure Wt.	1/16 - 1/2 oz
Pieces	1
Guides	8 + Tip (Fuji SS / SiC)
Power Rating	Medium
Taper	Xtra-Fast
Rod Weight	4.2 oz
Origin	Made in China
MSRP	$199

Impressions: Lucky Craft's LCS 701MXF is a seen foot stick with a lure rating between one sixteenth to one half (1/16 - 1/2) ounce, and a line rating between six to twenty (6-20) pounds. It features a split rear grip and a foregrip that's integrated into the reel seat's locking mechanism. Execution of the rod's assembly is very good and the rod has very clean lines.

Thanks to an extra-fast taper, the LCS 701MXF has a light tip similar to our WTF baseline rods, but in the end, has more power than either.

The Lab: While most of us here at TackleTour associate spinning gear with finesse tactics, it’s obvious there are those who use spinning gear as the primary tools in their arsenal. Hence there are rods that feature greater power ratings than those normally associated with “finesse”. The LCS 701MXF is a stick that sort of skirts the line between finesse and general application. As you can see in our RoD Deflection Chart, this stick has a pretty steady curve that’s a step above our two WTF baseline sticks. It would appear the LCS 701MXF is pretty true to its “medium” power rating.

Lab Results for Lucky Craft LCS 701MXF
Model	Avg RoD (1-32 oz)	Taper	Measured Weight (oz)	Balance Point (inches)	Balancing Torque (ftlbs)
LCS 701MXF	2.86	Xtra-Fast	4.2	8.5	0.15
DSR820S GLX	3.02	Fast	3.9	8	0.15
SMR822-SP GLX	2.75	Fast	3.7	7.5	0.15

Field Tests: Out on the water we matched the LCS 701MXF up with a Daiwa Certate Vintage Custom 1503 spooled with six pound Sunline Supernatural. Destination for our field tests with this stick? Lake Berryessa on the edge of the Napa Valley in Northern California.

Rigged and ready to go matched up with a Daiwa Certate Vintage Custom 1503.

Casting: Though we're pretty clear that the LCS 701MXF's is a medium powered rod, of interest with this particular stick is its wide ranging lure rating. Normally sticks that have a beginning lure rating of one sixteenth of an ounce have a max of somewhere around three eighths, but the LCS 701MXF's rating extends to a full half ounce. Then again, with a spinning rod, one sixteenth of an ounce in combined lure weight is really not that big of a deal, right?

You want clean cork? This is pretty clean.

To test this theory out, I looked into my gear and found some 1/32 ounce Owner Wacky Jig heads. I pulled one out, tipped it with a four inch Roboworm Straight Tail Finesse worm and put it to our little Pelouze Go80 postal scale. Measured weight of this lure combo? One sixteenth of an ounce – perfect.

Detailing on our test rod was flawless.

I tied it to the end of the line and had at it. As suspected, casting this lure combination is pretty effortless with the LCS701MXF, especially with only six pound test line. As long as the lure you're trying to present has enough heft to be thrown by hand, you can pretty much bet you'll be able to cast it on spinning gear because the casting resistance provided by the line coming off your spool is virtually non-existent.

The grip on our LDS701MXF is sculpted for a better fit while holding the rod.

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