What the Finesse: Talk about Endurance, Powell’s new Spinning Rod (continued)

Retrieve and Power: Even when fishing lures well outside the lure weight range the rod responded confidently, and when purposely loading up on the rod to land smaller fish the blank effectively transitions the load all the way through the midsection causing it to really bend. There is backbone in this rod, it is just hidden all the way down in the mid to lower sections of the blank. Get to the very edge of a high-stick and this rod will continue to bear the weight confidently and the light tip makes fighting fish of all sizes quite exciting.

Check out that tip!

Sensitivity: The sensitivity category is always hard to evaluate as rods that are usually extraordinarily sensitive or obviously dead feeling make coming to a conclusion easy, but rods that fall somewhere in the middle are a whole lot harder to evaluate. The Endurance rod does a good job transferring feedback with structure as well as fish strikes but I did have a little more difficulty discerning the exact types of cover that I was working baits through.

Powell makes use of a smaller diameter first guide

Overall the Endurance blank on this rod is slightly above average when it comes to sensitivity, and while they are great for weighted techniques when fishing ultra-finesse a little more sensitivity would be welcome, and could have helped aid in the decision of how to make adjustments when approaching different types of structure. If you have fished Powell Max Spinning rods in the past the Endurance rods will feel just a notch more sensitive thanks mainly to the blank and guide configuration. 

Midway through the rod the backbone kicks in

Durability: Powell rods have a well deserved reputation for being very durable, and even professional anglers have often described the rods to me as “extremely hard to break.” I’ve checked out the rods of some tournament pros that have fished them for over a season, and while the cork handles have definitely seen better days and a number of the guides have inevitably be smashed, the rods continue to perform and the blanks remained completely intact.

The blend of cork and EVA make for a nice overall look, the anodized purple winding checks are nice touch

Throughout our field tests the Endurance spinning rod has held up very well and the Alconite guides performed well with mono and fluorocarbon lines, making them a sensible choice for a rod in this price range.

100 years in the rod building business, that's what we call "Endurance"

Price and Applications: Are you looking for a finesse spinning rod capable of tossing everything from shakey heads to working a drop shot rig but don’t want to break the bank? The Powell Endurance 6101L will fit the bill nicely at only $169.99, a good price for a rod that can handle such a wide array of finesse techniques on light line, is robust enough to stand up to bucketmouths, and also just plain fun to fish. The 6101L is good for everything from panfish to largemouth, and can even be used for a number of trout applications including tossing spoons or even laying down Powerbait.

Ratings: (We've re-calibrated our ratings standard for 2008 and have included a key at the bottom of the following matrix as a guide):

Pluses and Minuses: