Tournament Angler Guide

much, but when the whole rod weighs less than 85gm, a few grams could be 5% of the total weight we’ve just removed from the tip. Any time you can remove weight from a rod you increase its sensitivity. We employed a similar ‘Hybrid Guide Train’ principle with the flagship INFEET EX series where we opted for Fuji Titanium SiC guides as the largest three, then transitioned into our own carbon fibre AGS (Air Guide System) for the top 4-5 guides. Again, the aim here is to remove weight, and even with how light titanium is, AGS are lighter again, removing weight and increasing sensitivity.

From a design perspective, one of the distinctive characteristics of the INFEET range is the colouration based on the rod’s taper. This is something we thought would enable anglers to know at a glance what each rod was designed to do, without having to remember model numbers and associated techniques.

Blue and white colouration indicates a slow or regular taper rod, suited to lures that feature small treble hooks. For the most part, these rods excel at crankbait fishing and there are multiple options to

The Infeet Z Range

641LFS: The 641LFS was the result of Daiwa angler Kris Hickson’s love affair with tight-cover fishing. At 6’4” in length, this rod excels in tight cover where accurate casts and manoeuvrability are paramount.

681LFS: The 681LFS is slightly softer than the shorter 641LFS and is more suited to floating structure like boats and jetties. The 6’8” length is the perfect length for underhand skip casting from the front decks of boats and is equally at home walking the banks of small creeks for bass or trout.

702LRS: Every good range needs an allrounder and the 702LRS is just that. The perfect blend of power and precision, this model can do it all. A progressive taper is your friend when fishing treble hooked baits.

712LFS: The 712LFS was designed to cater to two distinct techniques. One is twitching hardbodies, the other is fishing ultra-light plastics. It has a softer tip and longer length than most of the other rods catered to twitching a hardbody, so it is more at home where you need extra casting distance. For plastics, it’s sweet spot is 1-40-1/12th.

732ULFS: Purposely designed to fish a metal vibe, the 732ULFS is a lighter version of the popular 732LFS. So, the same great taper, just in an ultra-light power. This makes it an excellent blade rod and Steve Morgan has also fell in love with this model for Bent Minnows.

732LFS: The ultimate plastics rod. Whether it’s a grub or minnow, the 732LFS is the best choice. A fast responsive tip for precise twitches and extra length to take up slack on a strike. This is every plastics angler’s dream. Best suited to heavier plastics from 1-16-1/6oz.

742ULRS: A long-casting crankbait angler’s dream, the 742ULRS is one of our Daiwa team’s favourite models. An ultralight regular taper action is perfect for small light crankbaits and the use of titanium framed tip guides means this ultralight rod doesn’t feel like a noodle.

782LFS: A rod made famous by Steve Morgan and the Cranka Crab, the 782LFS is the second generation of ‘Crab Rod’ from Daiwa. Modelled off the original 782 Gekkabjin rod, the INFEET 782LFS improves upon the original by reducing the handle length, making it less cumbersome to impart action to your lure.

The Infeet Sk Range

6101LFS: A rod purposely designed to twitch hardbodies for black bream. No one can deny the adrenaline of getting slammed on a suspending jerkbait. The fast taper and shorter length make this rod perfect for tip down precise movements of small hardbodies. It’s also a great option for topwater lures or for skip casting soft plastics.

702ULRS: The rod designed around the INFEET KODACHI lure. Small ultralight lures require ultra-light rods. The SK 702ULRS is perfect for fishing small hardbodies like the KODACHI around boat hulls, bridges or flats. The soft taper keeps those small trebles pinned.

722LRS: A heavier ‘light’ rated crankbait rod, this is the rod for larger crankbaits like the SPIKE range or when cranking around nasty structure like breakwalls, seaway wash zones or snag-laden flats like the mouth of the Tambo.

732ULFS: Purposely designed to fish a metal vibe, the 732ULFS is a lighter version of the popular 732LFS. So, the same great taper, just in an ultra-light power. This makes it an excellent blade rod and Steve Morgan has also fell in love with this model for Bent Minnows.

The Infeet Ex Range

671MMLXS: Designed in collaboration with rack fishing specialist Kris Hickson, the 671MMLXS is the ultimate no-holds-barred rack rod. Built off the ever-popular Kingbolt action, this INFEET incarnation features an ever so slightly lighter tip, with an equally powerful butt section.

6101ULRS-ST: A interesting blend of a solid graphite fast tip section, with a moderate action ultralight blank makes the 6101ULRS-ST the undisputed finesse crankbait specialist.

702LFS: Arguably the most popular rod in each series, the all-rounder is the rod in which you build your quiver around. The 702LFS is the ‘do-everything’ rod but is particularly effective with a single hooked lure like a Bait Junkie 2.5” Grub on the end with a light jighead.

722LRS: A heavy-crankbait specialist, the 722LRS is the rod you’ll want to turn to when throwing larger sized crankbaits or when cranking around heavy cover such as wash zones or heavy reefs.

742LRS-ST: Another unique action made possible using a solid graphite tip; the 742LRS-ST is a true two-piece mid join rod making it the travelling angler’s perfect companion. The combination of a solid tip means this rod can cast even the lightest of lures such as unweighted plastics with ease.

752ULFS-ST: Steve Morgan’s brainchild for what a stick minnow rod should be. Long, soft but with responsiveness to feel timid bites on straight through fluorocarbon. Equally at home throwing small hardbodies or even unweighted soft plastics over flats.

for instance – from a price perspective there’s no way we could have outfitted the rod with an entire suite of titanium framed guides. So instead, we opted to use Titanium only on the smaller guides where the cost increase is less severe, suit every budget. Certain rods will be better for certain types of cranks, whether that’s shallow or deep, or a small crank versus something a bit larger you might throw around for an upgrade.

Red and black colouration indicates a fishing techniques. These are the rods I’d recommend to someone that only wants to get one rod, as you can adapt other areas of your tackle (like line choice) to make something work well across a wide variety of methods.

The blanks we developed for INFEET took a long time – with close to eighty different samples created until we had nailed each action. Each level of INFEET rod uses different graphite and various accompanying technologies. One that has made its way into a lot of Daiwa rods is the use of X45X Full Shield, which is used in both the mid-tier Z series, the new SK series and the flagship EX and LTD AGS models.

Daiwa’s proprietary 45-degree carbon technology, X45X Full Shield drastically reduces the rod blank twisting, which is especially important when casting a spin rod, as the line will want to ‘fall’ to the back side as you load the rod into the cast. If the rod can reduce that twisting force, it puts all the effort into the cast, resulting in much longer flight distances. One comment I hear often from non-boaters on my boat is they’re amazed at how far I’m casting. Most ask what braid I’m using and to be honest, it has a lot more to do with the rod than the line choice.

Models and Techniques

sticking with Stainless Steel frames on the larger guides. This gives us the benefit of shaving important weight faster taper, where the tip folds over easily. These rods are generally a bit more universal and suit multiple

What we initially launched as the INFEET range consisted of seventeen models across three ranges, each with distinct features and characteristics and designed to complement each other. Want a rod for fishing Cranka Crabs? Pick up the Z 782LFS. Want Steve Morgan’s stick minnow rod? That’s what the EX 752ULFS-S is for. But all the ranges have a couple of versatile sticks to suit the basic one-two punch of a soft plastic and crankbait that so often dominate the ABT tour.

Since then, we’ve announced and released more models to cater to demand. We’ve released a series using the popular Fuji Skeleton reel seats with four models to cater to the hottest tournament techniques. We added two new actions to the INFEET and INFEET Z ranges, and one in-particular has garnered a cult following.

We also added a limitededition flagship, the LTD AGS model which will be around for the first six months of 2023 and is the brainchild of ABT angler Mark Crompton – if you’re a south coast plastic junkie, you need to check out that rod. Finally, we also added 4 baitcast models, there is a something so rewarding about fishing ultralight baitcast tackle, so if you’re interested in branching out from spin, they make great options for crankbaits, blades or Cranka crabs.

What’s In Store?

As Daiwa headlines the ABT BREAM series again in 2023, we’re committed to continuing our pursuit to create the best range of rods to suit. If you happen to bump into me at an event this year, make sure you take a look onto the deck of my boat as you may just get a sneak peek into what may be in store!

The Infeet Range

6101LFS: This model is the tight-cover specialist, designed for fishing both hard and soft lures tight against floating structure where careful presentation trumps brute force.

702ULFS: The lightest rod in the whole INFEET family, if you want to experience true red-line finesse fishing this is the rod for you.

702LRS: The 702LRS is the all-rounder of the range and can be utilised in almost any circumstance. A regular taper protects timid hooksets with treble hooked baits, whilst the moderate yet responsive blank means twitching small soft plastics is no problem.

722ULRS: The 722ULRS is a keen crankbait angler’s dream. A soft, moderate taper ensures fragile hook-ups remain pinned, ensuring you land more fish once convincing them to bite.

732LFS: The 732LFS is the ‘go-to’ rod for soft plastic fishing where delicate action is required to get the most from lures like the BaitJunkie 2.5” Grub and Minnow. A faster action delivers the perfect tip to twitch and rip plastics around structure or over open areas, and the slightly more powerful butt section provides the assurance you’ll extract those fish from cover once hooked.

752LFS: The long-cast topwater model. 7’5” in length for the ultimate casting distance when using topwater lures. A nice fast tip allows a great walk-the-dog cadence and enough power to bunch out long casts with slightly heavier and larger topwaters.

762ULRS: The longest rod in the 20 INFEET line-up, the 762ULRS was designed for long-distance casting with crankbaits over shallow flats.

‘I have been using Samurai rods for close to a decade. They continue to be a crucial element to my fishing, allowing precise and long casts when needed to deliver lures where I need them.

Samurai are serious about competition angling, so for me there is only one choice.’