BUBBA Tidal Pro Inshore 7'6" Medium Fast Inshore Spinning Rod with Carbon Fiber Grip'

Nice rod

I thoroughly enjoyed every second of fishing with this rod....right up until the heartbreaking moment that it broke, on the 1st time fishing, at the 8th line guide right at the tip. Gratefully I'm 360 protected with Amazon's great customer service and Bubba's lifetime warranty. A replacement will be at my door in 3 days, can't beat that. I will update my review after I fish with the replacement. Disclaimer: I'm a Quality Assurance manager, so I have standards (a lil industry jokey joke).What I loved: shipped in excellent packaging in a strong paper tube, with foam, and a plastic protector on the largest 1st line guide.This rod is beautiful and seamlessly built. I saw no compromises to live with after looking it over. I thought the carbon fiber grip would be uncomfortable after a long day fishing vs say a cork or EVA handle, but I was very wrong. It's so light and comfortable no matter where or how I hold it for various techniques. It's the perfect length, well contoured, and a joy to manuever and handle whether tucking it under my shoulder to jig or jerking the rod with my wrists. The grip is perfectly placed, exactly where my other hand grabs the rod for leverage in setting hooks and when casting. Very well balanced. Usually my hands and wrists are sore after fishing all day, but not with this rod.I paired this rod with my Shimano Vanford 4000 reel, what a schmexy combo. I can cast a country mile with less effort and my accuracy improved since it's so light and easy to handle. I was able to sight cast right by a large snook and finesse my lure right under em for a strike. Exhilarating! I wish I had more time with this rod before it broke, because I still have to get a feel for the hook setting, seemed like it took a bit more effort here with a Medium rod. The rod gets really rigid from the tip in a short length, kinda like extra fast action, maybe why mine broke there or maybe just a defect with this one unit, not sure.It's true, I could feel more sensitivity for strikes and when fish were biting, right at the exposed blank, right at the handle, I loved this. I had less of a feel for bottom conturing when hitting the floor or going over wood and rock though.Overall the engineered features and design was :: chefs kiss ::. It's so refreshing to see this kind of innovation and I can't believe this was their introduction into the rod market, having started with blades and knives. I'll be following this brand to see what they come up with next!

Bubba is an interesting company...Founded in 2009 in San Diego, Bubba rose to fame as a maker of knives. Bubba now makes knives for the hunting/fishing market and the kitchen/chef market. In both realms their knives are popular and highly regarded.Over the years Bubba added a line of small tools for the angler, including hook extractors, a variety of fishing pliers, knife sharpeners and fishing nets and gaffs. These are uniformly, like Bubba's knives, items which are both well built and kind of ostentatiously expensive. I didn't know, for instance, that there was such a thing as a carbon fiber fishing gaff or carbon fiber collapsible net until looking through Bubba's product line on the company web site. Of course, I'm now aware, after seaching the internet, that there are a number of makers of carbon fiber gaffs. So I can't rule conspicuous consumption out as one of Bubba's marketing ploys.Yet, the truth is, Bubba's products are good stuff.Including their latest foray into a new market, this time fishing rods. It makes sense given their other fishing equipment that rods would one day follow. But the quality, cost, ambition and limited product line of this new venture is nonetheless surprising.Bubba's new rods are the TIdal, Tidal Select, and Tidal Pro. The "Tidal" name telegraphs that these are inshore rods for saltwater fishing.The differences between Tidal, Tidal Select and Tidal Pro are these:Tidal: 24-ton Toray graphite rod, corrosion-resistant steel guidesTidal Select: 24/30 ton Toray graphite, and Fuji hardwareTidal Pro: 30 ton Toray graphite and high-end Fuji hardwareAll three are available as casting or spinning rods, each with several lengths and powers.My Tidal Select has the Bubba colors and a striking non-slip grip, as do all the Tidal rods. Exposed matte graphite in the handle area is striking.In use, this is a fine rod. One-piece construction and a quality graphite blank make for precise and powerful casts, and the sensitivity of the rod is excellent.Overall, a truly fine rod from Bubba....

The first one that arrived was missing the end and not straight. Shipping for this item was clearly difficult and maybe an authorized dealer would have been better suited.. The pole itself is overpriced. I know Bubba has a great reputation but this is probably $100 too much for a pole.. This would do well on the ocean for some big fishing though.

This Bubba Tidal Pro series rod is one of my new favorites. The sample arrived in excellent condition. It was packaged in a nice cardboard tube with foam inserts and plastic end caps. The rod is excellent. I really like all the characteristics of it. No issues at all. I wouldn't change a thing. Comfort and sensitivity are my 2 most critical aspects and this rod exceeds in those 2 areas. It seems durable and the finish coating looks like it will hold up to sun, salt, water and use. I do wish it had a white version or some sky coloring to reduce visibly of the rod during daylight. 5 stars.