Major Craft’s Redback 5G is a tai-rubber rod designed to detect the preliminary bites that occur before a red sea bream touches the necktie, then guide the fish into a solid hookset with a supple blank that minimizes any unnatural feel. Tested extensively in heavily pressured areas of the Seto Inland Sea, it features a blank constructed from Toray T1100G carbon using R360 construction. The carbon fibers are arranged across multiple axes—longitudinal, diagonal, and transverse—to achieve a balance of light weight, power, and responsiveness. From the solid tip through the midsection, the blank stabilizes the tai-rubber’s action while minimizing the chance of pulling out on tentative bites. During the fight, the entire blank bends naturally to absorb the fish’s runs.
The guides use Fuji Kogyo SiC rings, while the baitcasting models feature a spiral guide setting that minimizes interference with the blank’s bend and helps prevent debris such as jellyfish from sticking to the guides. The lineup includes baitcasting and spinning models. The RB5-B610M/S is a powerful, torque-rich model designed for deep areas below 100 m and downwind drifting, with a supple solid tip and strong midsection-to-butt flex that help handle large red sea bream. The RB5-S70M is designed for casting, taking advantage of its 7-foot length to search areas away from the boat and to make long, angled tai-rubber presentations in shallow water. For shallow-water applications, the RB5-B610L/S is versatile and easy to handle across a wide range of relatively shallow areas, while the RB5-B610ML/S is designed for everything from multi-species tai-rubber fishing inside bays and depths around 100 m to areas with strong current.
