Favorite Black Swan 772ML 7'7'' (2.31m) 4-18g lure rod review - £259.99 in the UK, weighs almost nothing at 84g

The word “nice” is often accused of being a bit of a cop out word, but if I can be excused here, this Favorite Black Swan 772ML 7'7'' 4-18g lure rod is such a nice lure fishing rod. Nice, steely, responsive, ridiculously light, gorgeous, could easily cost way more, call it what you will, this rod is - in my opinion - something else. I didn’t think I’d end up falling for a lure rod under 8’ long which is rated to fish with lures “only” up to 18g, but with my delving way further into more finesse style, mostly estuary based bass fishing, I suppose it was only natural that I carried on exploring the lighter and/or shorter lure rods which might suit this style of fishing. This thing is THE definition of a wand……………..

I’d love to talk a lot more with the designer of this specific Favorite Black Swan 772ML 7'7'' 4-18g lure rod, because as with all the Black Swan rods I have fished with - a good few now, check this review for example, or look here - every rod is subtly different in design and overall feel. Of course rods of different lengths and casting weights will be different I hear you say, but it’s more than that here. I get the sense that every single Black Swan rod I have fished with has been fully thought out as a distinct rod on its own, but also as part of a range. The 9’ 56g Black Swan isn’t just a longer 8’5’’ 56g for example, and the 9’ 36g rod isn’t simply a longer 8’5’’ 36g, and so on. I will admit to initially being slightly worried that this 7’7’’ long rod rated 4g to 18g might be just a touch too light in the tip, but I was miles off. If an 18g lure rod can be a weapon, then this thing is that.

A lightness of touch as you’d expect with the 4-18g rating, but wow this rod’s got some guts when you need to push a (lighter) lure out there into a bit of wind, or better still, present something like a creature bait somewhere very specific (check here for the sort of creature baits I am currently fishing with). Lighter in overall feel for sure, as indeed a rod rated 4-18g should be, but damn this rod is so sharp and precise and steely.

And the feel when you have calmer, quieter conditions is something else. I could honestly swear I felt a prawn giggling at my creature bait offering when I was bumping it along the bottom in the dark. It’s that sensitive. Feel is so subjective though, and I always wonder if most anglers realise how many factors can influence how much you can actually “feel” at the business end - wind, waves, depth, current etc. - however cheap or expensive your lure rod is. Give me perfect conditions for maximum feel and this stunning length of technical carbon is like a telephone with how much it can tranmit to you. So deft in the hand with a light spinning reel strapped to it - the previous generation Shimano Vanford C3000HG suits it well for example, combined weight a measly 275g - and if you take into account the 18g top end, I haven’t come across a situation where I can use a lure rod like this where I felt remotely undergunned. I am sure I could go over 18g if need be, but I have been a good boy with this rod. The new 2025 Favorite Skyline range of lure rods are deliberately a bit tippier than the Black Swan rods (reviews to come), so if you are after a lighter lure rod that reminds you action wise of a more powerful lure rod you might be more used to, then you need to see this incredible Favorite Black Swan 772ML 7'7'' 4-18g lure rod.

As much as I love this rod and have used it the most for bumping creature bait stuff along the bottom, it’s when you are actually working lures through the water that it truly comes alive in your hands. It’s an absolute peach for surface lures for example, with that (relative) power in the tip giving you so much control over a topwater like the deadly little 9cm/11g Savage Gear Pop Walker 2.0, and twitching 4.5’’ or 6’’ DoLive Sticks or both sizes of Gravity Stick Pintails around is incredible. So much control for a lighter rod. You know when you are fishing with a lure rod that feels so good you are literally grinning all the time? This is that sort of rod for me. That jolt from a bass hit when you are holding this rod is just awesome. Lure rods are always very personal things, but if you can show me what you think is a better light lure rod than this Favorite Black Swan 772ML 7'7'' 4-18g then I am all ears. Favorite is making some truly incredible fishing rods and I respect the hell out of them for their work……….

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