APIA Foojin'RS Art Magic 90ML+ (UK Custom) 9' 5-36g lure rod review - £399.99 UK price

First off, let’s call this brand new APIA Foojin'RS Art Magic 90ML+ (UK Custom) 9' 5-36g lure rod the Custom to make things easier. It’s not cheap and you can buy a slightly lighter 9’ lure rod if that’s your main worry (this APIA weighs 154g and it feels SO good in the hand) - it isn’t mine I might add - but if you are after a 9’ long lure fishing rod that for many lure anglers could easily be the only lure rod they need, then this rod can be that rod in spades. Goddamn it’s a peach, but then APIA tends to make proper fishing rods that seriously work for me and how I go about my lure fishing………….

APIA are a very classy Japanese fishing tackle brand, and whilst I know very little about how they run their business, via various friends within the industry I have been able to enjoy messing around with a large number of their rods (and lures) over the years. I have got to see how their rods have developed over time, how APIA design all the rods within their ranges to stand out from each other with the different actions and intentions, and how they have now arrived at a rod like this Custom - with big input from Ben Field at the Art of Fishing I might add. Literally a day into playing with that incredible APIA Foojin’RS Vivogue 96ML+ 9’6’’ 6-38g lure rod in 2023 (review here) and I was on the phone to Ben Field of the Art of Fishing to suggest that there surely needed to be a similar but shorter 9’ version of that particular rod. Ben did what he does so well with APIA and the result is this Custom. I know there was a lot of work which went into this rod because it’s not simply a 9’ version of the Vivogue, but you can definitely feel the similarities between the two rods. I really like that because the longer Vivogue is a stunner (the tip is something else).

So we’ve got a 9’ long lure rod rated to fish lures from 5-36g. These APIA handles are essentially perfect in my book, and the overall build quality is outstanding. I don’t currently drop as low as 5g with my bass fishing - never say never I might add - but I know Ben has successfully fished with really light lures on this rod. I have fished a good bit with smaller surface lures like the Berkley DEX Strider 9cm/9g, and to me the rod is performing very well. I have also hit the Savage Gear Surf Seeker 35g lure as hard as I physically can on this rod and it’s not remotely straining. I will admit to also banging the 40g Surf Seeker out, and whilst I obviously held back a tiny bit, the rod wasn’t complaining at all (I am not saying go over 36g by the way).

This Custom is a proper, proper fishing rod. Like the Vivogue there is so much power in the butt to mid-section areas of the blank if you need to access it, and when you bend really hard into a particularly scrappy bass it’s very noticeable how that part of the rod takes over. I caught the bass above on this rod and I remember so well how I smiled as I could feel that power lower down when I immediately put the brakes on the fish. Quite deliberately there is a tip on the rod - this will make more sense if you have ever cast the Vivogue - but because this Custom is 9’ and not 9’6’’, it’s not as pronounced as it is on the Vivogue. I love that particular APIA rod, but I also really like how Ben has worked with APIA to make this 9’ a touch more of a seamless rod I guess you could say. I don’t personally subscribe to specific rods being better or worse for particular lure fishing techniques we might choose to use, mainly because if I take a specific rod out bass fishing then I expect the bloody thing to do what I need it to do - taking into account type of location and conditions of course.

If you don’t need to go over 36g lures for your bass fishing then I would suggest that this Custom is a rod you seriously need to look at if you are prepared to drop this sort of dosh. I don’t obsess about the lightest possible rods and reels and I am far more interested in good fishing rods. This Custom is just that - a very good fishing rod. I think about the types of lures I most commonly take with me and which sit at my side in a couple of those Savage Gear washable lure boxes, and there really aren’t any lures in those boxes or techniques I might adopt to fish those lures which this Custom rod doesn’t relish.

For sure it’s a fast rod, with plenty of power lower down as I mentioned earlier, but that “easier” tip on the rod makes the power very easy to get at. Good casting is always going to be rewarded on any fishing rod, but you don’t need to be 100% on every single cast with this Custom to get the best out of it. The regular Patchinko at serious range and me fishing with my rod tip up to save the wrists is a doddle on this rod. Banging out the IMA Hound 125F Glide into a properly bouncy sea and fishing it effectively is a breeze. Bumping various soft plastics down a run of current, banging out both sizes of the Savage Gear Sandeel V2 Weedless and fishing them with a controlled sink and draw, you name it this rod eats it up. I can then drop down to the smallest 11cm Savage Gear Slender Scoop Shad on a smaller belly-weight weedless hook in calm water and I can feel every kick of that delightful tail on this lethal soft plastic. Swimming the various paddletails I always carry with me - Gravity Sticks, Slender Scoop Shads etc. - well you can probably guess what I am going to say, and even though you might think that a slightly “firmer” tip on a lure rod might make it a touch easier to twitch stuff like the Gravity Stick Pintails and DoLive Sticks around, give me five minutes with this Custom and I am as happy as a pig in the proverbial smelly stuff.

I also like how I can easily fish my favourite (and slightly heavier) spinning reel - Penn Slammer IV 2500 - on this Custom and the combination still feels very alive (same with the Penn Authority 2500), but then I can drop some weight and use something like a Shimano Stradic or Shimano Vanford and the rod feels incredible. Sometimes a lure rod can be so light that certain reels don’t feel quite right on it, but not with this Custom. Sure it’s a lightweight 9’ lure rod, but it’s not trying to be the ultimate feather-weight; I prefer that. Wind it up and it’s a frigging cannon which is incredibly easy to load - wow does a 35g Surf Seeker fly on this rod - but now cast more gently and precisely and this Custom is just as accomplished. I make no apologies if you think I am banging on too much about how good this rod is - because it is. Fishing rods are very personal and all that, but sometimes I fish with a rod which I know isn’t going to work for some anglers. Not this thing. I have fished with this Custom a hell of a lot now, and whilst you might not need a new rod or you might never contemplate spending so much money on one - perfectly understandable of course! - I genuinely cannot see any lure anglers I have fished with or spent time around who wouldn’t get on with this rod. Yep, it’s that versatile. The only negative point I can tell you is that I seriously didn’t like having to hand this APIA Foojin'RS Art Magic 90ML+ (UK Custom) 9' 5-36g lure rod back to Ben……………….

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