I have preferred fishing with ultralight tackle most of my fishing years and I am 76. I believe my tackle is respectable in that category. But as I have read through quite a bit of the "All Things Ultralight" sub forum I have found only a small minority of posts that are non JDM. It is actually somewhat discouraging. So as a result I have been doing a lot of reading just to learn what I can about this JDM stuff.

I don't question the quality or the appeal thereof the JDM tackle. But it is beyond my budget. Yet there seem to be a number of folks on here acquiring one after another rods and reels. I have to think long and hard before adding even one more to my inventory. That's fine. I still enjoy reading what you folks say about it here.

At any rate it is all about the fishing, right? I just wish "All Things Ultralight" had more for us poor folk. Well maybe not poor. I am rich in many ways and I do manage to spend a little money on my tackle. My two favorite UL rods are both St. Croix, an Avid and a Premier. I have had them both at least 15 years. Until I very recently on here started reading about this JDM stuff I have never felt undergunned. I still don't.

Are there any folks on here who fish UL tackle that isn't JDM? Do you feel your tackle allows you to fish the way you want to?

The one thing I have learned about JDM reels that I like is the shallow spools on the reels. I always wondered why most spinning reels had spools with such high capacity, especially in the lighter tackle. But quite a number of years ago many US spinning reels came with a plastic clam shell that you could install to reduce the capacity. I haven't seen that lately.

Anyhow those are my rambling comments. I would love to read further discussion. Nothing I have said is intended to offend anyone.