I have been a huge fan of the Diawa Steeze rods and reels, because of the rod weight and sensitivity, but in the back of my mind I have been wondering when Diawa's Rival Shimano will come out with their top shelf competitor. Shimano just introduced their Cumulus Series rods, with rods as light as 78 grams. Shimano made these rods in 3 spinning versions, and 3 bait casting versions. Here are the Specs.
| Cumulus | ||||||||
| Model | Finished Weight | Blank Construction | Length | Power | Action | Line Rating | Lure Rating (oz) | Pieces |
| CMLC65M | 78g | HM1 | 6'5" | Medium | Fast | 8 | 1/4-1/2oz | 1 |
| CMLC610MH | 86g | HM1 | 6'10" | Medium Heavy | Fast | 12 | 1/4-3/4oz | 1 |
| CMLCX71MH | 100g | HM1 | 7'1" | Medium Heavy | X-Fast | 15 | 1/4-3/4oz | 1 |
| CMLSX65M | 90g | HM1 | 6'5'" | Medium | X-Fast | 6 | 1/8-3/8oz | 1 |
| CMLSX610ML | 96g | HM1 | 6'10'" | Medium Light | X-Fast | 5 | 1/16-3/8oz | 1 |
| CMLSX610M | 104g | HM1 | 6'10'" | Medium | Fast | 6 | 1/8-3/8oz | 1 |
When I picked up the Medium Light Spinning rods, they seemed to be perfect for my favorite style of fishing which is Drop Shotting, and Down Shotting. They have a very sensitive light and fast tip, but plenty of beef for some big smallies or spotted bass.
Now when it comes to Baitcasting rods, a 7 ft. medium heavy is my all around favorite fishing stick, but it seemed like these cumulus medium heavy's were a little lighter than other medium heavy's I have used. I was planning on picking up the 6'10 for deep diving jerkbaits like the pointer 100, but decided to take a pass after comparing it to my G Loomis IMX 7 ft. Med-Hvy. Otherwise it would be an awesome deep water crankbait or jig rod. These rods are defiantly something that all bass fishermen need to check out, they have a great price point, they have superior quality, and they carry Shimano's Over the Counter Lifetime Warranty.
