There are three ranges of Silver Creek rods and the ones that sit at the top in price and quality are the AGS models. If you aren’t aware of what AGS rods are I suggest you look at Daiwa’s website – we’ve been reviewing them in Hooked Up for some time and it’s simply an amazing guide system. I opted to choose the 66ML, which is a two-piece rod, rated from 1.4kg through to 5.4kg. It has a casting weight of 3-14g and at 6ft 6in it provides all the casting distance I’ll ever need while being easy to manage in tight scrub while walking and casting. The blanks are built on Daiwa’s SVF blank technology and, coupled with the AGS guides, it’s a simply amazing rod. It’s extremely light and thin yet ultra-powerful, and the ability to handle a range of lines and differing lure weights are attributes of a very advanced rod that would have been hard to come by only five years ago. Essentially this model would allow you to walk the smallest of streams casting light plastics and tiny hard-bodies for small-stream trout or take it to Eucumbene for the spawn run and easily land 3-4kg fish.
Its casting accuracy is phenomenal with limited to almost no recoil. I can accurately cast a 5g jerk bait into a small backwater from the other side of a 25m-wide river or gently flick out a 2g Gekkabijin Yogiri to a trout I have sighted from a high bank only metres away. The handle is finished in high-grade cork with beautiful checks that are the same material found on the 2012 Luvias spool. It pairs perfectly with the Silver Creek 2004H and there aren’t many situations in a river-based scenario where you would want more. It’s a very fast blank that offers excellent hook set and a lot of control when fighting the fish and while retrieving your lures.
The only negative is that the AGS guides are slightly more delicate than a standard Fuji. The rod I reviewed is currently at Daiwa having the stripper guide replaced after my tub of tackle, waders and boots fell on it in the car. I will say, though, that they aren’t super-delicate and I have four other AGS rods that have been used extensively without any issues. The AGS models do come with a nice protective case and I suggest you avoid being lazy like I was and use it when travelling.
