Temple Reef Levitate Nabla SPJ Rods

The Levitate Nabla is another evolutionary step for Temple Reef’s most popular SPJ line. The Levitate is going onto the 6th generation now, and it still manages to be one of the best performing rods on the market as far as feel and features and the Nabla is no different. The new rear grip design allows for a more sturdy and more sensitive butt section, the whole piece is integrated so you don’t have a separate butt grip to dampen the vibration and feel when you’re jigging. The shape is much stronger than the typical tubular blank, and a lot more comfortable when used under your armpit.

Along with this comes with an ergonomic improvement of the flat top design. When you’re jigging you’ll always have your forearm on the butt of the rod for stability and depending on the reel you’re using and how the rear grip is shaped it can be pretty difficult the keep the rod from slipping to either side. The easiest way to get rid of this problem is by pressing your thumb into the reel to keep it tight, but this also comes with extra fatigue over time and doesn’t help when you’re using your thumb to help level the line. The flat top makes this job very easy since it has enough surface area to keep the butt in place without slipping. They went with a conventional guide train instead of a spiral wrap this time, which they do occasionally on the Levitate, this is a plus or minus for some people but in general the conventional layout is a lot more universal and you’ll see it more often on JDM rods.

The new Levitates come in 4 power ratings from 0 to 3 unlike the last generation which offered 1 through 4. The lower rating is a lot more usable for most people so it is a nice addition to their lineup, it will help with guys fishing rockfish in SoCal since you generally don’t need super heavy jigs in a lot of places. Shallower water fishing will be especially fun on the Zero.