I have a variety of rods and reels that I use all the time and some are favorites. Often when I get a new outfit it never feels just right and it becomes a secondary rod and reel that I usually keep in my rod locker. It is often hard to tell how an outfit will perform until actually fishing with it.

At the Georgia Outdoor Writer’s Association meeting in May a few years ago I purchased an All Star rod with a Pflueger reel. Both those companies are now owned by Shakespeare and they had sent us some equipment for the organization to raffle off to raise funds. I got the outfit at a very good price.

That outfit quickly became a favorite of mine. It worked well for jerkbaits and I landed a three pound spotted bass in a club tournament at Lanier in late May on it. Then I started using it for Texas rigged worms and caught several of my bass at Weiss on it, including a four pound largemouth.

At Oconee in June I set the hook on what I thought was a bass beside a boat dock, but it was probably the dock piling. When I set the hook the rod broke at the first guide up from the reel, breaking so hard it also broke my line. I grabbed the end of the rod before it could sink and put it up.

I mailed the broken rod back to All Star and a couple of weeks later I got a brand new one just like it in the mail. Their warranty service was excellent and they made my rod good even though I had not sent in the warranty card.

I like the rod even better now. I got it back just in time to use it at the Jackson night tournament and I landed four of my five keepers on it while fishing a jig and pig. The seven foot rod is pretty stiff and handles 15 pound line easily. The rod is a TAS 826c and All Star says it is a soft jerkbait rod. To me it is much more. I am glad I got that outfit – it is already one of my favorites.