GEARING UP
tournament-caliber rod and reel combos
By Mitchell Forde
Shopping for the angler in your life ( or yourself , no judgment here ) this holiday season ? A new rod and reel are always welcome gifts .
That said , sifting through the hundreds of products on the market — many of them tailored for specific applications and just about all carrying triple-digit price tags — can get intimidating in a hurry . One way to simplify the search is to purchase a rod and reel together . That ’ s not the only perk of buying a combo , either ; doing so ensures the two products are compatible and typically saves money .
In the past , buying a combo has often meant settling for introductorylevel gear , with high-end rods and reels rarely packaged together . Thankfully , that ’ s starting to change . Here ' s a rundown of six feature-packed combos , a few of which you might even see on a national tour next season .
1
lew ’ s mach jacked
$ 259.99 | lews . com
The Jacked line of combos , which was introduced at ICAST in July , features the most premium rods and reels in the Lew ’ s MACH family . Both its casting and spinning rods are built from high-modulus graphite blanks and tricked out with tournamentgrade features , including Winn Dri-Tac Ultra ProWeave grips . The reels feature the same Tanso Tech frames and materials as their Lew ’ s Custom Lite cousins , which retail for $ 299.99 in baitcast and $ 159.99 in spinning models .
It ’ s not just the components that set the Jacked combos apart , but the fact that they ’ re available in three different casting and spinning rod models , giving anglers different options for different techniques . Jacked baitcast combos are available with a 6-10 medium ; 7-foot medium-heavy ; or 7-3 medium-heavy rod ( all fast action ). Spinning rod options are 6-10 medium-light , fast action ; 7-foot medium , fast ; and 7-2 medium , extra-fast .
2 abu garcia zata
$ 229.95 | abugarcia . com
Abu Garcia revamped its Zata line with a slew of premium features , as proven by the Zata baitcast combo winning Best in Show at ICAST . The baitcast model offers anglers a pair of rod options made from 24-ton graphite — a do-everything , 7-foot medium-heavy , fast model or a 7-3 heavy , fast option , which should be well suited for techniques like pitching , frogging or swimming a jig . Both rods are paired with a reel that is the true star of the show . It offers 11 ball bearings and 20 pounds of drag in a low-profile package .
The spinning combo features a 7-foot medium rod with a size 3000 reel . The reel includes Abu Garcia ’ s Rocket line management system and spool lip design for improved line control as well as a machined spool that allows anglers to tie braid directly without any slip .
62 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | DECEMBER – JANUARY 2024