Well, I finally took the plunge on a midrange UL JDM rod. Originally, I was trying to find a Shimano Bantam 264UL+ or an Evergreen 64UL Phase "Drift Master" however, the earliest the good folks at Japan Lure Shop could get it for me was late May for the Bantam or July to November for the Evergreen. While the prices quoted to me were very good, I didn't want to wait that long. BTW, the team at Japan Lure Shop was very patient with my requests for price and availability. These items are not on their usual stock items and I'm sure they get these questions all the time. So I went with what they had on hand which is a Shimano/Jackall Poison Adrena 64UL. Yeah, they sell the Poison Adrena here stateside, however, they do not offer anything lighter than a Medium Light. The price from JLS was $30 federal for shipping which was a huge plus.
I used to fish a lot as a kid and now that my youngest son has taken up a high interest in fishing... we are taking the hobby seriously. We have a couple of Major Craft, Megabass (Levante, Orochi), and three StC Rods. So this is the baseline from which I'm making a comparison. Out of the box (or CPVC tube, wonderful job packaging the rod by the Japan Lure Shop team, true to form they gave me a Jackall jerkbait for free, such nice people) the rod is pretty impressive. It's very minimal and clean in appearance. Although it is not as bling-y or funky as some JDM rods (you know what I mean, some rods have this "the mother-ship has landed" look to them, which is a part of their appeal) it still feels very JDM-y. At any rate the monocoque handle is pretty nice and the blank itself really high quality.
Took her out today on a mid 50s kayak trip up a creek to a small spillway. I managed to catch seven smallmouth bass and one bluegill.
- Although it's a UL rod, it isn't noodlelike. It recovers very quickly and is very 'lively" when dry casting it.
- Absurdly light at 85 grams. Almost makes it feel fragile.
- Sensitivity. A few of the smallies I caught were caught on slack-line bumps. I could feel their light hit on the downswing. That was impressive. Interestingly enough, I was retrieving a hung lure out of some weeds in the water and as I was dragging my hand along the fluoro leader, this caused the fluoro to squeak. I noticed that the squeak from the line was transmitted all the way up the line and down throughout the rod. The rod reverberated like a crystal wine glass.
- Casting accuracy. This is where the Poison Adrena shines. This is the most accurate rod I've ever used. On a creek, with root balls and overhang that you have to negotiate, this is no small task. I was surprised at it's casting accuracy. Seemed most accurate in the 1/16+ to 1/8+ oz range. I didn't have occasion to throw any 1/4 oz baits so I don't know. I was throwing some trout magnets on a cultiva JH-85 head and those were average accuracy, everything else was very accurate.
- Fun factor. I don't know whether the bluegill was lethargic due to the cold weather or if the rod is over powered for panfish but it wasn't as much of a fight as I expected/wanted. The smallmouths all gave an exciting and worrying level of action. A one pound smallie felt very strong and angry on this rod. The bluegill just didn't have the same level of fun. So I guess, although this is a UL rated rod, it's still a bass-centric rod. While this isn't necessarily a weakness, it's still something people should note.
Anyhow, it's a really great rod and I'm glad I took the plunge. I will probably end up getting another rod dedicated solely for panfishing (Yamaga B., Tict, or Abu).
