Test Drive: Abu Garcia Veritas ice Rod & Reel Combo - Review

I can't believe it took me this long to get to my first "test drive" of the 2014 ice season. But as you know I don't take these things lightly and really wanted to put the Abu Garcia Ice Combo  through its paces prior to stepped up to my pedestal. 

Abu Garcia has enjoyed some great success with their line of Veritas rods, so much so that they decided to introduce an ice model. I was very intrigued by this combo when I first saw it, and even more so when i handled one in a local shop. I'm not a Abu guy, Ive never owned an Abu rod or reel prior to this combo, so you can believe me when I tell you that this review is truly my first impression .

Pro's:

The Abu Veritas Ice rod is build with some of the same characteristics that made its big brother popular, It's well built, highly flexible (move over uglystick) and has a great grip for jigging on ice. I like the weight, the length and the powers that this rod is available in (though I have no idea why they list the rod length in feet and not inches like every other ice rod maker) 

Available in Ultra Light, Medium Light and Medium powers the Abu has lined itself up as a great pan fish rod for perch, gills and even slab crappies. I put mine to the test on both pan fish and smaller walleye and have no concerns with it's performance.

The Reel that comes on this combo is better then most stock reels. For those that know me, you know I'm not one to buy combo's but instead pair a Tica Cetus reel with a nice rod, in this case I decided to give the combo a shot and I was impressed with the drag and overall performance.. that being said if I was to buy a second one, it would be a rod only.

In my use of the combo thus far I get the feeling that it is very durable, which is great for ice rods that get beat up slightly more then open water rods, this is even more important for an all white rod that may get stepped on from time to time (yep that happened) 

Cons:

In all honesty I didn't really come across all that many cons when it comes to this ice fishing combo other then the price.. coming in on average at $49 a combo Abu has priced themselves to compete with Frabill who in all honesty makes a better ice fishing combo.

The Vertias Ice combo is closer in comparison to the rods made by Clam, that retail between $19-$29 a combo. The reel on the Veritas is nicer then the ones that come with Clam ice rods, but not enough for me to shell out $49 (CDN) when I can take my pick of Frabill rods for similar money

I'm also not all that sold on a "white" ice fishing rod, check out the above pic of the walleye , if not for the black guides this rod is nearly invisible on snow and ice. It your a dead-stick angler or like to set up rods on a tip-down or slammer this rod is hard to see from any distance

Where to Buy:

Abu Garcia

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