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In the market for a new bluegill specific UL rod in the 6'-7' range. Leaning towards either the Cadence CR-5 or the Leland TSS. Both about the same money. Would like to stay in the $50-$70 range,less complaining from the CFO that way😁. What are your guys opinions/recommendation?
Not familiar with the Cadence rods. But doing some research their rods weigh much more than a TSS or B'n'M TCB. The TSS and TCB weigh only 2.45 ounces. They will in all likelihood be much more sensitive than the Cadence at a weight of 4 ounces.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jakesdad
Regards
Alphahawk how fragile are the tips on the TSS rods? I've read several instances where guys get them in the mail with broken tips. Anything will break if abused of course just curious if these tips were particularly fragile. I take care of my equipment but in and out of trucks you know how things go. Have heard their CS is top notch though.
What size line are you going to be using? What weight of jigs?
I've had a love/hate relationship with the TSS rods. First one arrived with a broken tip. Leland shipped me a replacement, no problem. The second one, the tip broke within a week. I asked for a replacement tip. They are out of them until "Fall". Instead, they offered me a complete replacement rod for $20. I took it, but I'm still a bit befuddled by "we will sell you a whole new rod for $20" instead of "making it right" (in my opinion, of course). I'd have bought every rod they had for $20 if I had the choice :). So, I have a rod with about 2-3 inches missing from the tip. I had a local shop put a new tip eye on it, but it just doesn't perform the same -- as expected, since it has a fast tip. When they do get some more tips in, I'll be buying a few. I can replace the tip on the rod that was "fixed" and have a couple of spares. For some reason, the USPS takes a while to get the rods here. The first replacement rod and the other stuff I ordered left Leland the same day, but the little box got here almost a week before the rod. Again, not Leland's fault.
Now, let's talk about the TSS rods themselves. They are light. I hate EVA grips, but these are nice and dense (I still prefer cork). The two pieces of the rod connect firmly and tightly. Compared to the Okuma Celilo rods, the TSS have a much better "fit". The Okuma tip will twist a bit after a fish or two. No biggie, twist it back, but it shouldn't do that. I MUCH prefer one-piece rods, but oh well.
The guides are fine. I heard an odd noise on the TSS rod with the "fixed" tip and it was the sound of the line (mono) against the new tip guide. Needless to say, I like the guides on the TSS just fine.
The reel seat looks great, but I wish instead of that triangle type skeletonized area with cork underneath, that the seat fit directly against the blank and my thumb could touch the blank while retrieving (opposite the reel foot, not in front of the seat itself). However, the reel seat is much better than the Okuma. The TSS screws backward, whereas the Celilo screws forward. The nut comes loose on the Celilo from time to time.
The blank -- The Celilo is much more of a noodle. It flexes further down the blank than the TSS. I have an 8' Celilo and the casting distance is rather poor because of all of the flex of the blank (and how far down the blank the flex goes). I obviously get better hooksets with the TSS as well. Please do not take any of this to make it sound like the TSS is a stiff rod. It just has a fast action vs a medium action. The TSS is defintely ultralight as far as power goes -- it just has a bit more backbone.
Let me tell you about the TSS rods...and it may tick some folks off. Most have never fished with rods that have a high graphite content. They try to do a lot of things they have done with rod that have a lot more resin in them...such as yanking on the rod when the jig is hung...high sticking....boat lifting fish. The TSS rod is not going to be able to take that. It gives you great sensitivity. While any rod can break it is actually very rare for rods to break while fighting a fish. It is when all the other stuff folks do with a rod is when it breaks. The TCB rods will not hold up to that kind of abuse either. They arrive with broken tips due to the post office handling.....and I'll be the first to admit they should be shipped in a different box. But we are talking money here. Not a lot of profit made on a TSS rod....if any. Trout Magnet sells another rod that they have been selling for years....the Sore Lip Series. I used those rods for years and caught thousands of fish with them. But it is nowhere near as sensitive as a TSS rod..it has much more resin and it weighs considerably more...and thus can take more abuse. I just now noticed Trout Magnet is no longer selling the TSS rod. They are however now selling the TCB rod which is a joint effort between them and B'n'M. So.....if you want a rod that is virtually identical to the TSS rod then you will have to get the TCB rod....you will not be disappointed in its fishabality. Check out my review of the TCB rod here. YouTubeQuote:
Originally Posted by Jakesdad
Regards
Bass Pro Micro Lite is another good option in that price range.
Access Denied
Very true.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
If you treat your rod like it's unbreakable, you will soon be proven wrong. ;)
I say build yourself something out of a fly rod blank.
Schmoopie I have 2 of the 6'6" okuma celilio ul now. Both with Shimano sienna 500 2lb SOS mono. One us set up with very small slip float and #8 Aberdeen for live bait. Other is used for jigs,all 1/32 or smaller. New rod will be fir jigs as well. Never had any issues with the okuma but they're the first rods I've had that weren't Shakespeare or Berkeley cherrywood.
Diawa Presso.
Quantum extra lite is my go to very light rod
I haven’t been to their site in awhile. I’m glad I bought a spare TSS, although the BNM version is getting good reviewsQuote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
Bob
I have the TSS rod and couldnt be happier although I would like a TCB rod just to have a spare rod.
I was always sorry to hear of the bad experiences with the TSS rod as mine have been nothing but good. I’m not hard on my equipment but I don’t baby the rod, paying particular attention when getting the fish out of the water. For that rod I have settled on 2lb Stren Crappie, which is a true 3.7 to 4 lb or so. For my little Luna I really like the Troutist 3lb hi viz. I have pretty much settled that I’m not going lighter than 3 lb true test. For stream fishing for me it is the perfect balance between standing up to rocky bottoms and sensitivity. For me and my fumble fingers, I don’t feel I would gain much of anything going lighter.
Bob
I think the TSS was disc. by Leland. I think!!
For the time being anyway...could come back in the future.Quote:
Originally Posted by trypman1
Regards
I feel like they had a bad run or 2 from their supplier. I hope they will correct the problem and come out again, with a good solid rod.
I got the 6' BPS Panfish Elite today. When fishing, I really didn't notice any issue with the balance point of the rod.
I did catch myself unscrewing the reel seat by accident once (just a little, and felt it twist in my hand). Being brand new, it hasn't gotten a lot of chance to "break in". I really am a 6'6 rod guy. The 6'9" UL version of the rod was just too long (the grip is a couple inches further back than I'm used to, so it makes the rod behave more like a 7' rod, IMHO. I never fished the 6'9". My fishing buddy is already scared I'm going to smack him with my 6'6" rods :).
Casting performance seems okay, but I'm not yet accurate with it. I tend to side arm cast and I'm all over the place (I was casting in a creek maybe 4' wide and could vary by 2' from my intended target).
The rod is a bit stiffer than the Celilo.
If I had my choice, I'd prefer a TSS over the Panfish Elite, at least right now. The TSS is a 2-piece, they are discontinued, and I'm going to order some spare tips. That's the one good thing about 2 piece rods.
If I like the TSS so much, why not just buy the replacement TCB rod? Well, I feel "once bitten, twice shy". Perhaps the TSS rod has been out for a while and I just started buying them at their "end of life". I would buy 3 more of them if I knew they would still have replacement tips and wouldn't be discontinued.
The TCB has stainless guides and doesn't have the micro-wave or whatever they're called, big eye. I feel like it's a step-down from the TSS (from looking at the specs).
For those interested, I contacted B'n'M about the TCB rod. Here is the info I received:
TCB65 has dynaflo stainless insert guides
The tip is hollow
The blank is 98% graphite and 24 ton modulus
24 ton is fairly low on the strength scale when it comes to rod graphite fibers. I can't find information on the percentage of graphite in other rod blanks, such St. Croix or G. Loomis. However, if the blank is 98% graphite, that leaves 2% for fiberglass and/or resin.
Not sure what you mean by “pretty low on strength scale”. A 24 ton is inherently more durable than 30 ton....36 ton.....and so on up the scale. The higher the tonnage the more sensitive the rod but the more brittle it will be thus easier to break than those of lower ratings. Twenty-four ton graphite can make a pretty sensitive rod...which the TCB is. Higher tonnage blanks are a lot more expensive to make.....at least for a quality rod. Years back Shakespeare had some UL Agility series rods advertised as IM 10 graphite....which does not mean much except it will have higher graphite content than an IM 7 blank. IM ratings are basically useless. But the rod was sensitive off the charts....but broke easily while fighting a fish. Of course they were only I think 25 bucks but they eventually quit making them. I broke 3 of them on bluegill. At the price point the TCB rod is a very good buy. A lot of the JDM rods many of us purchase have blanks up to the high 50’s in tonnage.....they are masters at creating high tonnage blanks that you can actually fish with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Schmoopie
Regards
Sent from my iPad using Crappie.com
I echo Alphahawk's comments here – 24 ton blanks are probably more durable than the higher tonnage blanks. Some of the strongest blanks are made of Toray's T1100G, which is "only" 33 ton, compared to some of the JDM blanks made of 50 and 55 ton prepregs. Only in 2018 Toray introduced M40X prepregs, where they succeeded in increasing the modulus to 40t yet keeping the tensile strength of T1100G. These are only beginning to make their way into high end rods.
Also, 98% graphite should mean 2% glass. Resins are typically not included in these numbers, hence the existence of "100% graphite" blanks.