GEAR
PRODUCT REVIEW
SHIMANO ZODIAS 176MH-G CRANKIN’ ROD
C
hunking and winding
big crankbaits is hard
work, but it’s made
easier with the right rod in
your hands.
Features to look for in a
deep-cranking rod include
enough length to facilitate
longer, easier casts and
maximize a plug’s diving
depth, plus a soft tip and
midsection that absorb the
resistance of a big crankbait
and help “feed” the bait to
the fish while keeping the
hooks buried during the
fight. A good crankbait rod
should also have good sen-
sitivity and be light enough
to fish for extended periods
without wearing you down.
Shimano’s Zodias
176MH-G meets all those
requirements with an inno-
vative design specific to
cranking and is put together
with premium components
at a moderate price point.
First Impression
42
At first glance the rod
appears beefy enough to be
By Matt Williams
a flipping stick, but closer
inspection completely dis-
pels that notion. The Zodias
is light in the hand, with a
soft tip and noticeable flex
that extends two-thirds into
the blank, which is a
graphite/glass composite
featuring Shimano’s Hi-
Power X construction. The
company claims this blank
design, which boasts car-
bon tape wrapped in an X
pattern for the outer layer,
improves accuracy and cast-
ing distance by eliminating
blank twist.
The rod is equipped with
an oversized handle that
measures 12.7 inches for
extra leverage, split EVA
foam grips, a comfortable
CI4+ reel seat and Fuji
Alconite semi-micro guides.
It also boasts an attractive
red-on-black color scheme
that’s common to all 18 of
the Zodias rods.
In Action
The Zodias 176MH-G is
rated for 3/8- to 1 1/2-ounce
baits, so the first thing I did
was hunt down a school of
bass on my home lake and
test the rod’s upper limit
with a Strike King 10XD. The
rod performed nicely, load-
ing and launching the big
bait 50 to 60 yards into
stout southerly winds.
Retrieving the lure was
more pleasure than work,
and the soft tip combined
with the forgiving midsec-
tion did a great job of let-
ting the fish eat the bait
without ripping the hooks
free. I caught dozens of 2-
to 4-pound bass during
testing, and the cast-to-
catch ratio was outstanding.
Only a handful of fish
pulled free from the trebles,
and not a single one
jumped off.
The Zodias cranking rod
worked equally well in com-
bination with smaller deep-
diving crankbaits and
square-bills, although a
shorter rod such as the all-
new Zodias 172MH-G (7
feet, 2 inches) might be a
better choice in target situa-
tions where accuracy is a
must.
I’ve heard of some
anglers using the rod for
throwing lipless crankbaits,
but the tip seems a little
soft for my liking for that
tactic, especially in situa-
tions when you need to
snatch or pop the bait out
of grass.
Final Thoughts
While it can be used for
performing lighter-duty
tasks, this is a rod that is
better suited well away
from the bank and crawl-
ing medium- and deep-div-
ing crankbaits around
ledges, rocks, stumps and
brush.
It’s tailored for bombing
casts and retrieving hard-
pulling plugs while provid-
ing the extra mid-range
cushion that a lot of
crankbait junkies feel is
imperative to better
hookups and catch ratios
when using deep divers.
FLWFISHING.COM I JULY 2017