Product Review- Emeraldas V Squid Rod

By Jesse Rotin

Squid fishing has certainly come a long way from traditional techniques like commercial squid jigs and baited prongs pitched around on old hand-reels. Gone are the days of having a tangled mess at your feet just trying to get the jig into the water. l know I’ve had my fair share of tangles! Thankfully, these days squid fishing has taken on a new lease of life in the form of eging.

Eging consists of casting balanced, lifelike artificial jigs and actively searching for squid with a rod and reel. Since this deadly Japanese technique has hit our shores, it’s taken off in full swing and is growing by the minute.

To the untrained eye some could easily mistake egi rods for being just like any other rod on the market, but this couldn’t be any further from the truth. Egi rods are assembled in a totally different manner to your common spinning rod and are instead built on blanks which have a parabolic action, meaning they bend in a U like curve. To break things down, picture a rod with a stiff tip section to impart life to your jig, a slightly softer mid-section which acts like a shock absorber, ensuring the squids soft tentacles are not broken and then back down to a firm bottom section, where all the action is created by movement of your hands and arms. Although the design in squid rods may differ the fundamentals are all quite similar. 

My Egi rod of choice is the Emeraldas V 8.3ML and let me tell you this is one sweet rod that I’ve really fallen in love with. Daiwa have really hit the nail on the head with this rod, built into this rod are features like X45 which eliminates blank twist and Fuji Stainless Steel SIC guides which aid against corrosion. Braiding X is another helpful piece of technology integrated into this rod which increases rod strength while keeping it light and comfortable enough to use all day.

Its 8’3ft length is paramount in allowing me to achieve long casts and cover as much ground as possible, whether that be on the boat or from the shore.

Whether I’m chasing inner harbour squid with small 1.8 to 2.5 size jigs, where a delicate touch is needed, or when extra strength is a must for hunting ocean dwelling giants with 3.0-3.5 jigs, the 8.3ML allows me the versatility to do it all.

I had initially paired this rod with the Emeraldas Air 3000LT-DH and have been using it over the past few years. However, in recent times have now matched it with the new Emeraldas Air 2500S FC-DH and can say that both reels are well suited to this rod.

The Emeraldas V range has 4 different models, all varying in line ratings and jig sizes, so you’re sure to find a rod to suit your squidding style.