A first look at the Michael Iaconelli line of finesse spinning rods for bass fishing from Abu Garcia.
Michael Iaconelli has accomplished winning many titles in professional bass fishing, and he has done a good bit of his damage with a spinning rod and reel. He released a new line of Abu Garcia Ike Finesse Series Spinning rods at the 2018 ICAST show, and the 7-foot medium model has been my go-to spinning rod this spring.
Here is what I found with these new spinning rods.
One of the first things I really love about the Abu Garcia Ike Finesse Series spinning rods is how the reel fits in the reel seat. The bottom tightening locknut holds the reel snuggly and firmly, and the erogonomic EVA foam above the reel really suits how I like to fish a spinning rod.
I hold the spinning rod with most of my hand, if not all, above the reel and my finger laid up the blank usually. It allows me more leverage on a fish and is actually a more ergonomic and comfortable grip to fish with all day. Not many spinning rods offer so much padding and grip above the reel like this rod does, so I consider that a huge plus.
The stainless steel guides with Zirconium inserts fish very smoothly. The big stripper guide makes for long effortless casts and super smooth skips with wacky rigged worms, two pluses when fishing subtle baits on light line as is usually the case for me when I pick up a spinning rod.
Iaconelli designed 7 distinctly different power / action combinations in the Abu Garcia Ike Finesse Series spinning rod line. From a 6-foot, 6-inch medium heavy rod all the way up up to a 7-foot, 8-inch medium power fast tip rod, there are many different light and beefier combinations in the mix.
I really like a 7-foot medium rod. This one had a lot of backbone for playing smallmouths in current as well as guiding fish out of cover on light line, but still offered enough tip to whip and skip light baits around easily. My son has been using it a lot to skip frogs under willows and docks with a straight 20-pound braided line.
I’ve been fishing the rods paired with the Abu Garcia REVO IKE spinning reel. They balance amazingly well with this reel, and the whole combo fishes exceptionally well. Getting a good rod and pairing it with a good reel makes fishing so much more enjoyable to me.
I definitely don’t use spinning rods as much, so I don’t want to have to fight with my setup if I can help it. And I’m almost always using much lighter baits when I do, so I don’t want an extremely heavy rod or reel.
The Abu Garcia Ike Finesse Spinning Rod Series is a great choice in the $149 price range. I keep mine in my truck a lot with a small go box so I can take it everywhere. If I’m on a trip, I might stop and fish a small pond or lake if I have time. And of course it’s in my boat all the time now as well.
The blanks and components on the Ike rods make them light and sensitive, but I feel like this rod is going to last a long time as well. It’s been a workhorse fishing Senkos and shaky heads this spring in clearer water already.
You can find these rods at the following retailers online:
