Comments: This is not going to be a positive review. Where do I start? I decided to pick up 5 different models for striper fishing and received them not even an hour ago. Now I have not fished these rods and have only handled them but that is plenty for me to come to a conclusion. Starting from the butt of each rod, first impression is the poor workmanship on the winding checks. They are sized incorrectly and epoxied off center. Moving up, there is epoxy everywhere. Including INSIDE the guides. The carbon wrap is creased in places along the blank with noticeable pockets of epoxy. This is probably why there are so many complaints of breakages, these areas will be stressed more unevenly than others as the rod loads. And above all, the absolute worst part? Out of 5 rods, only 2 of them are properly spined. If you randomly wrapped 5 rods, you will probably have 2 spined correctly. With a msrp of $170, this is absolutely unacceptable, this is a 5 second test that they chose not to do. Rant over. Time to take them out and see how they perform.

From: The cali critic : California 12/16/22

Comments: After about 10 outings with this rod, the rod snapped just below the 1st line guide. I enjoyed the rod while i had it but it seems they have gone out of business so any chances of it being warranted are out of the picture. Save your money and buy something else.

From: Daniel: Irvine 10/9/22

Comments: I watched all the youtube videos about these rods that made them sound good, but was concerned with the negative reviews on this site. Ordered one 7'5" heavy and tried it for a month on the private trophy bass lake we live on. It was very sensitive and handled fish up to 8lbs very well. Ordered two more of the same and one 7'5' MH, which arrived today. Will try them on redfish next week, but so far I am very pleased.

From: Unknown: 6/22/22

Comments: I purchased 4 of these rods back in December of 2021. I had my first chance to us them last weekend. The first rod broke while my crankbait was hung up. The 2nd rod broke when I put my crankbait back on the reel and tighten line to put it up. The 3rd rod broke with a 2lbs bass on the line. The 4th rod broke by breaking it across my knee to make sure that I wouldn't give it to anyone and that I would have a complete set of broken rod.

From: Lloyd: Fletcher, OK 2/22/22

Comments: I've had a few of these rods over the years and just grabbed a few more on the holiday sale. While there might be bigger and flashier brand names out there, It's really hard to beat these rods for the price. I just wish there was more customer support/if they went out of business solicited it as such. Either way, I'm looking forward to making them my go-to sticks in 2022. If they go on sale again later this year, I'll probably buy even more.

From: Unknown: Los Angeles, CA 1/18/22

Comments: Have the 7'1" Med/Hvy. I love this thing. I know it's not technically an inshore rod but after watching all their videos catching spotties I figured it would hold up to salt a little better than it has. I meticulously rinse my rod after every session, to the point where I clean each guide individually. But alas there is trace amount of rust forming where the guides meet the blank. Also, what other users are saying is true about the customer service being non existent. Second time taking it out I had a ceramic guide insert pop out randomly before I even started fishing. Tried to message them about getting a new one but got no response. Fortunately Tackle Warehouse just had me ship the rod back and sent me a new one.

From: Unknown: California 8/30/21

Comments: Have a few of these rods and enjoyed using them but my 7'5" broke after a month of use casting a Ned Rig. Email Ritual with no response unfortunately if you have any problems customer service is a joke...

From: Unknown 7/8/20

Comments: I picked up the Swimbait Rod 7'11" Heavy model and paired it with a Curado K two months ago. This is my first combo that is rated for 5oz lures. I have tried a couple glide baits in the 2-3oz range and it took some getting used to. Once I got the reel dialed in and adjusted my casting mechanics I was really impressed with the distance and accuracy I was getting. I also tried the largest 360gt searchbait with the combo and it was amazing. I really like the guides since they are not micro sized and the cork handle was comfortable and provided good grip even after it started getting wet. Reeling in stripers in the 3-5 lb range are no problem at all, the power of this combo make them feel like little bluegills.

From: Chris: Las Vegas, NV 2/12/20

Comments: The jury is still out on this one. Rod broke the very first time I had it out! Purchased the R-II R2CSB711H 7'11' Swimbait rod from TW back in December. Took the rod out for a test drive after having spooled up my Calcutta with some 25lb. Izorline. I tied on a G-Ratt Baits Sneaky Pete glide that I purchased at the same time as the rod, and headed out. After arriving at the lake my first cast was more of a lob cast to see how the rod would load with the weight of a 2.5oz. bait (keeping in mind it's rated up to 5oz). My second cast was more aggressive after having got a bit of a feel for the rod, and how castable the bait was. That being said as moved forward to launch the bait I heard a pop like a firecracker. As the bait touched down about 20yds. In front of me there was another splash half way between. That's where the first 18" of the rod (about 4 guides down from the tip) landed, having snapped under the pressure of my cast.
At first glance rod appears pretty well built with decent quality components. The composite cork grips are slightly tacky and give a little under pressure, guides are small but, not micro sized, and were straight and very cleanly applied to the blank which has a sanded finish. After having contacted the company by email via their website (as of this review nearly a month later) with no response, I reached out to TW customer service team. As with all of my dealings with Tackle Warehouse their customer service is topnotch! The broken rod was shipped back with the offer of a replacement. I figured that Ritual Angling deserved another look, as the rods parabolic taper is what I was after for medium sized glides, large cranks & topwaters.
After closely inspecting the replacement rod which is still built pretty clean, the unfinished blank has a very raw look and feel to it (kind of reminiscent of 13 Fishing's 2nd generation Omen Black). However, the RA rod has some what I would call blemishes (small inconsistencies / imperfections in the blank) in a few spots. I hope the rod will perform without issue but, that remains to be seen. One thing I can tell you for certain. If it doesn't based on the non-response to emails and general lack of customer service by Ritual Angling, they'll have lost me as a customer.

From: Brian: Maryland 1/29/20

Comments: I got the 7'1 mh and love it. I fish it for Spottys in SoCal and also pond Large mouth. I can cast a 3/16 oz underspin on it and feels fine all they way up to a 3/4 oz size. Very sensitive rod with a very strong backbone to pull spottys out of pilings. Also really like the cork style grips, they look great and feel nice. Lastly my favorite part is the big guides these are ideal for heavy leader line fishing (the connection knot goes through without feeling weird) definitely going get another one.

From: Brandon: San Diego, CA 1/6/20

Comments: I own the 7'5 Med-Hvy rod it's a great pitching stick and has good sensitivity as well as backbone handles fish good tad heavy but a great rod never the less I got to try the R-2 series coming in next week can't wait to see how those hold up. 

From: Unknown 2/16/19

Comments: I have been using the 7'5" Heavy split grip for largemouth and spotted bay bass and other fish in the bays here in Southern California. The rod is super light and really sensitive. It's really nice in the hand, and I love the way it fishes. Even though the rod is stiff, I threw 3/4 ounce jigs and bullet weights on a texas rig with this rod, and I felt a little uncomfortable doing so. The rod handled it okay, but it didn't have that bombproof feel throwing the 3/4 ounce jigs and weights that other flipping or heavy rated rods I've used had.

Don't let this distract you from the fact that this is a GREAT rod. For just about any lure from 3/8ths and 1/2 ounce, the rod is phenomenal.

For spotted bay bass, shore calicos, corvinas, and other bay species, I predominantly throw 3/8ths or 1/2 ounce Warbaits swimjigs or swimbait heads, which this rod is excellent at. The tip is soft and loads really well for those bites. I've also thrown a good deal of hardbaits in the bays (lucky craft 110s, vision 110s, and other 1/2 ounce jerkbaits), as well as square bills and some mod depth crankbaits (berkeley digger, megabass deep 300), and this rod handles them great.

For largemouth, this rod as stated, excels with 3/8ths and 1/2 ounce jigs, chatterbaits, and texas rigs. I have thrown weightless flukes and craws on texas rigs as well with this rod, and small 1/16th and 1/8th shakeyheads when I want to let the baits sink and set the hook hard. This rod handles that great too. Don't be intimidated to throw light lures and jigs or jigheads on this rod. I can cast a 1/4 ounce shakeyhead with a fluke or reins bubbling shaker a mile with this rod.

Aesthetically, the rod is amazing. Grips are meticulously made and feel great. They feel like cork but when you squish down hard on them, they have that softness and forgiveness of eva. The guides were all dead straight, and the reel seat is nice. The guides themselves are not microguides, which I actually really like. This makes it much easier to cast line with top shot or leader knots.

Lastly, something I find important, is the people behind Ritual Angling. I've been able to talk to Randy a few times, and he and the other people behind Ritual are kind, caring, and phenomenal anglers. I love supporting a small business with great people behind it and a great message and set of core beliefs.

I'm hoping to get another Ritual rod soon, hopefully either the 7'7 mh or 7'11 heavy. Once you get one, you'll want more. Trust me!

From: Jeremy Wright - Claremont, CA 12/19/18

Comments: I've been fishing the RII75MHF multiple times a week for spotted bay bass, and absolutely love this rod. The guides are the first thing that really stood out to me, they handle braided lines incredibly. The sensitivity is also very nice, a can feel everything from snagging a piece of grass to small bites clearly. The action of the blank is perfect for small leadhead swimbaits and swimjigs, and the grips are very comfortable. Excited to try more products.

From: John: San Diego 10/5/18