Putting Abu Garcia’s latest gear through its paces on Lake Erie’s bass

One of the decided perks of working here at Outdoor Canada is that we often get a sneak preview of new fishing and hunting gear before it hits the market. So a few weeks ago when Pure Fishing’s Canadian marketing manager, Chris Hockley, emailed to say he was “absolutely busting at the seams” over Abu Garcia’s new Revo baitcasters, I had to check them out.

And I got just that chance this past Sunday, when I joined Chris and his fishing buddy, Larry Mellors, aboard Larry’s boat down by Long Point on Lake Erie. Our target was skinny-water largemouth bass, with the aim of putting the new suite of Revos—the S, SX, STX, Premier and MGX—through their paces.

I have to admit, the reels were pretty cool—extremely light, they sported an incredibly low profile and felt good in the hand—and once they become available in September, I’ll have to add one to my arsenal. If you’re a gear head like most outdoors guys, you’ll want to check out this video explaining the mechanics driving the Revo: click here.

We started out the day flipping jigs into the tall grass, waiting for the telltale explosion of lurking bass hammering our offerings. For this, I paired my Revo with one of Abu Garcia’s new white Veritas rods, which handled the job with ease (that’s it in the picture above, at top left).

For the most part in the grass, I was chucking Berkley Gripper Jigs tipped with PowerBait Chigger Chunks, as well as various Havoc critters, but I also got slammed a few times with the new Heavy Weight Thump Worm (I liked the large profile it presented).

While fishing the jigs, I also picked up a neat trick from Chris: cut an orange Powerbait egg in half, and super glue one half to the soft-plastic trailer to act as a focal point. Whether the fish would have hammered the bait regardless, I don’t know, but it sure didn’t hurt.

After lunch (thanks for the burgers, Larry!), we spent the afternoon drifting rice beds, and for this I switched over to the new Abu Garcia Villain rod, the eight-foot, heavy-action model, to be precise. Despite its size, this rod was amazingly light, and paired with a Revo, it made for hours of effortless casting. And when it came to muscling snags out of the thick stuff, it more than did the trick. I have to agree with Larry—this was my favourite combo of the day.

As for my favourite new bait from the folks at Pure Fishing? Hands down it was the new Havoc Grass Pig. Rigged with a keel-weighted hook, this bad boy glided through the canes with ease, and the big bass just loved it, especially the Bubble Gum-coloured offering I was fishing.

Thank you, Chris and Larry, for an excellent day on the water. It was a great way to spend the opening weekend of bass season in here in southern Ontario. For more on Abu Garcia’s latest offerings, click here. As for the latest Berkley baits, click here.

Chris Hockley and a nice largie caught on a Gripper Jig and Chigger Chunk

Larry Mellors and a largemouth that tackled his Havoc in the grass

Yours truly and one of my various victims (duly released, of course)