Review of Abu garcia eradicator prototype navigator

Decided to do a review / comparsion with the old eradicator because there was very little info out there on the navigator when i was researching before buying it and if your anything like me you want to know as much about the rod as possible before spending that kind of money. The old model i will be comparing it to is the 6"9 XUlt super slow taper special. I should also mention i almost entirely fish from the shore when micro fishing for a number of reasons i wont get into now. I paired the Navigator with my luvias airity temporarily until my soare xr 500 arrives. Also using varivas avani light game 5lb braid due to the fish getting themselves stuck in weeds a lot. But back to the actual review i was worried about a few things with this rod, how short it is, the skeleton grip, and casting distance. Now for being 4"6 the casting distance is actually quite good, typically casting 1 gram jighead with trout magnet and can cast as far i need even with fishing from the shore, i can always reach the fish and then some. As for the grip, it takes a lil to get used to but wasnt nearly as bad as i was expecting. It feels perfectly fine after a few minutes. Now the 3rd thing i was worried about was the length of the rod and i would say that it is still a con for me, because i still have not gotten used to how short it is. Its not a huge deal but something to consider, now in terms of action its quite impressive and is actuallly true to a slow taper. Many of you who own the previous slow taper models would agree that the action on those is actually closer to a regular action vs slow. Next up is the sensitivity, to me this is where a lot of the value comes from, because it is on a different level of sensitivity then the old 6"9 or any of my other rods for that matter. Aside from it weighing 27 grams, i think probably the biggest selling point is this next level of sensitivity that i had never experienced. You can really feel the headshakes of even the smallest bluegill, im talking even a 3 inch gill, and the clarity in which u feel them is incredible. Now the 6'9 xult actually used to be my favorite pole in my collection but has been dethroned by the navigator for one main reason. The navigator is just more fun to catch fish on. The old 6"9 holds a special place for me but with that being said i will be using the navigator on 90% of my micro fishing trips because its just that fun to fish with.

Where did you get it?

Got mine from jdmtackleheaven, their out of stock now though

I watched ifish's video on the 6.0 version, the Barbatos I think it is called. Looks like an interesting rod for sure, the handle is definitely different. Any chance you will routinely encounter big fish where you are located, I would be hesitant to throw a Trout Magnet on that rod in our public waters, too many bullies wanting to eat the small offerings and return to their hide outs in the myriad of structure that I primarily fish. Welcome to the board and I hope to see some pictures of catches on that super lightweight rod.

thanks for the welcome stan, i've actually read some of your posts before i joined, you got some good ultralight threads. I also saw Ifish's video of the barbatos, it gave me atleast a bit of insight before i bought mine even though its a different model. And to answer your question there is definitley big fish around like bass and carp, but im not worried cause i keep my drag loose, but no structures like what u have to deal with, just tons of weeds. An when they get stuck i just open the bail, put the rod down and pull the string to get em out. And once i catch something picture worthy ill try figure out how to post a picture here