Abu Garcia Ike series

Started by MDbassin, January 15, 2017, 08:39:11 AM

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MDbassin

I have been looking at rods now for several weeks and stalking forums, google, BPS to get hands on.

I think I have it narrowed down to 2 rods Dobyns Fury or Abu Garcia Ike series. Now I can spend all day on here reading about Dobyns since they are a site sponsor. But I haven't heard much about the IKE rods.

How do these 2 compare for those of you who have both or one or the other

West6550

Never had an Ike series rod. But the Abu Veritas rods can be found for $75. IMO they are the best rod in that price range (99 - 150).

I have never had a Fury so I can't compare. But unfortunately I was not happy with the Dobyns Savvy I tried for a few months. The rod was beautiful and worked great. But my Verita was half the price and more sensitive. I sold it and bought 2 Veritas rods.

The Champion Dobyns... now those rods are beautiful!!

rockchalk06

Quote from: MDbassin on January 15, 2017, 08:39:11 AM
I have been looking at rods now for several weeks and stalking forums, google, BPS to get hands on.

I think I have it narrowed down to 2 rods Dobyns Fury or Abu Garcia Ike series. Now I can spend all day on here reading about Dobyns since they are a site sponsor. But I haven't heard much about the IKE rods.

How do these 2 compare for those of you who have both or one or the other


Take this with a grain of salt, but I have no ties to Dobyns. I push their products because I like them and use them. I had been using Dobyns before I knew they were a sponsor here.

I did a review on the Fury cranking rod. For the price, it's really hard to beat.

Dobyns rods are built for one man and all aspects are controlled by him. The Ike Series are designed as a special item for a sponsor of theirs. I've never had good luck with the quality control of items built like that.

Abu makes some decent rods for the money. Their quality control on the Veritas line is what made me never want to own one again. You could walk into any retailer and hold one and find some flaw in it.

I love Iaconelli and how he loves this sport, but the guy pushes the products for money. I push Dobyns because I use them and have never had any issues as I have with Abu rods. I've owned 2-3 rods from every line Dobyns makes except the Coalition and Saavy series. The ones I got rid of, I got rid of them for custom rods or higher end Dobyns rods.

I will say that I have talked with both Richard and Gary several times on finding a rod that works for a technique I want. That kinda speaks volumes with me. I've never been talked to like I was a customer. I was talked to like a guy paying their wages.

Hopefully someone with some experience on the Ike series rods can chime in as I have none with that line.

ranger1882

me personally , i would go with the dobyns fury ....i like the savvy and champion...the fury is on my list to have because , from what i keep hearing, it's a great rod - not just for the money, but really good in general
I don't fish to escape life...I fish to live it

loomisguy

If I had to choose between those 2 it would be Dobyns. With all the shake ups and cuts coming at pure fishing I'd be leery for now. I would imagine that ABU will survive , but it looks like Brandon Paliniuk has left.
If they keep anyone it would be Ike. but how much product support will be left remains to be seen.

zippyduck

I don't have an Ike series but have veracity and villains and reallyy liked them till I found dobyns. Their rods are a lot better built and every rod has a purpose for why it was made that way. All Abu rods are built because they need a ml, m, mh, h rod int that size and series.

I hope this helps
3rd place 2017 UB IBASS 377.75"
AOY 2018 IBASS Cool Casters  369.00"
AOY 2019 IBASS Cool Casters  362.50"

fishballer06

I own two Ike rod's and one Fury rod. Both are good rods and I think are probably the best rods out there on the market in the sub $130 range. In terms of casting rods, I like the feel of the Dobyns reel seat better than the Ike reel seat. That is the only thing I would give the Dobyns. In every other aspect, they're both basically even.
3rd place 2019 iBass - Cool Casters
2nd place 2019 iBass - Team Tournament

Smallie_Stalker

Check my siggy below and then consider my opinion because I have no ties to Dobyns, in fact I have ties to ABU. Let me start by saying I like ABU rods. I will also say that I have never used the IKE rods so in a direct comparison I can't give an opinion. But I do own Veritas, Veracity and Villain rods from ABU.

I did a side by side test with a Dobyns Fury against these 3 lines of ABU and long story shot, the Fury blew the Veritas out of the water, and matched the $180 Veracity in just about every aspect including sensitivity and was far more comfortable to hold and fish with. It didn't quite come up to the level of the Villain (although again it was far more comfortable to fish with), but at half the price I didn't really expect it to. So I am thinking that if a $110 Fury can match a $180 Veracity, Then how much better is a $160 - $180 Dobyns Sierra going to be than a $200 Villain?

So I have ties to ABU and will continue to use their reels. But going forward my rod purchases are going to be focused on Dobyns, and it has nothing to do with them being a sponsor here. It simply has to do with the fact that I personally feel like they are a far better rod for the money.

Dobyns Rods   Titan Tungsten   Abu Garcia  Berkley  Pflueger  Spiderwire

fishandkamp

Well I do have both Veritas and Ike rods.  I own the Ike delay series jerkbait rod. I love it, it is 6'4" in length and it is built like other rod companies 6'6" or 6'8" rod with a shorter butt. The rod has a very comfortable eva split handle, not the squishy eva stuff. The rod handles jerkbaits extremely well, it also balances well with my Daiwa Tatula Type R reel on it. It might even be nicer with a CT on it.  It is not like my two Veritas rods. I first purchased a  Veritas 7 foot hvy rod that I intended to frog with. I used it for several days and just did not like it for that use. I had gotten the first rod on sale.  Dicks had them on clearance since the Veritas 2 rods were released. These sold for $40.  So I went back and purchased a Veritas 7 foot mh rod. The rod fits better for frogs and could easily handle small to mid sized jigs or texas rigs. Both of these rods are really at least 1/2 to a whole power heavier than they rate for.  My 7 ft hvy is going to be used for punching mats.   After fishing frogs on the MH for a season and a half I just ordered a Dobyns Champion XP DC705C to replace the Veritas rod. For the last few years I have been upgrading my tackle. There are some rods I own and love. One is my Powell Max 683CEF.  That rod does it all and feels great doing it.  I consider the Ike rod to be that good as well, so I have no intention of replacing it either.  I own a Falcon Bucoo micro series Trap Caster rod. It stays. My Irod is a IRG 703CC, the perfect small to mid sized crank /trap rod.  My decisions are based upon which rod will do the best job and fits my tackle limitations. My boat will not fit a 7'1 inch rod in the rod storage so many times I like a manufacturer's product, but do not go with it.  Powell is a good example, I love my Powell and they make some fine rods, but they only make a few that fit my needs. Irod offers great rods as well. And that brings me back to Dobyns. I expect by the time I upgrade all 9 other rods I will own quite a few Irods, Dobyns and 1 more Powell.  Some of the rods that will go will include a Veritas MH, some  ST Croix Premiers, several Quantums and a couple of Bass Pro rods.