2021 saw the release of another of Shimano’s JDM (Japanese domestic market) series of rods into Australia, the Slaty Advance series. It’s a four rod set with specific technique based rods covering trout, baku baku, rock fishing and of course egi.
The Salty Advance is built with Shimano’s High Response Solid Blank with Taftec rod tip (which is a thin yet solid and nimble tip) and features Fuji K stainless guides. It’s 8ft 3in in length, rated for egi from size 1.8-3.5 and sits around the $250 price point.
Its construction is excellent with quality componentry, attention to detail and good design. Someone experienced with egi has had a hand in its design and it shows. The Salty Advance is a solid workhorse of a rod that had no trouble casting jigs within its stated range. It’s best suited to jigs in the 3.0-3.5 size range and it does cast them good distances with ease, however, it will still punch out a 2.5 far enough for most locations. It’s a rod best suited to land based anglers but is short enough for the boat.
The blank is crisp, well balanced with an easy to use load point when retrieving jigs. We used a mix of Shimano’s different jigs from shallow running jigs, Egixile that dart and Clinch that hop, the SA had no trouble working any of them and offers a sensitive and responsive rod. On the day of testing, we didn’t get to tangle with any large squid, but the rod has power to boot and will have no trouble with larger models.
If you’re looking at the Shimano range the Salty Advance slots in nicely between the Sephia 80 and the Sephia 86, it’s not too short and not too long, and is a versatile egi rod that can handle most jigs and locations.
Distributed By: Shimano Fishing
Web: shimanofish.com.au
