I decided to hit Lake Washington from the shore on my short lunch break to give my new Mag-Touch (from Cabelas) casting rod its first test and trial with bottom fishing. I wanted to see how well or poorly the rod would transmit feedback to me. My reel was spooled with 10# mono. I chose mono because I wanted to see how it would fare without the benefits that braid and fluorocarbon lines spoil us with.

Although it is a bit too early to give a full review, I will say that the rod possesses very good sensitivity. The first place I worked was loaded with a lot of grass and the Mag-Touch did a good job of painting the grassy picture. Whew!!!! The Mag-Touch is the first rod I ever bought site unseen without holding it and I was initially nervous. On my second pitch, I felt some nibbling that never got quite to the hook. Darn. The next cast yielded the same result so I moved to another area with a rocky bottom.
The Mag Touch once again painted a great image as I worked my drop shot rig. I placed what was probably the fourth or fifth cast next to some surface piercing wooden poles amidst the riprap and then, thwupp… It was not a nibble, but a complete engulfing of the bait, as my rod bent slightly toward the water and my line got tugged straight down.
No “Iaconelli’ing” today from me. I brought the smallie in quickly and when I brought it close to me, I noticed that my bait was gone and the smallie spat out a beat up 3” senko type bait. I also saw that it might have been recently caught with the drop shot. There was a hole in its palette that was about the size of a hook’s point, right next to where my hook was. I released him and headed back to work.


What a Cutie Smallie.  You can see the worn out senko in the background.  I wonder how long it has been in his gullet.

I think I made a decent acquisition in purchasing this rod. It is an additional all around trunk rod.
Conditions: Overcast, about 70 degrees
Rod/Reel: 7’ Mag-Touch casting Rod/Curado 101D with 10# Sufix Siege
Technique: Drop Shot, 3/16 oz pencil weight
Lure; 3” gray senko in the grass, 2” brown French fry worm in the rocks
08-05-09

Dodge,

Here is a little more on it. It is informally written and copied and pasted from elsewhere...

... I have the MGTC703-2 two-piece casting rod. I think it would work well with Jigs up to 1/2 oz with the trailer, as it would probably be closer to its upper limit weight range with the trailer.

I was surprised to see that the hook keeper was attached backward and the first guide of the upper piece was crooked. Could have been damaged in the shipping unfortunately.

I have not had a chance to return it and I might not. It is a pretty sensitive rod, alconite guides, and is very convenient.

Crankbaits - Wiggle is well felt with a DT6
Drop Shot - Sensitive enough to feel the feedback from the weight, even with 10# mono (I normally use 6# fc)
Jigs - You'll get a very good picture
Buzz Bombing (think of it as a jigging type of spoon) for salmon - Caught without my salmon rod, I was forced to fish with my MagTouch.  With only 10# mono and a curado 101D, the MagTouch has sufficient power to steer some bigger than average pink salmon with me being about 20' above them.  I was impressed.

I really love the thin handle too. As already mentioned, it isn't any more slippery than cork but I did discover one thing. If they installed the graphite handle the other way, the gripping power of the handle when wet is 100x better. For those of you with MagTouch rods, check that out. Wet the handle, grip the handle tight and try to make your hand slide. It will give just as cork would. Try doing it the other way.... Woh, nelly. Your hand won't even move!

I truly love the convenience the 2 piece offers since it is my trunk rod. That is a major plus.  Mated to a Curado 101D and this thing is money.

One last thing. The end is metal. As such, putting it down on the ground and other rough surfaces is bound to scratch it up. I know it shouldn't matter, but for some reason, I just can't stand having scratches and marks on my gear.  I added a small piece of cork to the bottom that was the same diameter and stuck it on with some light glue.

It is a good deal at $99 especially with alocnites, since rods at this price point usually have hardloys or some pacific bay equivalent. It is a steal at $49.00.

All of this is good, especially for a two piece rod. I reckon its one piece cousin would be bettwe for those that insist on one piece rods.

Lastly, I think they seem to go on sale every six months from cabelas.