New Dark Matter Rod

[Snapprhead27]

Saw this pop up on my IG feed. Interesting little rod, I'd like to know more on the specs of it.






AVAILABLE DECEMBER 2026

 

[Leprechaun]

That looks to be a very cool little stick. I've always like the Dark Matter "Skinner" fluke rods and think their slightly slower taper is ideal for minimizing hook pulls on those head-shaking larger fluke. And they do handle the heavier jig and sinker weights that we commonly use offshore.

However, this weekend one of my dock mates brought over a fairly new SkinneR fluke rod that broke right at the foregrip. Snapped clean off. I've seen a lot of broken graphite rods over the years, but never one that broke in that location. On top of that, the blank's wall thickness was REALLY thin - something I've also not seen in most other blanks I've owned or worked with.

Could have been a one-off event, and can't really bad-mouth rods that have become best sellers, but it does give me pause regarding picking one up myself. I do like everything else about them though, so there's that . . .

As an aside, recently I'm all about shorter rod lengths - between my 5'8" 300gram Jigging World Ghost Hunter I like for tog and especially my new 5'6" Palmarius Wakizashi fluke jigger, I have a tough time switching to longer rods after using the shorties on any particular trip. Just so very nice in the hand. So, a 5' spinner that can perform on the offshore fluke grounds? Why not?

 

[Snapprhead27]

Another new one

 

[OVERBORED]

That looks to be a very cool little stick. I've always like the Dark Matter "Skinner" fluke rods and think their slightly slower taper is ideal for minimizing hook pulls on those head-shaking larger fluke. And they do handle the heavier jig and sinker weights that we commonly use offshore.

However, this weekend one of my dock mates brought over a fairly new SkinneR fluke rod that broke right at the foregrip. Snapped clean off. I've seen a lot of broken graphite rods over the years, but never one that broke in that location. On top of that, the blank's wall thickness was REALLY thin - something I've also not seen in most other blanks I've owned or worked with.

Could have been a one-off event, and can't really bad-mouth rods that have become best sellers, but it does give me pause regarding picking one up myself. I do like everything else about them though, so there's that . . .

As an aside, recently I'm all about shorter rod lengths - between my 5'8" 300gram Jigging World Ghost Hunter I like for tog and especially my new 5'6" Palmarius Wakizashi fluke jigger, I have a tough time switching to longer rods after using the shorties on any particular trip. Just so very nice in the hand. So, a 5' spinner that can perform on the offshore fluke grounds? Why not?

You've seen enough quality blanks to know what an inferior one looks like. Thin walled blanks don't survive very long if fished hard.........just sayin.

 

[Snapprhead27]

That looks to be a very cool little stick. I've always like the Dark Matter "Skinner" fluke rods and think their slightly slower taper is ideal for minimizing hook pulls on those head-shaking larger fluke. And they do handle the heavier jig and sinker weights that we commonly use offshore.

However, this weekend one of my dock mates brought over a fairly new SkinneR fluke rod that broke right at the foregrip. Snapped clean off. I've seen a lot of broken graphite rods over the years, but never one that broke in that location. On top of that, the blank's wall thickness was REALLY thin - something I've also not seen in most other blanks I've owned or worked with.

Could have been a one-off event, and can't really bad-mouth rods that have become best sellers, but it does give me pause regarding picking one up myself. I do like everything else about them though, so there's that . . .

As an aside, recently I'm all about shorter rod lengths - between my 5'8" 300gram Jigging World Ghost Hunter I like for tog and especially my new 5'6" Palmarius Wakizashi fluke jigger, I have a tough time switching to longer rods after using the shorties on any particular trip. Just so very nice in the hand. So, a 5' spinner that can perform on the offshore fluke grounds? Why not?

Do you notice a difference in how you fish the SPJ, Palmarius Wakizashi...as opposed to the Palmarius's we picked up about 2-3 years ago now? I've realized you really can't do that rapid jigging for fluke like we see/do a lot. When I swing up hard to set the hook I feel like I lose a lot of fish. It needs to be a soft upward pull as the tip is super soft. Hope I explained it right.