By Ben Bassett & Rich Salter

The iconic and hugely successful 5G rated carbon Aji-Do now has a little brother, with the birth of the 1G rated carbon range. We have managed to get our hands on the first that have landed in the UK, and here are our thoughts on the L and M rated versions.

Firstly, here’s what Major Craft have to say about their new range:
‘Designed using the same technology as the 5G model this more cost effective model allows excellent performance without the huge price tag.

The lightweight blank allows anglers to feel the underwater image of a light rig, and the balance of operability will convey the small hit of a horse mackerel.

It also suppresses the wobbling of the rod when casting, so it has excellent long-distance cast-ability with a lightweight rig and excellent control performance. This is a horse mackerel rod is recommended for beginners of Aging style and those who want to improve their level.‘

Ignoring the minor translation issues there, we can see that this is a range that was designed to have the functionality of the much more expensive 5G version, with a more mainstream price tag.

What is 5G and 1G all about though? It can get confusing, especially as phrases that work well in Japanese often don’t make much sense when translated to English. It’s also confusing when there are 5G 5 gram rated rods, which many would also call 5g, and in the 1G range there are also 5 gram rated rods. It’s not clear to the newcomer what that is all about.

So, 5G carbon is, at the time of writing, the very best carbon that is used by Major Craft, all their top of the range rods use it. The carbon is light, feels crisp, responsive and strong. But with expensive carbon comes expensive rod prices, which means anglers can be easily priced out.

1G carbon is Major Craft’s answer to that, using similar technology but at a lower price point. It’s an interesting sales tactic, and one we were excited to test out once they landed in the UK, having been delayed due to selling out in Japan first.

Firstly, the AD1-S682M, which is rated to cast up to 5 grams, and is solid tipped like the rest of the Aji-Do range. Neither of us have used the M range of the 5G Aji-Do, so looked forward to seeing what the 5 gram rated 1G was capable of.

Looks wise, it has the same orange banding around the top three line guides, and has the same black finish and similar reel seat. The guides are a more traditional two stem design from Fuji, but thankfully they are reassuringly small. Also missing is the inch or two of unpolished carbon below where the two sections meet. Finally the foam counter balance at the bottom of the rod is slightly smaller than on the 5G.

Ben took it out for a test around the rocks of Mount Batten Breakwater, hoping to find a spring topknot. He was successful and found the rod to be almost as responsive as the 5G version, although definitely softer. It wasn’t hard to work a small jighead around the boulders, and every nibble reverberated right through the blank as expected.

Casting out to search for pollack in the dying evening light, the rod was being used for its true design, on the drop, ‘Aji’ style fishing. There wasn’t quite the razor sharp feel you get from the 5G, but that is a ridiculously high bar. The sensitivity still rivalled or beat any rod found at the same price level, it is an impressive feat.

The pollack and the topknot were found that evening, making for an enjoyable couple of hours in the slowly setting spring sun.

Ben was able to follow up that first foray on Mount Batten with a Cornish trip using larger lures. This is where the rod was truly tested, as the rod worked the new 5 gram Savage Gear Gravity Pencil Slim perfectly, tricking a larger bass amongst the little schoolies. The rod cushioned the impressive runs and headshakes perfectly, and the fish was landed.

Overall the M model feels exactly how we expected it to, it is powerful yet sensitive, ultra fast but a little softer in the blank, and fantastic recovery time, snapping back into shape after the cast with just a little more wobble than the 5G.

Rich chose the AD1-S682L model, which is rated to cast 3 grams max. This model is almost identical in appearance to the M but has luminous green wrapping on the top three guides instead.

On a recent trip to the South Devon coast, he found it to be very much like the 5G in terms of that rod’s rigid action. Using metals, he found he could pop a 3g metal out beautifully. In the hand it was a little heavier than the 5G, and felt slightly less like you’ve been plugged into the mains in terms of sensitivity, but it is still sensitive and light.

Around the rocks he found it to be a tad softer which he felt was actually a positive. It’s not quite soft enough that it would be his first pick for a species hunting rod but a great choice as an all rounder. Once they open, he is sure it will be good for micro fishing on the rivers too.

Impressively, it still has the backbone required to deal with better fish. He had some chunky mackerel as the light dropped, and due to a trawler running it’s engine to hold position, it was like fishing in a fairly fast moving stream for a while. The rod still did most of the work rather than the reel. Overall he was very impressed with it.

So how do we rate the 1G Aji-Do range overall? The drawbacks are that aesthetically they aren’t quite as pretty as the 5G, lacking the single stemmed guides that are so distinctive. They also aren’t quite as electric in the hand, although still very responsive.

The pluses though are really positive. This is a £160 rod, that fishes better than anything near that price. This is a solid tip that can fish metals and jigheads with similar feel and accuracy. And across the range they are light and powerful, with excellent sensitivity with just that extra softness that may put you off the 5G version.

If you are in the market for a new rod in these weight ranges, these are well worth a look. Find them on our shop here –
https://thebiglerftackleshop.co.uk/lrf-rods-1-c.asp