However much I love a lovely wand, I might just be most proud of our two more powerful SGS5 and SGS8 9’6’’ 12-46g rods

My theory has always been that it’s pretty easy to make a scaffold pole, and the more I understand about fishing rods and process and China and so on, the more I realise that my theory as such ain’t far from reality. I have never been to any of the rod factories out in China or indeed the US or Japan or Korea etc., but making fairly generic fishing rods is often not quite what a lot anglers think it might be - and making a lure rod in that sort of “next step up” category for our bass fishing is pretty easy if all you want to do is make a weapon of a lure rod that I think can often work against the angler with the lack of subtlety……………..

All the rods we have made have been fascinating to do, but it’s the more powerful rods which I was initially a bit worried about when we first started this Savage Gear SGS5 and SGS8 lure rod project. It was my belief that firstly we had to have a rod in each range that went above that we now have as the 9-35g rating - and yes, I obviously had to think about lure rods that I needed for my fishing and then try to extrapolate out how other bass anglers might fish - and secondly that it made most sense to have what has become our 12-46g category at 9’6’’ long. My worry was that it’s easy to make a poker, but could we make a couple of rods at different price points that really could actually fish lures from 12-46g - subtle enough for the lighter lures, but plenty of power to bang say 45g metals out into a raging bit of surf?

By virtue of a lot of the bass fishing I do, I have of course spent the greater percentage of my fishing time with lure rods in that “regular” sort of 5-35g category, but I also can’t really do without a more powerful rod. If you read my lure rod reviews on here then you will know how much I like a lot of the regular lure rods which have passed through my hands, but interspersed with them have been some “next step up” rods which I have often really liked - yet rarely absolutely loved if I am being completely honest with myself. I have truly loved a number of the 10-30g Major Craft lure rods over a fair few years now, with their truly stunning SeaBass Custom Limited Edition 9’6’’ 7-35g sitting up there for me as easily one of the best lure rods I have fished with (review here) - but for some reason I have often liked but not truly loved their 15-42g or “next step up” lure rods for bass fishing.

That’s not a criticism by the way because I know plenty of anglers who do love the more powerful Major Craft lure rods, but I just don’t think they tend to be quite as good as their more regular rods with how they cast and fish. I think APIA make some awesome lure rods but I preferred their older APIA Foojin’R Grand Swell 96MH 9’6’’ 7-42g to a couple of newer, more powerful rods that I have fished with for a little bit from the Grandage range for example. Again, this is no criticism, rather I think it’s a reflection on how hard it is to make slightly more powerful lure rods that still have that special something about them which makes me really want to go fishing with them when conditions or location dictates. It’s also very much down to how we all like different kinds of fishing rods of course

Anyway, so the way I planned these two rods was based around being able to properly cast and fish our Gravity Stick soft plastics with enough subtlety and whatever feel actually is, absolutely blast the 40g Surf Seeker at full power, and then step up to a heavier 45/46g metal or paddletail if needs be and still put it out there without feeling that the rod is remotely straining. As I said at the top, it’s easy to make a poker that will try tearing your arms off when you wind a 45g metal up, but how about effectively and subtly fishing say 12-15g soft plastics on the same rod? That ladies and gentlemen was the challenge.

And a benchmark lure rod for me was not actually one of the really high end rods that most anglers will never see let alone fish with. Nope, one of the rods I love and admire the most in this category is the outstanding Shimano Dialuna S96M 9'6" 8-45g, but as much I like this rod and would still be fishing with it if Savage Gear had said no to making lure rods for bass fishing, I still think there are things with how the rod fishes that could be improved upon. We didn’t go and simply copy this rod by the way because I know how some of the more conspiracy theory minded anglers think, but yes, I wasn’t going to be happy with our two 12-46g rods until I wanted to actively fish with them over the Dialuna. Which I do.

I won’t bore you with tales of all the testing and modifying and thinking that we did, but we did eventually get to the point when I genuinely could not see how our SGS8 12-46g rod could be improved upon. I remember taking what ended up being the final sample out fishing and all I did was grin like a loon for the entire session because we had managed to make EXACTLY the “next step up” lure rod I was after from the start - but I probably grinned even more when I then fished with the final, cheaper SGS5 12-46g version. It’s a slightly lesser grade of carbon, it hasn’t got Torzite guides, and it weighs a bit more than the more expensive version (160g v 145g), but bloody hell it’s a hell of a rod, and it’s pretty damn close to how the SGS8 fishes. Sure there’s a degree more subtlety overall with the more expensive rod and as such and because I can I’ll take the SGS8 version when I need to be fishing a wide range of lures especially, but that slightly less subtle tip on the cheaper SGS5 I think in some respects lends itself to seriously working well in the surf when the wind is pumping for example. Both rods will obviously do all that each other can if that makes sense, but you get my drift I am sure.

So I’m seriously proud of both rods and how much I know we have managed to make for their respective prices. Hell, I like how the rods fish so much I am in the process of sampling some different rods based on them because I was genuinely shocked at how well the two rods can fish our deliberately fairly heavy Gravity Sticks. I can’t go into what we are working on here for pretty obvious reasons, but the finished rod actions got my brain whirring all over again with what we might be able to do in the future. Please excuse a Savage Gear based blog post again, but it’s a big part of my work these days and I absolutely love doing it - and in these two 12-46g rods we have managed to completely fulfil how I wanted these rods to be.

Disclosure - If you buy anything using links found around my website, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you anymore to buy via these affiliate links - and please feel entirely free not to do so of course - but it will help me to continue producing content. Thank you.