Lew’s “Tube Special” Custom Speed Stick Review

Another All-Around Rod for Your Arsenal

-Specifications-

Model: LTS

Length: 7' 2"

Power: Medium

Action: Moderate-Fast

In my search for “all-around”, budget-conscious rods, I found myself looking far and wide for a spinning rod that would check most of the boxes I needed checked. I spent hours on Tackle Warehouse and Google looking for my ticket to bass-slammin’ spinning rod nirvana, and after a long while, I was pretty much stumped. Eventually, due to my bias towards products from Lew’s, I went through their entire spinning rod collection, from the cheapest rods to their priciest models. Somewhere in the middle, hovering at around $130, I found the Lew’s “Tube Special” Custom Speed Stick. It was everything that I wanted, until about two months into ownership.

What I like:

I like pretty much everything about this rod. I landed my first bass of the 2018 season on it, and proceeded to land probably my next 30 fish on different techniques with the same rod. Early April fishing in my neck of the woods calls for varied finesse presentations and constant adaptation and change, something that this rod does very well.

My favorite thing about this rod has to be the sensitivity. It’s my most expensive rod, believe it or not, and it shows in just how connected it makes you feel. I can feel bottom contour when I’m sliding a drop shot or a Ned rig around, being able to clearly tell transitions from soft to hard bottom with ease. I’m not saying I can count the pebbles I roll over or tell the difference between mud and sandy-mud, but it is several degrees more sensitive than anything I’m used to, even the Dobyn’s Fury stickbait rod to which I gave high marks in that category. Nibbles are consistently clear and concise, and my finesse applications have certainly been made easier with the new addition.

Next on the list of high praises for this rod is the overall versatility, which my wallet absolutely adores. I can fish basically everything on this rod. I’d feel safe saying that apart from frogs, jigs, or anything with a big weight on it, I feel alright throwing basically everything in my tackle box. I’ll throw poppers, little buzzbaits, worms, dropshots, Ned rigs, texas rigs, jerkbaits, shaky heads – you name it, I’ll probably throw it. Because of the more parabolic bend afforded by the moderate-fast action, my favorite thing to throw on this rod became finesse crankbaits, believe it or not. In the springtime, when the water is still frigid and the bass are just barely coming out of their winter haunts, a finesse crankbait tied on this rod will get the job done; that’s how I caught my first fish of the 2018 season and many more after that.

Overall, everything can be thrown on this rod. A faster action is certainly preferable for some techniques, like the dropshot, shaky head and few others, but for my purposes, I’ll take what I have here.

What I Don’t Like:

Well, this rod snapped after only about two months of usage. It never left my side for the whole spring, and one day, when I was just pulling some line out to tie on a new bait, everything from the second-to-last guide just snapped clean in half.

Frankly, I’m not sure what to say. I’ve had nothing but high praise for every single piece of Lew’s gear I’ve ever owned; it’s American made, high-quality gear that has caught me hundreds of fish over the years. I contacted Lew’s and was told within a day that even though I hadn’t validated my warranty, all I had to do was send them the pieces of what I had left with a print-out proof of purchase from Tackle Warehouse and they’d send me a new one, free of charge and without shipping fees.

I’ll chalk this little issue up to a random fault with my particular blank. I love Lew’s products, and will continue to do business with them regardless; everything else I’ve ever owned with their name on it has been stellar, if not better. I’ll be posting a dated addendum once I’ve received my new rod and gotten more quality time with it, so stay tuned for the final verdict.