The wait for new rods begins

I hate the waiting part of getting new rods. I kind of enjoy watching videos and trying to do some research on different rods to make a decision. But once the order is placed I don't like the wait.

Ordered two rods this week. The first in a 6'2 Abu Garcia Carabus (Diplomat Extreme) by another name. Ordered from Waveinn out of Spain, The website said it was in stock when I ordered but we shall see how long it takes. The reviews of the website lead me to believe they might try source what ever you order after the order is placed.

Given the above suspicion I decided to also order a 5'10 XUL Diawa Presso Air AGS, for JDM Tackle Heaven. That one I expect in about a week. Will most likley pair the Abu MGX Theta with it as it's the lightest reel I have.

Congrats on the new rods. Let us know how you like them when you get them.

I have been so intrigued by the diplomat extreme but I have been wanting the light action in it. If you get it please let us know your thoughts on it.

I’m thinking that you’re gonna be pleased with the Presso. I see them in lots of videos and I hear them mentioned a lot. Hope it lives up to your expectations. As for the other one…….I do t know what to say. I don’t want to be negative cuz I have no experience with them. I placed an order with plat for some line and a reel on the 3rd and haven’t gotten an order confirmation yet. My hopes aren’t high.

Congrats on the new rods. Please let us know how you like the bob/no butt on the Presso. I just can't get past the look of it, but your positive review of the performance could swing the meter the other way.

Sent from my SM-T500 using Crappie.com mobile app

Hope you enjoy them

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by slowhand

Congrats on the new rods. Please let us know how you like the bob/no butt on the Presso. I just can't get past the look of it, but your positive review of the performance could swing the meter the other way.

Sent from my SM-T500 using Crappie.com mobile app

---

I'm not crazy about that look either, but for the right performance I'm willing to deal with it. I'm also redneck enough that I'm not above putting my own butt cap on it if need be.

No idea about the Carabus (maybe someday I’ll get one) but I own a Presso Air AGS. It’s a fine rod. Excellent for jigging / twitching and has a nice bend (on the XUL).

JDM Tackle Heaven has good shipping. I hope you can get the Carabus too. Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

Waiting is like a mini Christmas Day. Congrats and I hope you like it!
Bob

Got emails yesterday and today from the companies. It looks like both rods have shipped. We shall see.

I thought the Presso from JDM Tackle heaven was in stock when I ordered, but after a couple days of not getting a shipping notice I went back to look at the reciept and it said it was a pre order. Don't know if I wasn't paying close enough attention or what when I ordered.

We shall see what shows up when.

Looking forward to your reviews and pictures! We here at Crappie.Com like pictures :fish

The Diawa xul was delivered today. Put an Abu Garcia ALX spooled with 0.2 pe line on it. Walked over to the pond tobplay around. The first 5 or 6 cast all needed up with 3 to 4 inch blugill/sunfish. Even those you could fell every turn they made on the way in. Casted in a different direction and hooked a 9 inch crappie. Only got to play for about 10 minutes as I need to pack and get on the road for National Guard drill tomorrow.
The ALX is heavier than the Theta MGX, with the Beast SP falling in between them weight wise.

Attachment 458950

What weight lures did you use?


Sent from my SM-T500 using Crappie.com mobile app

Was using a homemade jig. Small split shot crimped on a #12 jighook. Less than 1/32. Probably closer to 1/64. With a trout magnet and waxworm for a little bit of meat.

Attachment 458978

Jig is in the mouth

Nice. A good looking sized fish.
Bob

Good fish for a short trip. Now all you need is time to play, enjoy the new rod.

Have more waiting in future. The Presso AIR AGS arrived last week, haven't had time to really try it out though. The Carabus does look like it is moving just a little slow.

I decided to order a 21 Diawa Presso 1000s reel from Amazon this morning for the Presso rod. It should be arriving just about the time I'm leaving for my 2 weeks of National Guard training. I also order 3 of the SLP works spare spools for it from aliexpress. They should be getting to my house about the time I'm done with training. Hopefully towards the end of June I'll have time to use the new rods and reel.

The carabus was to be delivered yesterday. But the mailman took it back to the postoffice when there was no one to sign for the package. My wife picked it up for me today. It will be waiting for me when get home for Father's day.

Kinda like Christmas at your house!

Hope the rods are what you are looking for. Great write up on the one you recieved

Got Back from my National Guard training today. Had 3 packages waiting for me the Carabus, the Presso 1000, and 2 spare spools for the Presso a 1000 and a 2000. I spooled the 2000 with Varavis Lemoni and the 1000 with Varavis 4lb Twitch Master. Walked across the yard to the pond to play around and relax some.

The Carabus with a Theta MGX 1000 Spooled with Varavis Lemoni, caught a dozen or so sunfish, mostly dinks from 3 to about 6 inches maybe, fished for about a half hour from 4:30 to 5.
Attachment 461930

After supper I went back with the Diawa Air AGS paired with the new presso, started with the twitch master line. Caught more sunfish alittle bigger than in the afternoon mostly around 5 inches and this Crappie probably 9 to 9.5 inches

Attachment 461929

Switched the spool over to the 2000 with Lemoni caught more sunfish and 2 more crappier just over 9 inches.

Awesomeness! Thanks for sharing

Nice catches! The AGS Air / Presso is an awesome combo,,, my personal favorite. Congrats on the new toys !

I had a mishap with my Presso Air AGS XUL. The spigot joint was a little loose. Not too much but after 20-30 mins of casting I needed to pull the top section down. It just so happened that one fine day I didn’t. Set the hook on an average bluegill and heard a crack. Note, I use the reel to set the hook, and don’t jerk my arm. Also keep a loose drag. The spigot connection in the top section cracked. I was pretty disappointed but the crack was less than 1.5 cm. So I wrapped it with size A thread and applied finishing epoxy. Works just fine now. Maybe better ?*??

The fact that Daiwa didn’t use thread and finish on the bottom section has made that part of the rod weak and prone to breakage (if the top section slips and sudden pressure is applied on a hook set). Not sure why they did that. I don’t see any weight savings by not doing that. All of my other JDM rods have thread and finishing epoxy on the joint (Majorcraft, Tenryu, Abu Garcia, and Yamaga Blanks).

All said and done… the Presso Air AGs XUL is a phenomenal rod (used ester and PE). Mine is a one piece now because some of the expoxy seeped too deep and bonded with the bottom half. Lol!! [emoji23]

Very nice ! All the way around, the combos and the fish .
Way to break them in !

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by zekepa

The Carabus with a Theta MGX 1000 Spooled with Varavis Lemoni, caught a dozen or so sunfish, mostly dinks from 3 to about 6 inches maybe, fished for about a half hour from 4:30 to 5.

---

What do you think about the automatic hooking capability of the Carabus?



Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dannypeoples

What do you think about the automatic hooking capability of the Carabus?

Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

---

I need to get more time with the Carabus, from the little bit of time I have used it I like the rod. It did seem like I had more hookups with the Carabus than the Air AGS yesterday. With the Air AGS I started with Twitch Master Mono, I didn't seem to be getting/feeling as many bites so I switched to the spool with the same line(Varivas Lemoni) as I had on the Theta MGX I had on the Carabus. For a more fair comparison.

It was a couple hours later than when I was playing with the Carabus, so I think the bite changed some, I wasn't getting as many bites but the fish I was getting were a little bigger. With the Carabus I was getting more dinky 3 to 5 inch sunfish. With the Air AGS they were 5 and up and the couple of 9 inch or so Crappie.

When using the Lemoni with a leader tied on with a uni to uni knot I did notice that I could feel the knot going through the guides more on the Carabus. That could just be the difference between the size of the guides as the Carabus has smaller guides than the Air AGS.

I'm hoping to get a real fishing trip in tomorrow where I can fish the two rods and reels back to back to get a better feel for how I like them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dannypeoples

I had a mishap with my Presso Air AGS XUL. The spigot joint was a little loose. Not too much but after 20-30 mins of casting I needed to pull the top section down. It just so happened that one fine day I didn’t. Set the hook on an average bluegill and heard a crack. Note, I use the reel to set the hook, and don’t jerk my arm. Also keep a loose drag. The spigot connection in the top section cracked. I was pretty disappointed but the crack was less than 1.5 cm. So I wrapped it with size A thread and applied finishing epoxy. Works just fine now. Maybe better ?*??

The fact that Daiwa didn’t use thread and finish on the bottom section has made that part of the rod weak and prone to breakage (if the top section slips and sudden pressure is applied on a hook set). Not sure why they did that. I don’t see any weight savings by not doing that. All of my other JDM rods have thread and finishing epoxy on the joint (Majorcraft, Tenryu, Abu Garcia, and Yamaga Blanks).

All said and done… the Presso Air AGs XUL is a phenomenal rod (used ester and PE). Mine is a one piece now because some of the expoxy seeped too deep and bonded with the bottom half. Lol!! [emoji23]

---

on my air ags xul model, the 2 halves also seem to loosen up from time to time, i dont break my rods down either.
I pushed it on as hard as i could this time, if it loosens up again, i just might glue them together permanently.

Very pretty colors. Thanks for the take along.
Bob

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shru63

on my air ags xul model, the 2 halves also seem to loosen up from time to time, i dont break my rods down either.
I pushed it on as hard as i could this time, if it loosens up again, i just might glue them together permanently.

---

I overlooked the tip loosening that one time and paid the price. Thankfully I was able to mend it. Gluing might be an option since the walls of the connection part of the top section are extremely thin.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

Attachment 462559
Walked across the yard to the pond this morning. Caught a couple sunfish and the above on the Carabus with a theta mgx spooled with varivas lemoni line. Played it a little to get it in, it really wasn't much more fun than a good sized sunfish.

I was playing around with homemade jig with gold trout magnet body. Jig is just a .5 gram sinker crimped to a size 8 vmc jig hook.

I've been making homemade jig using owner hooks, but size 6 is the smallest I could find. Order a couple different brands of size 8 to try out

You are right on owner jig hooks not going beyond size 6. I was also looking for smaller sizes last year. Ended up getting Umpqua XT500 in size 10, 12, and 14. Very sharp hook but shank is not as long, and their sizing is a bit weird (they tend to be a little larger). For domestic jig heads the i_fish bluegill jigs are awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by zekepa

Got Back from my National Guard training today. Had 3 packages waiting for me the Carabus, the Presso 1000, and 2 spare spools for the Presso a 1000 and a 2000. I spooled the 2000 with Varavis Lemoni and the 1000 with Varavis 4lb Twitch Master. Walked across the yard to the pond to play around and relax some.

The Carabus with a Theta MGX 1000 Spooled with Varavis Lemoni, caught a dozen or so sunfish, mostly dinks from 3 to about 6 inches maybe, fished for about a half hour from 4:30 to 5.
Attachment 461930

After supper I went back with the Diawa Air AGS paired with the new presso, started with the twitch master line. Caught more sunfish alittle bigger than in the afternoon mostly around 5 inches and this Crappie probably 9 to 9.5 inches

Attachment 461929

Switched the spool over to the 2000 with Lemoni caught more sunfish and 2 more crappier just over 9 inches.

---

Man those are some good looking combos and fish! How do you like the Varavis line? Is it hard to get used to for a person who normally uses fluorocarbon or mono line? Been thinking about trying it.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

I've never fished flourocarbon line so I can't compare to that. Varavis is very good line. The lemoni is a polyester line, it is very sensitive, the downside to it can be some line manageablitly issues especially if you keep reeling when a fish is pulling drag, and you need to have the drag set light when using it. It is not available in heavier test line, 2.3 lb is the heaviest rate line, it will break right around 2 lb, it is not overrated like american lines. Whatever rating Varivas has on the line that is what it will break at. I've checked the 4 lb mono lines from them and they break at 4 lb.

I've used the lemoni, a couple of braids, and 2 differnt mono type lines from them. They are all good. With the braided lines they are so small you better check the eyes on your jig. I lost a couple jigs cause the eye wasn't completely closed.

The lemoni is every bit as sensitive as braid without the wind knot problems.

See this thread about some Varivas line.
About the line (crappie.com)

Gonna have to try the lemoni. I’m a nut for braid for the sensitivity but it has its faults too. I have several Varivas lines and I can’t find anything bad about them, but some of them aren’t for the way I fish. But that’s a rare thing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pistol_Creek

Man those are some good looking combos and fish! How do you like the Varavis line? Is it hard to get used to for a person who normally uses fluorocarbon or mono line? Been thinking about trying it.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

---

Varivas ES2 line manageability is better than the Area Master Ester line. Lemoni obviously better for line watching. Also, you can easily feel slack line bites. The only issue I’ve had with the line is that it is delicate and has snapped on my several times this year which casting. Maybe I put too much force into the cast? Maybe there was a weak point introduced on the line when it may have rubbed into structure.

Been using 0.2 PE these days. No line breakage since then, but I to be honest I prefer the fun factor on ester (even though it has cost me several jig heads).


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

Danny, I’m stuck on the braid pretty bad too. I bought some .15 rated at 4lb and use it on my shortest rod, a five foot custom build. What a pleasure! It will cast the smallest spinner into the woods before you notice it’s out of control, and you can feel a fish sneeze on it. I’m very happy with it. The .2 will cast a 1/64 but not far and this .15 does a much better job of it. Tough stuff too. Fought a big Tilapia on it and had to palm the spool or let the fish run into lily pads. I thought it pulled free but it had straightened the hook. I was impressed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skeetbum

Danny, I’m stuck on the braid pretty bad too. I bought some .15 rated at 4lb and use it on my shortest rod, a five foot custom build. What a pleasure! It will cast the smallest spinner into the woods before you notice it’s out of control, and you can feel a fish sneeze on it. I’m very happy with it. The .2 will cast a 1/64 but not far and this .15 does a much better job of it. Tough stuff too. Fought a big Tilapia on it and had to palm the spool or let the fish run into lily pads. I thought it pulled free but it had straightened the hook. I was impressed.

---

What brand of four pound test braid are you using.
I tried some 6# Dawai braid and didn’t care for it .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skeetbum

Danny, I’m stuck on the braid pretty bad too. I bought some .15 rated at 4lb and use it on my shortest rod, a five foot custom build. What a pleasure! It will cast the smallest spinner into the woods before you notice it’s out of control, and you can feel a fish sneeze on it. I’m very happy with it. The .2 will cast a 1/64 but not far and this .15 does a much better job of it. Tough stuff too. Fought a big Tilapia on it and had to palm the spool or let the fish run into lily pads. I thought it pulled free but it had straightened the hook. I was impressed.

---

No like breakage with PE :) I have two:
- Daiwa Gekkabijin 0.2 PE (3.9 lbs)
- Area Super Trout Master Limited Premium PE 0.175 (5.5 lbs)
The latter is much superior. It out casts the former. But I use a blank rated for 1 - 2 lbs line. So, if a bass heads for structure I would be helpless!! Lol!! Works just fine for panfish.

Got a BFS set up. On it I have the Varivas BFS PE line.
Attachment 462700
Still have to try their double cross line.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com