Fish Alaska Editors test a gamut of fishing rods for Alaska each year from single handed fly rods to rods meant for trolling in the Pacific salt. We test fly rods, spey rods, spinning rods, casting rods and technique-specific rods for all of Alaska’s gamefish. Here’s what we liked from this year’s arsenal of fishing rods for Alaska.
Cousins Tackle Columbia Composite Series CC 955TG
www.cousinstacklestore.com
This is an extremely versatile rod for heavy-lead trolling, king salmon back-trolling and downrigger fishing. Though rated for up to 12 ounces of lead, our tester used it with up to 16 ounces when trolling with a flasher and herring rig, as well as with flasher and Super Bait combos. The rod also has plenty of backbone for back-trolling magnum divers with bait or plugs in the Kenai or other Chinook rivers. Carbon-fiber grips stand up well for a rod that spends much of its time in a rod holder. Since the construction is a fiberglass/graphite composite, it’s very durable. Our tester commented that if he had to pick just one rod for Chinook trolling or back-trolling, this would be it. It is handmade in the USA, too.
Okuma Nomad Inshore Travel Rod
www.okumafishingusa.com
We fished the NTi-S-703ML-M and are impressed with the versatility and performance of this rod. The three-piece rod comes with two tips to increase the scope of angling you can do without bringing another rod. Using the lighter tip, it’s rated for 6- to 15-pound-test, and we threw spinners, spoons and beads to trout and char. Switching to the heavier tip, the rod’s rating increases to 10- to 17-pound-test, which allowed us to mooch for coho in the saltwater as well as sling hardware to silvers in the river. We’ve also taken it on a moose hunt and used it to throw topwater baits to northerns. Pike to 10 pounds were landed. The rod features premium components, has proven to be rugged and dependable, and comes in a handy padded travel case small enough to fit in your luggage. There are three models in this series.
Quantum Nova Coldwater Series Rods
www.quantumfishing.com
Salmon and steelhead fans—of which we have more than a few here at Fish Alaska—are going to take special interest in the Nova series. There’s a length and action for virtually any cold-water technique, and we found the rods to perform great across a range of species and angling conditions this past year using the 9-foot, 2-piece, medium- light power spinning rod. The rod’s features include IM8 graphite construction, cork rod handles and aluminum-oxide guides.
Fenwick Aetos Rod 968-4
www.fenwickfishing.com
The Fenwick Aetos family of rods includes spinning, casting, fly and ice spinning rods. Our tester went to work with the 968-4 fly rod this season and found it a light, easy-to-cast and sensitive angling tool. Featuring a fast-action blank, large-diameter gunsmoke stripper guides and double-foot gunsmoke snake guides, this fast-recovering, high-performance rod makes an excellent choice for pursuing big trout, sockeye and silvers in freshwater, or silvers in the salt.
Ugly Stik Bigwater Casting Rod
www.uglystik.com
We punished this rod in the saltwater in 2017 and it took all we could dish out. The medium-heavy, one-piece rod is 6 feet long and rated for 20- to 50-pound-test. The EVA grip is comfortable in the hand and the Ugly Tuff guides are reported to be extremely corrosion-resistant. There are a plethora of models in this series and many are great choices for fishing rods in Alaska.
Abu Garcia Venerate Spinning Rod
www.abugarcia.com
This rod is light, fast and responsive and we found it well suited to catching pinks and silvers in 2017. It’s 7 feet, 6 inches long with medium-power and a fast-action, and the two-piece rod is rated for 6- to 12-pound-test. There are 12 total rods in the Venerate Spinning series and we tested model VNRTS762-5.
Cousins Tributary GTS 91MH SG Spinning Rod
www.cousinstacklestore.com
Cousins Tributary series includes many rods designed for the various techniques used in Alaska to catch salmon. After testing the GTS 91MH SG, we think that this is a great multi-purpose rod for catching coho. We used it while float-fishing with jigs and bait, mooching herring, boon-dogging roe, casting spoons and spinners, and twitching jigs. The rod is light and responsive, made from high-quality components and after several hard weeks of coho abuse, it remains unscathed.
Penn Rampage Jigging Rod
www.pennfishing.com
We tested the 5-foot, 8-inch, one-piece, heavy-duty, graphite composite casting rod. It’s rated for 80- to 130-pound-test line, baits from 6- to 10 ounces, and sports eight Fuji aluminum oxide guides. It’s comfortable, light, strong and really nice to fish with. We vertically jigged 6-, 8- and 10-ounce lures from Ahi USA and Kalin’s and landed some great halibut and lingcod on the rod.
Redington Predator 890-4
www.redington.com
“It has a nice balance to it and sufficient backbone for fighting sockeye salmon and large rainbows,” our tester wrote, “I enjoyed this rod.” Anglers can roll-cast a big fly with ease and it has a nice touch for feeling a subtle bite.
TFO TPS rods
www.tforods.com
We tested the 561-1 and 601-2 this year and loved the sensitivity and quality components of these rods. They are easy for young kids to cast and handle. We cast bobbers and worms, as well as micro jigs and small spinners to stocker trout and had a blast. These rods are far more refined and responsive than the rods we fished with as kids for small trout and it is making it easier to get our young ones hooked on the sport.
Cousins EVO 99M-SG Spinning Rod
www.cousinstacklestore.com
This is one sweet rod! The lightweight graphite blank is sensitive and responsive, and the guides, reel seat and handle are all first-rate. We used it this summer as a float rod and landed many hot coho on it. This two-piece model is rated for 6- to 15-pound-test and lures from 1/4- to 1/2 ounces.
Fenwick Fenglass Fly Rod
www.fenwickfishing.com
We tested the 7-foot, 9-inch, 6-weight rod. We liked the feel of this fiberglass rod; it’s smooth, soft, has medium-power and is forgiving. We found it well-suited to casting and retrieving Buggers, where the softness of the rod made it easier to stick aggressive trout on the strike. We also used it to subdue average-sized pink salmon still bearing sea lice. Those we caught while swinging streamers and nymphing smaller leech patterns. The rod has some power in the butt end and is also tough enough to handle landing hundreds of salmon, as we did with it on Prince of Wales Island in 2017.
Cousins SE Series CJB 65L
www.cousinstacklestore.com
We tested this rod in the halibut fishery in southcentral Alaska and it was a winner. We fished both bait and jigs with the rod, paired with a Penn Squall 16VS. The fast action of the rod allowed anglers to effectively work big jigs and we thought the rod was the right length to impart action and provide leverage with large jigs. The graphite/glass composite rod is paired with quality ALPS guides, a machined-aluminum reel seat, comfortable hypalon sponge rubber grip and it is handsomely finished. There are many rods in this family to fit a wide range of anglers’ needs.
Orvis Recon 9-foot 6-weight Fly Rod
www.orvis.com
This rod is equally at home slinging big streamers to oversized Kenai trout or dropping size 14 Adams onto a Mat-Su Valley lake. We also used it to subdue prowling rainbows that slammed our suspended chironomid pattern as well as pink salmon fresh from the salt. The rod is fast but with enough mid-flex to create some forgiveness during aggressive strikes and gravity-defying leaps. The shadow green blank nicely compliments the black nickel reel seat and dark burlwood inset.
Penn Carnage II Jigging Rod
www.pennfishing.com
We tested the CARJGII3080C66 and were impressed. It’s light but very powerful, which makes it easier to fish heavy jigs to halibut and lingcod and not tire as quickly. These jigging rods are designed to be fished with braid, which is the line of choice when fishing several hundred feet below the surface. Rods feature Fuji K guides with Alconite inserts, Fuji reel seat, and SLS3 blank construction. This rod is 6 feet, 6 inches in length and rated for 30- to 80-pound-test line; there are several options in this family of rods.
TFO BVK Spey Rod TF 07 130 4 B
www.tforods.com
If you’re familiar with the TFO Deer Creek series of two-handed rods, you’re already aware of the remarkable quality and bang for the buck you get with the lineup. The BVK Spey rods are similar, but a little bit faster and a little bit stiffer. The idea was to produce rods that would handle long-line methods and touch-and-go casting better than the slower Deer Creek series. That said, our tester used the 13-foot, 7-weight to target large rainbows on the Naknek with a Skagit line, T-11 and T-14 tips, and big bunny leeches and Intruders. It performed admirably with both an OPST Commando 425-grain head and an Airflo Skagit Switch 510-grain head. Fish up to 31 1/2 inches were landed with this rod. Fit and finish is superb; better than one might expect from a Spey rod in the midrange of prices.