Shimano Jewel rods

I’ll be the first to admit, when I first saw these rods listed in a Shimano Catalog I was a bit skeptical. A rod with a name like Jewel left me thinking it was designed for female anglers and that no right man would consider owning one. But after seeing one in the flesh the other day I was pleasantly surprised.

The Jewel series don’t look as tacky up close as they do in the photos. They are actually finely crafted pieces of fishing equipment, and you can tell as soon as you pick one up a lot of work and thought has gone in to them.

The few rods that I had a quick play with all felt well designed and balanced which is really what won me over. Too many times have I seen these “over the top” rods look great but feel terrible, but this is not the Jewels. All the rods feature extra hard EVA split grips, aluminium winding checks, gun smoke coloured Zirconium ringed guides and Fuji VSS reel seats.

The lighter rods designed for the like of bream, whiting and flathead are the perfect all rounders and I can see them being quite successful in the mid-range bream circuit. Priced at well under $200 the Jewel series is a good example of not judging a book by its cover.