Some of the first real innovations in fishing rods in the last several years were brought to fishing by Boyd Duckett at Duckett Fishing with his series of Micro Magic rods. They were one of the first companies to fully utilize and show performance advantages of microguides with their rods. They also introduced the first white rod we had seen. They also did it on a competitively priced, high-quality, technique-specific rod blank that hits the mark on feel and ergonomics.
We have had the pleasure to use their rods since day one and feel that the Micro Magic has cut a swath duplicated by many today in both technology and affordability.
Duckett Micro Magic’s are built with proprietary ring-lock micro guides and Sensi-Touch blanks made of a high modulous prepreg (pre-impregnated graphite materials reinforced with fibers to which pre-catalysed resin systems impregnate by machine). Duckett Micro Magic Rods combine balance, sensitivity performance, light weight with confidence comfort level in regards to durability, all in a single rod. The blank through handle design allows for better feel and more power too.
We have been testing the Duckett Fishing 6-foot, 6-inch DFMM66MHC medium-heavy Micro Magic rod in tournament conditions. The rod handles well for a variety of baits including spinnerbaits, walking topwaters and chuggers. The rod fishes well all day because of the reduced weight and the nine inch split grip provides needed power on hooksets while still being efficient for casting. We teamed this rod with a Lew’s Team Lew’s baitcasting reel and 14-pound Vicious Elite Fluorocarbon. This combo balanced well immediately. We have thrown both light and heavy spinnerbaits and roll cast a 1/4-ounce single spins fishing overhanging trees and bushes.
Initially, we were a bit hesitant to believe that casting distance could be increased with a light bait and a micro-guide rod combo but after the first few casts noticed the line flowed easily along the blank and more contact to the guides gave us better sensitivity on bites. The rod loads well on hooksets and the medium heavy power is perfect for both subsurface spinnerbaits around cover and topwaters alike. We like a forgiving tip on topwaters and found the Duckett to have that as well as enough backbone to hook up well without pulling the bait away from the bass as you can sometimes do on stiffer blanks.
We have put this rod to the test for more than a year now and have not seen any wear and tear that would concern us. Great blank, excellent components and superior cosmetics tie this rod together nicely. We have never felt this rod could be compromised even swinging 3 and 4-pounders over the side of the boat. That is not always the case with some rods. We feel comfortable endorsing the durability of this rod and believe it will stand the test of time too.
The Duckett DFMM66MHC retails for $149.99 at Tackle Warehouse and comes with a 20 year original owner warranty. There are 16 models of Micro Magic Rods in the split grip, 10 in the full grip and 8 in spinning rods.
