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Enthusiast Tackle : Rod Review
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Megabass Invokes the Spirit of a Dragon to Bring to Life
their Fiberglass Cranking Stick : The F4-610GT3 Shiryu
(continued)
 Retrieve:
The F4-610GT3
Shiryu handles
the task of
shallow and deep
running cranks
very well.
There's no
feeling of
fighting the
lure or your
reel as is
typical when
using some
graphite sticks
and retrieving
deep running
cranks. On one
trip, while
tossing a Lucky
Craft LV-MAX500
lipless crank, I
received a hit,
so hard from a
striper, the rod
was practically
knocked out of
my hands. JIP
and Zander had
been missing
fish all day on
short, but
violent strikes
like that, but
as soon as I
regained my
composure and
regripped my
rod, I found the
fish was still
there! In
typical,
fiberglass
fashion, the
F4-610GT3
absorbed the
impact of that
strike without
pulling the bait
away from the
fish, and
afforded me the
one or two
second delay of
losing my grip,
regaining it,
and then setting
the hook. My
prize was a
striper 1/2" shy
of the legal
keeper size of
18", but what an
eye opening
experience. I
was certain I
had lost the
fish after
losing my grip
on the rod.
The F4-610GT3's
specifications
Typical Megabass
detailing
Power:
Remember our review
of the F6-69X Super
Destroyer III in
which I described
the battle with the
very first fish
caught on that rod,
an amazing
nine-pound bass? As
fate would have it,
the very first fish
to succumb to the
F4-610GT3 came on a
cast, across a rocky
point in about nine
feet of water using
a Megabass crank. I
thought, at first,
the hit was a snag
especially my line
didn't move after I
swept the rod back
for a hookset. Two
seconds later it
did, and I started
to crank the handle
of my Conquest 101
DC feverishly in an
effort to maintain
leverage on the fish
while letting my
fishing partner know
I had one on. As I
took up the slack in
the line, I applied
pressure with the
F4-610GT3, and she
started to come to
the surface, but
then dove. I saw a
flash and figured
she was about four
or five pounds. My
buddy, Byron,
grabbed the net just
in case asking, "is
it a good one?"
A closeup of the thread
wrap and winding check
on the split rear grip
of our F4-610GT3
With the help of the
Shiryu, I brought her
right to the boat where
she flashed again,
before taking a quick
dive. Nothing in that
flash seemed to indicate
she was any larger than
four to five pounds.
Byron was ready with the
net. I got her to closer
to the surface once
more. This was no four
or five pound bass! As
Byron called out the
requisite expletives,
the bass dove and ripped
off a few yards on my
Conquest 101DC despite
my high drag setting!
But the F4-610GT3 did
not let up, nor did it
pull the crank out of
the diving fish's mouth.
Moments later, I had her
come up again and this
time, I guided her head
first into the net, and
Byron swung her into the
boat. Eight pounds even
on the Lipper. Another
big, first fish, for yet
another Megabass rod,
and thanks to the
F4-610GT3 Shiryu, the
task of getting the fish
to the boat was never
really in question.
Another look at the
thread wrap and
winding check on the
split rear grip of
our F4-610GT3 - this
time of the butt
section
Application:
The F4-610GT3 is
intended as a
technique specific
crankbait rod and
suits this purpose
exceptionally well
for baits from a
quarter to a full
ounce in weight, and
these were all we
had in our arsenal
to throw as test
fodder. Lipless
cranks and
spinnerbaits
benefited equally as
well from this rod.
We tried to fish a
little outside the
box by casting some
Vision 110's and
Pointer 100SP's with
this rod, but the
soft tip prevented
effective enough
jerking or ripping
action from these
baits to trigger
strikes.
The handsome winding
check at the top of the
ITO Headlock foregrip
Features: The
F4-610GT3 Shiryu
features titanium framed
SIC guides, a hypalon
split rear grip, a
hypalon foregrip that
also serves as the
lockring for the reel
seat, Megabass's own TX
Fiberglass blank, and
typical, handsome
detailing throughout. At
5.3 ounces, it is not
the lightest of rods out
there, but is well
balanced and together
with the Conquest 101DC,
was comfortable enough
to fish for hours on
end. I do believe there
is a point of
diminishing returns when
speaking of rod balance
versus weight, but the
F4-610GT3 Shiryu is
below this threshold.
The detailing is
found just above the
foregrip
Subtle silver
and green
highlights in
the brown
threadwrap
This Shiryu
(Purple
Dragon) for
which the
rod is named
is be found
on the
exposed
portion of
the split
rear grip
Warranty:
The Megabass
US warranty
remains the
same and
covers
manufacturer
defects for
the first
year only
and only on
rods sold
their United
States
distribution
office,
Megabass
USA. Rods
purchased
outside of
Megabass USA
carry no
official
coverage and
any possible
warranty
claims must
be made
through the
original
vendor.
That's
provided, of
course, said
vendor
offers any
assistance
to this
regard. For
claims on
rods
purchased
through
Megabass
USA, please
verify the
details of
coverage and
the warranty
claim
process
through them
directly.
This eight pound bass
was kind enough to help
us break in our
F4-610GT3 Shiryu from
Megabass
Ratings:
|
Megabass
F4-610GT3
Shiryu
Ratings
(?/10)
|
|
Construction/Quality |
Another
flawless
work of
fishing
art from
the
factories
of
Megabass |
10 |
|
Performance |
This is
not a
lifeless
fiberglass
stick,
but
while
sensitivity
was
better
than
we've
experienced
in other
glass
sticks,
it was
still
not
perfect. |
9 |
|
Price |
Surprisingly,
for a
Megabass
rod, the
Shiryu
is
attractively
priced |
8 |
|
Features |
Spiral
wrapped
guides
are a
smart
move on
glass
sticks,
but
still,
no hook
keeper |
9 |
|
Design
(Ergonomics) |
They had
me at
the
purple
dragon
in the
reel
seat |
10 |
|
Application |
A
technique
specific
cranking
stick
capable
of
presenting
both
small
and
large
cranks
and
everything
in
between |
10 |
|
Total
Score
|
9.33 |
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus
Minus
|
|
J
Good
Value
for a
Megabass
Rod |
L
Warranty
is
limited |
|
J
Well
balanced
and
light
enough |
L
Lack of
a hook
keeper |
|
J
High end
components |
L
Sensitive
for
glass,
but not
compared
to
graphite |
|
J
Exquisite
detailing |
|
|
J
Surprisingly
powerful |
|
Conclusion:
While not the
absolute perfect
cranking stick, the
F4-610GT3 Shiryu
sure comes close in
my mind. Were it
just a tad lighter
and a bit more
sensitive, it may
have scored a
perfect 10. As it
stands, the
improvements over
older generation
glass sticks I've
fished were obvious.
Couple that with
traditional Megabass
touches like good
balance and unreal
detailing and I find
it really hard to
pick up any other
stick these days
when it's time to
throw a treble
hooked bait. The
clincher was the hit
from that kamikaze
striper that
practically knocked
the rod out of my
hands. I was
certain, in the time
it took me to
recover and regrip
my rod, that fish
was lost, yet there
it was - only a
glass rod is so
forgiving. Throw in
there, the power
this rod
demonstrated while
battling the eight
pounder, and the
sensitivity I
experienced
when pulling my
crank through the
weeds leading to
that three pounder
and boy, almost
perfect. Add one
last attribute to
this almost perfect
stick, the roughly
$375 price tag for a
Megabass rod and we
have one of our
rare, high dollar
TackleTour Best
Value awards for a
product that
surprised us in
performance, wowed
us with its
detailing, and yet,
didn't kill us in
the pocket book as
compared to it's
more expensive
siblings.
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