Johnny Morris "Patriot" spinning rod

[basslure]

A few days ago, I bought the Johnny Morris “Patriot” spinning fishing rod.
The rod itself as a product, action, weight and quality of craftsmanship is absolutely perfect, but….
I do believe that the person who designed this rod has no knowledge about fishing with a spinning rod at all.
On the description of the rod the manufacturer is “singing the praises” of the rod handle which is built:
“…..Split-grip handles boast weather-resistant Winn® custom grips for ultimate comfort. Our extra-light 2-piece minimalist reel seat puts your fingers directly on the blank, for lightning-quick vibration transmission….”
But, please be real. What is this handle for, if it is behind your grip and your hand is holding bare plastic, and the rod itself where is so thin in this section? Your hand is gripping the mounting nest, the foot of the reel, and the tightening knot, which is built with plastic and has hard and angular edges. This handle seems like more of a decorative feature rather than enhancing the use of this rod for practical reasons. The reel, which is between the small and ring finger, does not even touch the rod handle, and with 600-700 casts per day, blistering on your fingers will occur. When you compare the other Johnny Morris rods, the Patriot rod is missing the practical “final touch”. If you analyze the Patriot casting and Patriot spinning rod you can definitely see that is the same rod without any changes on the handle just the mounting reel nest and the rod guides. Nothing else. But, to me as a fishermen with 40 years experience the spinning rods has totally different handle comp[are the casting rods. Here is a hook on you. Before you buy , just take to your hand and check how you feel this rod in your hand with a reel. Terrible !!!!
The rod is not comfortable to use for all day fishing, especially for this amount of money. I believe that another version of this rod should be totally redesigned, especially the handle section. Additionally, the handle should be built with cork if it is a professional rod. The handle material on the “Patriot” rod might be exposed to the Sun on your boat deck for a couple of hours at a time rendering it impossible to pick up and use due to the temperature from the Sun. The grip will be too hot to take it to the hand

[Tywithay]

To me, a winn grip does nothing but dampen vibrations. Even with a casting rod, you rarely have a hand on the handle behind the reel seat.

[ECobb91]

Winn grips on spinning rods are mostly just for decoration and a sales gimmick. The way you hold the rod, your hand never really comes into contact with the handle. Casting rods they help only when casting since that’s about the only time you’re actually gripping the reel handle fully.

I agree though, Winn grips dampen vibrations and feel of a rod. The material was originally made for golf clubs to reduce the impact when you hit a ball and give you a better grip; that’s what’s happening to fishing rods with the Winn material on them. I can see if someone has a hard time with losing feeling in their hands it’d make sense to have the most tacky handle you could get.

[RFSims]

Since I have four St Croix spinning rods, I am partial to the Fugi DPS reel seat that is on the Avid/Mojo/Premier lines. The reel stem is between my middle and ring fingers and all I'm holding is the reel seat, no cork. It's what you get use to. Probably the most comfortable spinning rod handle was the Tennessee handle. Don't see many with that handle.

[basscat tyler]

I personally hate spinning rods that has the reel nut on the top of the reel seat. I hold my hand above the reel foot on a spinning rod. To me the Daiwa Tatula spinning rod is the most comfortable that I have used

[R2Tracker]

I don't like the way spinning gear feels in my hands anymore, I've gotten too used to casting. Fenwick Elitetech Smallmouth was probably the most comfortable spinning handle I've ever used.

[Walkabout7781]

A few days ago, I bought the Johnny Morris “Patriot” spinning fishing rod.
The rod itself as a product, action, weight and quality of craftsmanship is absolutely perfect, but….
I do believe that the person who designed this rod has no knowledge about fishing with a spinning rod at all.
On the description of the rod the manufacturer is “singing the praises” of the rod handle which is built:
“…..Split-grip handles boast weather-resistant Winn® custom grips for ultimate comfort. Our extra-light 2-piece minimalist reel seat puts your fingers directly on the blank, for lightning-quick vibration transmission….”
But, please be real. What is this handle for, if it is behind your grip and your hand is holding bare plastic, and the rod itself where is so thin in this section? Your hand is gripping the mounting nest, the foot of the reel, and the tightening knot, which is built with plastic and has hard and angular edges. This handle seems like more of a decorative feature rather than enhancing the use of this rod for practical reasons. The reel, which is between the small and ring finger, does not even touch the rod handle, and with 600-700 casts per day, blistering on your fingers will occur. When you compare the other Johnny Morris rods, the Patriot rod is missing the practical “final touch”. If you analyze the Patriot casting and Patriot spinning rod you can definitely see that is the same rod without any changes on the handle just the mounting reel nest and the rod guides. Nothing else. But, to me as a fishermen with 40 years experience the spinning rods has totally different handle comp[are the casting rods. Here is a hook on you. Before you buy , just take to your hand and check how you feel this rod in your hand with a reel. Terrible !!!!
The rod is not comfortable to use for all day fishing, especially for this amount of money. I believe that another version of this rod should be totally redesigned, especially the handle section. Additionally, the handle should be built with cork if it is a professional rod. The handle material on the “Patriot” rod might be exposed to the Sun on your boat deck for a couple of hours at a time rendering it impossible to pick up and use due to the temperature from the Sun. The grip will be too hot to take it to the hand

What size is that reel? It looks pretty big to me, maybe a 4000? I only have 2000 and 2500 Stradics, and I think I grip the rod with the reel stem between my ring and middle fingers. If the reel is bigger, you might have to grip between your pinky and ring finger in order to get your index finger on the line correctly ?

I don't have a problem with Winn grips, but only have one spinning rod (Lew's) with them, and one baitcaster (Denali). Since I grip the line ahead of the reel, I don't lose any sensitivity, IMO. The balance of the rod/reel can improve or reduce the sensitivity, so you might try that rod with a lighter/smaller reel and see if it helps. If you use braid (with or without leader), you don't need a big spool spinning reel. Spool size does affect the maximum drag force available, but not to the point of being a problem.