What JDM Rods Can Handle.

Been some discussion about how big a fish the JDM UL rods can handle. The short answer to that is pretty large fish. The absolute heaviest fish I have landed on these rods is a 30 pound drum....and I've lost count of drum and buffalo in the 10 pound or better range. But very few of us fish for those fish...they are a bycatch. Back in 2016-2017 I fished Dale Hollow Lake hard in the spring of both years. I had a 5 day period in 2016 where I boated 300 smallmouth bass and numerous big bluegill and shellcracker. The rod I used the most was a Yamaga Blanks 610 TZ. I had other rods with me but the TZ gave me fun on big panfish and really shined when I hooked into the smallmouth...the smallest by the way was 18 inches and the largest 21 inches...quite a few 21 inch fish. At the time the line I used was SOS 2# test which actually breaks at 3.75 pounds. This was before I started my YouTube channel. I hit the lake just right for Smallies spawning on the flats...and the bluegill and shellcracker had a few beds around as well. So I wouldn't be worried about how big a fish these rods can handle. I had mentioned I had owned 2 of the TZ rods but I really had 3 of them. I completely forgot about the 83TZ Long Cast...because I rarely use it. I know I wish I had my TZ rods back that I sold.


Regards

Those are definitely some quality catches !

Whooee! Those were some good memories for you! You don’t see citation size bass every day!
Bob

Great bass Randy and thanks for sharing the pics. The one that has my utmost attention is that shellcracker, which is a giant from what I see. Just how long was it? Wonderful fish all.

Nice catches !
Just takes patience and a good drag to land the big ones .

That’s awesome times Randy you are the man


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Originally Posted by skeetbum

Great bass Randy and thanks for sharing the pics. The one that has my utmost attention is that shellcracker, which is a giant from what I see. Just how long was it? Wonderful fish all.

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That trip Skeet they were all at or around the 12 inch mark. But that is Dale Hollow and 12-14inch shell cracker are common there.

Regards


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Hey Randy any advice on landing big fish that you mentioned on these UL rods besides setting drag very loose? Do i need to be extremely considerate of rod tip high vs low when reeling in?

a low rod tip is the best way to get ones line broke , no matter the make of the rod , just saying

Yolo, it’s a mixture of position and drag. Rod too high and he comes at you he gets slack line and says goodbye. Too low and the drag too tight and the spool can’t get moving fast enough and line breaks. When my rod gets high I try to recover line without giving slack. Rod about 10 o’clock and he surges, I fight him with the rod as much as possible, and might even palm the spool to keep him from getting out of hand. But when he takes off and starts pulling hard it’s hands off and let the drag do the work. And with all that said, we all still lose some.

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Originally Posted by yoloboie

Hey Randy any advice on landing big fish that you mentioned on these UL rods besides setting drag very loose? Do i need to be extremely considerate of rod tip high vs low when reeling in?

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Skeet pretty much has said what I would have said. You know I get comments all the time about a loose drag. But those comments come from folks who have no idea what it is like to fish true 2# test line and in some cases less. I can also tell you these rods can take a lot of pressure when fighting a fish. They are tougher than most folks think. I have told the story before when my late nephew was in the boat with me and I hooked into a 30 pound drum using the Tict Ice Cube Rockin Drift. It was a long battle and my nephew was shying back away from me as I had the rod bent into a U. He thought it was going to break…and so did I. I was using SOS 2# test that day and of course it is not true to it’s rating….it breaks at 3.75-4 pounds. I have had the same experience with many of the other JDM UL rods I own. I have never broken one of these rods on a fish. As long as one doesn’t get stupid…..correct drag setting…and don’t go too high or low you will be fine.

Regards


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