Vagabond Action Rod A/WGT XX 601

Brief showcase of a perfectly crafted gun-rod aiming a return to the origins of bass fishing

At first a quick round-up from the official website: Vagabond’s Gun-Rod series is featuring a blend of traditional rod design and ’state-of-the-art technology’. Along the lines of ‘Taking lessons from the past.’ - this uniqe series of Action Rods is aiming to push boundaries while heavily rooted in originality and appreciation of traditional rod building concepts. So far, so good - let’s go into the details…

Originally introduced in 1999, Vagabond seems to have spent a lot of thought and development in their products, but also seem to lack of popularity since the bass fishing boom in Japan of the early/mid 90’s. It seems evident that in times of high-end materials and constantly developing manufacturing processes - the more traditional approach of Vagabond might feel kind of outdated - at least for a part of the target audience. But if you care about perfectly crafted tackle with a conspicuous nostalgic touch that still can compete with nowadays top-sellers from Japan, I’m sure Vagabond could be worth a closer look.

For this tiny showcase we picked out the “SHOT GUN 601″ as this one instantly caught our eye, because of it’s truly “Action”-like sepcifications and characteristics. As we didn’t had the chance to fish one of these eye-catching beauties so far, we ‘ll stick to the specifications from the manufacturers website and just give you a short glance of design and finishing.

“SHOT GUN 601″ Gallery

A/WGT XX 601 “SHOT GUN 601″ Specifications

Length: 6′ 0″
Lure Weight: 1/8 ~ 3/4oz
Taper: Fast
Action: Light
Line(lb): 7-14lb
Weight: 175g
Piece(s): one
Product desciption: “Good crisp & balanced casting ability. Fast taper enables you to do tricky action. In addition to topwater plugs, use it for shad and minnow jerking.”

Another quote from the Gun-Rod product page:

It stirs man’s instinct to hunt. Among the ever-changing bass tackles, don’t forget the Gun Rod! This rod is the proud product of old and new high technology refined by the VAGABOND factory craftsmanship. The concept is the gun type grip rod of the 21st century and it’s destined to leave its mark. You should feel the performance of the Shot Gun’s ultra light action. Its superior casting far exceeds the ordinary gun type grip rods’ expectation. And enjoy how the COLT GUN grips your hand with ease. High quality product beyond its time is what VAGABOND always strived for and what remain is the appreciation for these products. Forget time and go back to the days of past youth…
The 3 types of GUN ROD series are what VAGABOND have proudly selected. With this series, we feel that you’ll be able to return to the origin of bass fishing and enjoy it to the max.

If you like to read more about this particular rod or Vagabond’s Action Rod series just, check their english website for more informations and insights.

You guessed it right, once again this blog is more addressed to the - lets say - enthusiast fraction, but should also give a brief glimpse into the more traditional facets of japanese rod design for those who stuck inside the all too glittering and fast moving world of JDM tackle.

Credits again to Tsuyoshi from JapanProFishing for providing detailed photo documentary and for a lively discussion about traditional japanese tackle design and manufacturing.

Further reading

• English version of the official Vagabond website
• A/WGT XX 601 “SHOT GUN 601″ product page
• Movie section at the manufacturers website

PS: There are currently two Gun-Rods available at the shop, so don’t miss to add one of them to your christmas wishlist. Santa ‘ll be pleased I’m sure… :)