N.S., a rod company out of Korea has designed a range of dedicated squid/egi rods under their Black Hole umbrella titled Kraken, and it’s an amazing rod. Let me tell you why. The range encompasses four models ranging from ultra-light (PE 0.4-1.0) to Medium (PE 0.8-2.0). The rod I have for review is the Light model that has a line rating of (PE0.6-1.0) and a cast rating of 2.5 to 3.5 and this cast range will cover 95% of your jig offerings. It’s a two-piece rod that’s eight feet in length.
Cosmetically this rod is absolutely gorgeous. Simple wrappings, a slick graphite blank, perfect finishing and a mix of EVA, graphite and cork make the Kraken a real stand out and very unique. The best Fuji hardware is used with a VSS real seat and Fuji K guides. This is a rod that you can really appreciate and will feel proud to own. The eight foot blank, long butt section and the Fuji K guides make casting long distances a breeze even with a 2.5. The blank is very well balanced to aid casting, retrieving and fighting. It has enough whip in the tip to punch a lure out distance but loads up fast with enough grunt to be able to aggressively work your jig and while still being sensitive enough to have control over it. It’s a parabolic blank, which is necessary to prevent pulled jags and broken legs and candles.
Upon the day of testing the pictured cuttle fish was the only capture, although not the target species it really gave the rod a solid work out and gave me insight to its performance. The parabolic action of the Kraken greatly aided in preventing pulled hooks on such a heavy fish and a hard fighter when I had to tighten the drag to prevent being cut off while fighting the fish over some very shallow rubble. Retailing around the $600 mark the Kraken certainly isn’t the kind of rod you would purchase unless you take your squid angling seriously, however, it is a beautiful rod that is ideal used from the boat or land. It looks amazing and has all the elements that are conducive to an amazing squid rod. Worth every cent and something you can admire on the rod rack.
