Sometimes you need to go backwards to move forwards I guess. I remember waggling this Savage Gear SGS6 9’ 7-35g ML lure rod a fair while back and thinking mmm, loads of grunt in the mid and butt sections but it might not quite be for me in the tip. To be fair I had also just waggled the more powerful but incredibly subtle SGS6 8’3’’ 12-42g rod (review here), and then started fishing with it a lot because it’s such a good rod. Like the One Ring though, I then forgot all about the SGS6 9’ 7-35g lure rod we are talking about here today. It sat in a corner and would most likely still be there if that quite extraordinary APIA Foojin’RS Vivogue 96ML+ 9’6’’ 6-38g (review here) hadn’t come along and got me thinking and remembering……………
There isn’t a single thing I would like to change about that incredible APIA Foojin’RS Vivogue 96ML+ 9’6’’ 6-38g lure rod, but because my head is the way it is, I was soon wondering what a 9’ version might be like. I am not trying to claim this this somewhat cheaper SGS6 9’ 7-35g rod breathes quite the same air as the far more expensive Vivogue, but to the (cheaper) SGS6 rod’s credit I get a lot of the same vibes off it as I do when I was fishing with the 9’6’’ Vivogue. This blue coloured SGS6 9’ 7-35g lure rod is bloody lovely, indeed I like it that much I reckon it’s up there as one of the best 9’ lure rods I have ever fished with - and to think that it might still be sitting in a corner here at home. Thank you APIA!
I don’t know if there is a slight macho element to sharp as hell, very fast lure rods, but even back in my bait days I was drawn to more powerful feeling rods (anybody remember the Conoflex Scorpion Sport?). Of course I have fished with some “easier” tipped lure rods in the past, but it wasn’t until that extraordinary Vivogue came along that firstly I found one I really liked, and secondly that I woke up to what (good) rods like this can do for me in certain situations. You may well be in a different boat here of course, but what I have always disliked with a fishing rod is when it feels disconnected. I obviously see a benefit to a sensitive tip which has a bit more give, but I can’t stand a bit of flop on the end of a fishing rod which bounces around in the wind or can’t handle a decent bit of current. That is not a macho thing by the way, I just know what I like and don’t like - but I am also very open to trying different things.
So after that APIA Vivogue wrecked my head I remembered this Savage Gear SGS6 9’ 7-35g ML lure rod sitting in a corner. I dug it out, and with my newfound openness to the potential of a rod like this I began to take it out fishing and dog walking again. As much as this rod can easily cope with pretty bouncy conditions out on the coast, there’s a hell of a lot more to it on the subtlety side of things. I can whack a 35g Surf Seeker at full power on this rod and it’s not remotely straining, but I think the rod really starts singing when I find a bit of my inner finesse and use the rod more like that. When I clip something on like the Gravity Stick soft plastics, that to me is when this SGS6 9’ 7-35g really comes to life. Same with a lot of surface lures we might turn to. Nothing is collapsing and the rod feels whole, but the deftness with which you can cast and fish lures like these is really noticeable. It’s a more subtle kind of “sharp”, and I seriously love it.
As with the 35g Surf Seeker, of course you can seriously blast and fish the Patchinko 140 on this rod, indeed it’s noticeable how well this lure goes out and how well the tip holds up with this lure at range. I would argue though that it’s performing even better again when I fish with the lighter SG Slap Walker 12.5cm (20g), the Patchinko 125, and then even smaller and lighter like the Pop Walker 2.0 9cm (11g) or killer little SG Surf Walker 2.0 12.5cm F9.5g. The SG Surf Walker 15.5cm F (17g) is already a frigging missile of a surface lure, but it seriously flies on this rod. One thing a more forgiving tip does give you is a lack of bite on a mistimed cast - this rod doesn’t punish you, but it does reward good casting. This SGS6 9’ 7-35g is a peach and I am a fool for initially dismissing it.
I am really coming back around to the smaller sizes of Savage Minnow Weedless (10cm, 16g) and Sandeel V2 Weedless (11.5cm, 22g) as lures to fish a bit more like my Gravity Sticks, instead of using them primarily on the bottom in current or to deliberately work along the bottom over reefs etc. Casting them out and retrieving them like hard lures where the jig head obviously holds them so well in the water, but I can also fish these soft plastics on the drop and bounce them around the rocks and so on. Searching I guess. A noticeably sensitive tip on a lure rod can help with this, and again I find myself drawn to something like this SGS6 9’ 7-35g. The way the tip on this rod works with me when I fish lures like these is fantastic.
I don’t think I’d have gone back to this SGS6 9’ 7-35g lure rod if it hadn’t been for the APIA Vivogue, but I’m so glad I did. I genuinely can’t believe how good this rod is. I love the idea of using lighter lures rods for some of my more subtle and quiet estuary work especially, but in reality I can also use a regular sort of 30g or 35g rod. Give me a more finesse style 35g lure rod like this one though and now I’m properly sorted. Put a 3000 or 4000 size Shimano Vanford or Stradic on this SGS6 rod - doesn’t matter which size Shimano to me, they are so light anyway - and I’ve got a mighty fine lure fishing setup which is an absolute delight to fish with. Of course you can bang your sub-surface hard lures on a rod like this, and it does it very well, but for me this rod really comes alive when you are working lures a bit and you want as much feeling as possible from what’s going on at the business end. I could see a lot of bass anglers getting on very well with this rod. I have also pushed the rod a fair bit in bouncier conditions with the heavier Penn Authority 2500 and Slammer IV 2500 spinning reels and it feels great. Better than I thought it would in fact.
I like the guides and the way the handle feels, but I don’t really see the need for the sort of double locking reel seat system which is on this rod. It works and it doesn’t detract, but I could easily live without it. The handle length works well for me but I’d prefer a slightly longer bit of duplon on the grip at the butt of the rod. The blue colour of the rod is what it is and I guess the rod stands out in photos especially, but I’d be perfectly happy if the rod wasn’t blue. The rod works so well though and that is all I am interested in really.
I am so glad that I went backwards to rediscover this rod. I learnt a long time ago in bass fishing that you need to keep an open mind because it’s going to help you become a better angler. Never say never for starters, and whilst I accept that I ignored this rod the first time around, thanks to the APIA Vivogue and my being able to accept how a really good lure rod designed to fish like that could be of benefit, I came back around to move forward again. A big well done once more to the wizard Markos Vidalis for designing this outstanding Savage Gear SGS6 9’ 7-35g ML lure rod. The more time I spend with it, the more it makes me think about lure rods and what we actually need. It’s that good, and for the price it’s an absolute steal. My Precious. You all have a good weekend.
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