It’s been awhile

It’s been awhile since I’ve bought a new rod .
Two days ago , I got out my Major Craft Ajing Rod, 1G , 582L and put a reel on it getting it ready for battle soon .
I purchased it a few years back from Amazon Japan and fell in love with it the first time out .
Such a lightweight wand .
For the past year Amazon has only offered items from Japan through a third party seller .
I checked and was surprised to see them once again offered through Amazon Japan.
I’ve always wanted a second rod . I tried twice before to order one and they were damaged during shipping and had to e returned.
I decided to give it one more try and ordered one .
It’s already showing as shipped .
I hope this one makes it without damage.

When paired with my Shimano Soare XR500spg, the combo weighs 7.1oz or 187g total .
That’s a lightweight combo !

Hopefully the third times the charm. Good luck

Made it through customs today . Should get it one day next week .
Meanwhile, I was scrolling around Amazon and noticed KastKing has a new Kestrel 1000 SE SFS reel . Weighs 5oz . And has a 15% off coupon . SUCKER Alert !. Haha !
Yeah I went for it .
I like KK’s first two attempts at the SFS reels , the third , the lightest one , didn’t work for me . The 6.2/1 gear ratio was too fast for me .
The newest version is a 5.2/1 , would have liked it better at 5/1 or even 4.8/1 .
And it’s BLUE ! Something different.
It should be here tomorrow. If I don’t like it I’ll send it back .
I’ve made some of my longest casts using a KK SFS reel . They know how to build a spool .
Hope it’s a good one

I got my new KastKing SE SFS 1000 reel today.
It survived a delivery guy who got to the bottom of our steps and slung the package against the front door .
When I went out to retrieve my package, one end of the padded package had been ripped open . Guess the driver thought it was something else and when he found a fishing reel decided to go ahead and deliver it.
I reported the driver .

The reel felt smooth once I added a few drops of Lucas reel oil on the main shaft bearing and the left handle bearing . I do this to most of my new reels . It’s a light reel at only 5oz .
I’m not crazy about the color , but it’ll look good with my St Croix Trout series rod .
Will spool it up tomorrow with some 2# P-line Floroclear.
Probably be a few days before I can try it out since winter decided to come back today . High of 40 and windy tomorrow.
I hope the spool is the same as its predecessors . I spent a couple hours today test casting in my driveway in between wind gusts and the rods wearing KastKing reels out performed my other reels in distance.
I’ll post a picture when I take it fishing , or tomorrow if I bundle up and do so more test casting .

Update on the new KastKing SE SFS 1000 reel.
I packed it up and returned it today
I noticed in order to achieve the drag setting I needed , the light pressures on the spool would tilt the spool when I pulled line out checking the drag . I noticed a scrubbing sound coming from the spool .
I removed the spool and while checking the inside surface , the surface that would rub on the rotor if the spool tilted enough , had sharp edges where those fancy grooves are cut into the spool . Sharp enough where it could have cut my finger. I could see where these would eventually scrape the rotor .
I guess I could have use a dremel tool and finished the inside of the spool as it should have been from the factory, but I wasn’t that fond of the reel .
Felt kind of plastic and cheap .
A picture of the reel .

I wish I was more like you when it comes to returning rods and reels. Bought a couple JDM rods where I ordered the ajing when I wanted the softer action tip. My mistake so I kept them. Bought two reels that a lot of people rave about with great reviews but wasn't impressed with either of them. The Nasci gears bind up a bit when fish are hooked. It sits on a shelf now and I put on a 20+ year old Stradic 1000, problem solved. Reel is so smooth but heavier than newer versions. I think I got spoiled with my three Stellas, compared to them everything seems inferior.

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Originally Posted by JUNGLEJIMJIGS

I wish I was more like you when it comes to returning rods and reels. Bought a couple JDM rods where I ordered the ajing when I wanted the softer action tip. My mistake so I kept them. Bought two reels that a lot of people rave about with great reviews but wasn't impressed with either of them. The Nasci gears bind up a bit when fish are hooked. It sits on a shelf now and I put on a 20+ year old Stradic 1000, problem solved. Reel is so smooth but heavier than newer versions. I think I got spoiled with my three Stellas, compared to them everything seems inferior.

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I have a box full of reels the return window ran out before I could make up my mind about them .
Several of those are Shimano Nasci and Sahara reels . The newer models . They felt so smooth turning the handle until you get a load on them . I thought they were going to be my go to reel.
They have a newer model Nasci but I refuse to bite .
After returning the KastKing reels I ordered a couple Piscifun Carbon X reels to replace them. I already have a couple and they haven’t given me any trouble .
The only thing the KastKing had going for it was the spool design. For some reason I was able to get 5-10’ more casting distance with those reels . I did notice they lay the line more toward the bottom of the spool than the top .
I might be able to duplicate that on a Daiwa reel with a thin washer under the spool . Or just accept the distance I’m getting with other reels and move on .
Fishing creeks lately I don’t need to cast as far anyways.

Hope your new rod arrives safe and sound.
Bob