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Rod Review


Seeking perfection, the Pinnacle “Perfecta” Tournament Class rods

 

Date: 2/02/11
Tackle type: Rod
Manufacturer: Pinnacle
Reviewer: Zander






Total Score: 8.38 - GREAT

Introduction: Pinnacle continues to gain momentum as they introduce higher end rod and reel offerings that they describe are “Tournament Class.” The new Perfecta rods are the highest end rods the company has introduced to date and feature Fuji components combined with a new proprietary blank design called DHC5. While the rods appear attractive at first glance do they really have what it takes to warrant the name Perfecta?

 

Pinnacle Perfecta 7'11" Heavy Casting Rod Specifications

Material DHC5 Graphite
Length 7'11"
Line Wt. 14 - 30lb
Lure Wt. 1/2 - 3oz.
Pieces 2 (Telescopic)
Guides 9 Guides + Tip Top Fuji Alconite New Concept Guides
Power Rating Heavy
Taper Fast
Rod Weight 6.5 oz
MSRP $169.99

 


The Pinnacle Perfecta 7'11" rod is designed for "heavy" applications

 

Impressions: I’ve fished Pinnacle rods in the past but they were all value rods, usually sold in combos at big box retailers. For many anglers this is how they first learned about the brand, seeing the rods hoisted over the aisles at retail and sporting goods stores. But Pinnacle has come a long way in a short amount of time and invested greatly in bringing higher end products to market.

 


The Calais DC looks right at home on this rod with the rod's machined checks

 

Today the company’s Pro Staff includes some big names including Dave Wolak, Paul Elias, Britt Myers, Grant Goldbeck and John Crews. Last year the company had a major presence at ICAST and introduced a range of higher end baitcasters that look much better than previous Pinnacle baitcasters that we have fished when it comes to both specifications and design. To match these new reels the company also upped the ante in their rod lineup and introduced the Perfecta series of rods. These rods were designed to hold up to the rigors of tournament fishing but remain reasonably priced for all anglers.

 


These machined checks are actually double anodized, a very nice touch. Notice the open hook hanger design positioned underneath the blank

 

To do this the company went back to the drawing board and created a new proprietary blank design called DHC5. DHC stands for “Double Helical Construction” which describes the actual structure of this blank. Each Perfecta rod begins with high-density carbon tape wrapped tightly around the length of a mandrel. Pinnacle then rolls layers of high-modulus, uni-directional graphite prepreg, without glass scrim, over the initial carbon wrap. Normally, eliminating scrim would make for too brittle a rod, but Pinnacle addresses this by reinforcing the blank strength by rolling another layer of high-density carbon tape on top of the layers of graphite prepreg in the opposite direction of the first carbon tape layer. This application of carbon tape wraps the elimination of scrim and the use of less resin reduces rod weight and increases sensitivity, while helping retain strength and durability.

 


Pinnacle makes use of proven Fuji components including the ACS reel seat with a matte silver hood

 

While the company designed their own blank they turned to Fuji for proven components. All Perfecta™ rods feature Fuji® guides with Alconite™ rings and diamond-polished stainless steel frames as well as Fuji ACS trigger reel seats. In terms of styling the Perfecta rods feature a dark blue blank with machined aluminum winding checks. The rods also employ a modern split grip design with high quality cork handles. Overall the rods look very clean and felt lightweight in hand.  

 


Yes we would have loved SiC guides but the Alconites do fine in this application and price point

 

Real World Tests: While we have fished a total of three Perfecta rods during an entire season there is one rod in particular that we found the most interesting, this is the heaviest casting rod in the company’s lineup, the DHC5-7112CAHSB. This Heavy powered rod is 7’11” in length and features a classic telescoping design and is able to accommodate line weights between 14-30lbs. and lure weights from 1/2oz. all the way to a whopping 3oz. In the lab we noted how powerful yet lightweight this stick was for a heavy swimbait capable rod, weighing in at only 6.5oz.

 


The Perfecta rods feature a split grip design and the rod's intended applications are listed on the blank

 

To test this Perfecta rod I employed it for pitching and frogging on the California Delta and swimbaits on Clear Lake, Pardee and a few local reservoirs. I paired it with a number of reels and used both braided and fluorocarbon lines from Toray throughout the tests.

 


The rod is finished with an EVA butt

 

Casting: Before fishing the rod it is important to note that this is a two piece telescoping rod that is able to collapse 13.5” inches making it possible to fit this rod inside most boat lockers, a big plus for both tournament anglers and weekend warriors alike. Inside the blank is a rubber strap which helps keep the rod compressed when not in use, a very nice little detail. When deployed the rod is held in place with nothing more than tension but is able to stay firmly in place both when casting or fighting fish.

 


Comparing the heavier powered 7'11" rod to the 7' Med Heavy

 

Unlike many traditional flipping rods which feature a telescoping design the Perfecta rod is not overly tip-heavy and balanced out well with a variety of reels including our Shimano Calais DC. I found the rod very good at pitching larger jigs and when it came to frogs I was able to cast them as far as I wanted with a simple side or overhand cast. It is with swimbaits that I was actually the most impressed with this rod. In the “old” days we used flipping rods to cast swimbaits, before there were rods dedicated to these popular baits, and many of these rods while very good for pitching proved to be underpowered for larger heavier swimbaits. The Perfecta 7’11” feels right at home tossing big baits and I’d argue it even feels better lobbing bigger heavier baits than smaller 1oz. lures. This bait has a cannon for a blank and is able to rocket heavy soft bodied and hard swimbaits so far line capacity may be an issue on shallow spooled reels. The blank features a very fast taper and loads quickly to launch these baits.

 


Inside the rod is band which helps the rod stay compressed rather than rattling around our sliding outward when not in use

Next Section: Plenty of backbone for swimbait fishing

 

   

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