I acquired a Defender casting rod from Favorite Fishing a few months ago and recently ran it through the paces. The rod is 6' 6”, medium-heavy, fast-action with a firm tip. Matching a reel was easy. I chose a classic Shimano CH50Mg spooled with 12-pound Seaguar Tatsu. I intended to fish the set-up as an "all-around" rod and reel.
The Defender is rated for ¼- to ¾-ounce lures and 12- to 20-pound test line. I was shocked with how light the Defender feels, considering it is rated at MH. Most MH rods carry some weight. However, that is not the case with Defender MH.
My first test was to fish a Rage Tail Baby Craw Texas-rigged with a ¼-ounce tungsten bullet weight. I was delighted with the casting performance at the low end of the suggested weight range. I consistently reached 20 to 25 yards. I would use a lighter line, perhaps Tatsu 10-pound test, if my long-term plan for this rod were to use light lures. I suspect I could gain more distance with my casts if I dropped down the line weight.
On this particular outing, the bass were biting. However, most were around two pounds. Although the rod did just fine casting, the rating is accurate and just a little too powerful for small fish. But then, that's not what we're after anyhow. Sad to say, on that particular day, the biggest test was pulling in a "trophy limb."
Next time out, I'm headed for Pickwick and hoping 6- to 7-pound smallmouth will bite! I'm fishing a 3/4 ounce custom hair jig on this trip, courtesy of BassResource member CJ from Kentucky. Although the fishing was more vertical than horizontal, I still wanted to test the Defender rod to see how it would load under stress and what distance I could get. I was delighted with the answer to both questions. I estimated the casting distance around 40 yards.
I did not end up scoring a smallmouth but had a fair day with the green fish. My best fish was around 4 pounds. While not quite a trophy, it sure did put up one heck of a fight. The Defender loaded flawlessly and still had plenty left.
The next time I have an opportunity to target some stripers, I’ll fish the Defender and report back.
The retail price for the Favorite Defender is $99.99. Give it a try. I think it's worth every penny.