Black Magic is a well known and loved tackle company, famous for their range of quality terminal tackle, leader and their world class harness systems. They’ve released a few technique specific rods over the years but it’s not a part of the market they focus on. I was therefore keen to try out their new egi rod, the Gladius.
The Gladius is an 8ft 3in rod rated for jigs from 2.5-3.5 with Alps guides, Fuji reel seat and built on a 40 ton graphite blank. Aesthetically it’s a good looking rod, finished in a holographic pearl paint that changes from a deep purple to emerald-green depending on the light and rod angle.
The butt length allows for good casting and retrieving, and it’s finished in a quality EVA. The rod length is versatile and doubles as a good rod for when land based or in the boat. The blank design is well balanced through the taper with enough spring to punch out your jigs good distance with thoughtful guide placement to allows for smooth and easy casting.
It has a great retrieve action that exceeded my expectations and is comfortable working the stated jig weights of 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5. It’s load point sits right in the sweet spot and none of the jigs we used had the rod feeling over or underwhelmed. It loads nicely on hook up and provides a fun fight on the smaller squid and would have no trouble with larger squid. To be honest I was expecting this rod to be as good as it is based on the fact the Black Magic aren’t a specialist rod company, but they’ve sourced good materials and more importantly it’s clearly been designed by an experienced egi angler and often with rods design is more important than bling and fancy parts.
If you’re looking for a well-balanced rod at a good price that has a lot to offer, I’d definitely look into the Gladius, it may not have a big rod name, but it has all the right attributes that make it a great egi rod.
Distributed By: Black Magic
Web: blackmagictackle.com.au
