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Rod Review


Phenix's Oxymoron Trout Stick : The Iron Feather (continued)

Sensitivity: With a super light tip like that on the IF722-2 one expects to experience super sensitivity, but with this rod the tip serves a very different purpose and the IF722-2 is designed for strike detection by watching the tip of your rod. You see the tip moving at the slightest tension at the end of your line before you ever feel anything. While this is a detriment when bass fishing, when trout fishing, this actually makes a lot of sense because it allows you to see the bite before the fish can feel anything. Make no mistake, if you're feeling the fish at the end of the line, in all likelihood, the fish is feeling you too. With the Iron Feather, that problem does not exist.


The Iron Feather features Fuji's top end guides.

Power: What you don't normally get with an ultra-light rod is good power. Afterall, it's rated ultra-light! But because the IF722-2's tip is so fast, it translates into the rod's backbone sooner than your typical UL rod and delivers performance akin to a stick with an extra-fast taper.


It's all about the tip on this rod.

As luck would have it, just messing around with my goofy, impromptu wacky rig of a four inch straight tail worm, I managed to tempt an unsuspecting bass at about two pounds and boy what a fun fight that was! Given I was only using five pound test line and had the drag on my Native Custom set at a modest pressure, the IF722-2 had more than enough power to control the fish. It's all about matching your landing and fighting technique to the tackle. The IF722-2 was impressive in this battle but I bet it'd be even more fun and reassuring with a crazier fighting rainbow trout.


So super flexible, you see the bite before you feel anything.

The tip on this rod is great at absorbing head shakes and direction changes without applying too much pressure to pull the hook out or even give the fish leverage to work its way out of the hookset.


The IF722-2 has plenty of backbone to handle largemouth bass.

Availability: The Phenix Iron Feather IF722-2 and their entire series of rods are readily available although you might find them difficult to source at tackle stores that deal primarily in bass gear. If interested, a quick visit to Phenix's website and you can email the company to inquire as to a retail location near you that carries this series of rods or try them at info at phenixrods dot com.

Ratings:

Phenix Iron Feather IF722-2 Spinning Rod Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality Craftsmanship and detailing is top notch 9
Performance Took a while to get used to the tip, but once you understand it's about seeing the bite and letting the fish take the bait, it all comes into focus. This is great for trout.. not so much for bass. 8
Price Make no mistake, this is a premium priced trout stick 6.5
Features The parallel graphite fibers in the tip make for a unique feature in this rod 8
Design (Ergonomics) Very well balanced and light 8
Application Designed for trout, the Iron Feather would make a nice stick for panfish too and as our tests prove it can also be used for bass as long as you are ok with detecting strikes visually 8.5

Total Score

8.00
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!
For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

 

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus

Minus
+ Trout fishing Enthusiasts now have a domestically available stick with JDM-esque detailing - A pricey trout rod
+ Top end components - The tip takes some getting used to because there's not much feel to it though the strikes are very visually detectable
+ Two pieces for ease of transport  

  

Conclusion: There are few UL sticks I've handled that are truly UL bait specific. Most can serve double duty as a finesse bass stick and are perfectly at home with lure weights in the neighborhood of three sixteenths of an ounce and line weights up to eight pounds. The IF722-2 from Phenix is perfect with as light of line weight as you're comfortable handling and with super ultra-light lures.


Best suited for trout, Phenix's the Iron Feather is a uniquely enjoyable stick to fish.

Ideal for light trout spinners and spoons, this stick would serve equally well as a panfish rod fishing 1/64th or 1/32nd ounce micro-tube jigs, and of course Power Bait fishing for trout. With its super lithe tip, you can see any little nibble and be ready when it's time to set hook.

 

   

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