JDM rods relating to Panfish

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Originally Posted by Veedo

Received the Rockin finesse today. Rod tube was totally smashed, but the rod looks ok! The quality seems very good (St. Croix, take notes). I don't think I've seen a open water rod with that small of a tip. And I didn't even know they made guides that small. It looks incredibly fragile!

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You guys are worrying me now, first the Arkansas dude now your rod tube comes damaged. I am expecting my new rod this week, says it is in NY now, hope it survived the trip across the pond.:dono:pray:popcorn:popcorn

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Originally Posted by StantheMan2567

Great review of this rod. You must have young eyes or very good glasses to see 1.5lb line and 2lb flourocarbon leader, even if it is colored. The wind, while UL fishing, is not your friend while casting and retrieving. I sometimes just resort to putting a float on if I can when battling Mother Natures breath. You did not mention which reel you spooled the small diameter line on, I am sold on the JDM 1000 series reels with the low ratio for cast and retrieve. This is a fun path, but expensive. You mentioned it will not be your last JDM rod, true words spoken, I am receiving my 5th one this week:biggrin

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Thank you, Stan. I used Shimano Sahara 500. It does not have a shallow spool, so after 240 m of #0.3 polyester line there is some room to spare. It also does have some minor play in the handle, which is not noticeable until you start twitching intensely during slow retrieve. I like the reel very much, but I will pair it with an entry level trout area rod for spoons and spinners to be fished on a straight retrieve. I am waiting for Soare Ci4+ C2000SSPG to arrive any day now. It is priced about the same as Stradic Ci4+ but appears to have a superior drag management system and a lower gear ratio.

I can still see the line, but it is certainly painful to tie knots when its dark and cold before dawn.

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Originally Posted by Veedo

Received the Rockin finesse today. Rod tube was totally smashed, but the rod looks ok! The quality seems very good (St. Croix, take notes). I don't think I've seen a open water rod with that small of a tip. And I didn't even know they made guides that small. It looks incredibly fragile!

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Where did you order from? The new Tict sic s rods have the smallest guides I’ve seen....also the guides on the Lunakia.

Regards


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Originally Posted by s_v

I was finally able to go out and test the new Shimano Soare SS Ajing 610SUL rod. As I mentioned before, this is my first JDM ultralight, but is also definitely not the last one. The rod is incredibly light, fast, and beautiful. With 0.8 mm at the tip and 8 mm at the butt, I was expecting it to be quite stiff and it was in my hand. But it also behaved beautifully at the lake. Shimano claims this model to be a bit softer than the rest of the Soare SS Aging line-up, and it did load up very well with the fish on (though I certainly cannot compare it to the other models). I paired it with #0.3 polyester line (Shimano's own Sight Laser EX, 1.5 lbs test) and 2 lbs fluorocarbon shock leader (Seaguar Blue Label). The combination did a fantastic job with every jig head I used (Gekkabijin 1-2 g and Cultiva 0.7-1.3 g). The rod casted jigs very well, and I could get over 25 yards with a 1.5 g head (the only one I cared to estimate). The tip loaded up with 0.7 g JH-85 head with a pin worm on, and I could feel the rocks on the way to the bank. The rigid plastic reel seat is very slim at fits perfectly under my index finger, which makes twitching the lure even easier. I'm confident I could go with a lower weight jig. The line was a limitation here, and, as wind started blowing, I had an intermittent loss of contact during the gusts. I think I will try to go down to #0.2-0.25. This is my first time using polyester and I am not going back when it comes to jigging. I absolutely love the sensitivity and am not bothered by line management (which, to my surprise, did not seem to be a big issue). I think the line twist will be an issue with spoons and spinners and I plan to have a separate set up for those.
I got a few stocker rainbows during my outing, the biggest being about 2 lbs, maybe more, and my tackle handled it very well. There was also a lot of tail-biting going on (especially with trout power worms), which one could actually see at about 7-10 yards away from the bank. I felt (and could see at the tip) every single one of those approaches. I have no good reference and do not claim that this is the best rod for my purposes, but I am loving it and will continue to experiment. Thanks to everyone who has contributed and continues to contribute to this resource as it has steered me to the right path.

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Good write up. I tried some 1.5# test ester a couple of years back. While it was fun on some 6-7 inch bluegill I got rid of it. Really could not see it.

Regards


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Originally Posted by StantheMan2567

You guys are worrying me now, first the Arkansas dude now your rod tube comes damaged. I am expecting my new rod this week, says it is in NY now, hope it survived the trip across the pond.:dono:pray:popcorn:popcorn

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I’ve ordered...received, about 30 rods over the years from Japan. For the first couple of years I just knew sooner or later one would show up being destroyed. I never had the first issue. Of course that don’t mean it cannot happen. I did a search over at tackle tour looking for broken rods received from Plat or Digitaka. I couldn’t find any post about that issue. What I have learned from this is go straight to PayPal. Just got back from post office mailing Stans rod off and got into a lengthy conversation about this. What I left with is this.....forget the post office. It’s too convoluted.

Regards


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Originally Posted by Alphahawk

Where did you order from? The new Tict sic s rods have the smallest guides I’ve seen....also the guides on the Lunakia.

Regards


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Digitaka

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Originally Posted by s_v

Thank you, Stan. I used Shimano Sahara 500. It does not have a shallow spool, so after 240 m of #0.3 polyester line there is some room to spare. It also does have some minor play in the handle, which is not noticeable until you start twitching intensely during slow retrieve. I like the reel very much, but I will pair it with an entry level trout area rod for spoons and spinners to be fished on a straight retrieve. I am waiting for Soare Ci4+ C2000SSPG to arrive any day now. It is priced about the same as Stradic Ci4+ but appears to have a superior drag management system and a lower gear ratio.

I can still see the line, but it is certainly painful to tie knots when its dark and cold before dawn.

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That Shimano Soare you have coming looks like it will pair nicely with the new rod. The 4.3 gear ratio is low, and the reel is light weight. You will have a great weapon to sore lip your local finned friends.

I ordered a few different lines from finesse fishing. 2,3, and 4 pound. Wow this stuff is a different caliber than American 2,3,4 pound. I know the tict Rockin finesse is rated for 2.5 lb line. Has anyone strung it up with something a little tougher, without busting it?

Nope haha... I’ve used 3lb sunline area meister... I think 2.5lb or 2lb is the sweet spot...

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Originally Posted by Veedo

I ordered a few different lines from finesse fishing. 2,3, and 4 pound. Wow this stuff is a different caliber than American 2,3,4 pound. I know the tict Rockin finesse is rated for 2.5 lb line. Has anyone strung it up with something a little tougher, without busting it?

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I have spoken about this in my videos. I suggest you don’t do it. The first thing is that line rating is where your drag setting should be max under rod deflection...no higher. I’ve landed 30 pound drum on a Tict Rockin’ Drift....several times....and I’ve landed big fish on the Rockin Finesse. But I knew exactly what my drag setting was. I started using JDM lines only over a year back. I also bought a Bouz Drag checker and did a lot of testing with darn near every rod I own. They all handled it well. I used line that was just a little under my rods ratings and put deflection on the rod until the line broke. I didn’t break any rods. The rods were all at a 45 degree angle. Of course no one needs a drag checker....I just wanted to see. But if you stick with the max line rating you won’t have to worry about it.

Regards


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