Review - Abu Garcia - Veritas Rod/Revo MGX Reel

Thanks to the wonderful Outdoor Blogger Network, and the amazing company Abu Garcia, I was fortunate enough to put to some new equipment through its paces.  I had my pick of the Veritas rod series coupled with my preferred gear ratio on their Revo MGX.  I opted for the one piece medium action 6' 6" rod partnered with the 7.9:1 gear ratio.  I received the rod first and I was immediately impressed by the aesthetic appeal that it had.  It's bright white finish looked stunning as it slid out of the tube.  Next came the reel, and when I first received the box I was afraid that they had shipped an empty box as it was so light!  After opening the box, I was relieved to see the reel was there, but its size and weight was concerning to me as it was a much smaller frame then I had envisioned.  It also weighed hardly anything!  At 5.4 ounces it was by far the lightest reel in my line-up.  It was time to see how everything performed.  As I matched the reel to the rod seat, I was thoroughly impressed by the machined aluminum fittings and how it cradled the reel perfectly.  I carefully threaded my line on and started to wind the carbon fiber handle.  My chin almost hit the floor as the 30lb. test braided line flew off the roll and laid perfectly onto the spool.  At 39 inches of line retrieve per handle turn, I couldn't believe how easy long lengths of line were handled.  The other aspect I noticed as I loaded the spool with line is how perfectly the reel settled into my hand and how comfortable it was.  Wiping the drool from the corners of my mouth and the few droplets that had landed on the reel, it was time to put the combo to work.

I really put this combo to work by throwing everything from 1/4 ounce jigs to umbrella rigs and large bucktails.  After a couple of hours, I was no longer concerned about the size or the weight, as this was proving to be a real workhorse.  In fact, I was very pleased about the size and weight, as it fit very comfortably and my arm never felt fatigued at all.  That is very important when you are spending eight or ten hours fishing in a day!  The first bass I hooked into just further convinced me that this was an outstanding package.  The reel had the speed to maintain line tension no matter how fast the fish ran at me and the rod had just enough give to let me thoroughly enjoy the experience and enough rigidity to battle the fish's attempts at escape.  The gear ratio let me scream bucktails through the water if I wanted to or work a jerkbait at whatever speed necessary.  I have now logged 40 hours of solid casting on this combo and have been nothing but impressed.  It has successfully landed smallmouth bass from 1 to 4 pounds. I also fish for muskellunge and I have spent many of those hours pulling extremely large lures and the reel hasn't skipped a beat.  I do find for these large fish, the 12 pound drag might be a little bit light, but too much more and you would probably overdue the hookset anyway.  The only downside to this combo in my eyes is the price.  It is a little more than I would typically spend on a rod and reel combo, but if it continues to perform the way I think it will, it will outlast two of my typical combos, and in that case the price is much more bearable.  Overall, I think this is a great set up for anyone who is going to do any quantity of fishing.  I would definitely recommend these products to anyone!  I would like to again thank Abu Garcia and the Outdoor Blogger Network for this outstanding opportunity and compliment them on the quality of the products that they are producing!