Mass Beat III 634L Travel Rod

I had ordered one back in June from Amazon that shipped but then got returned during the process somehow. I've been looking for a travel rod, I bought two others since this model got turned around during the shipping process. The first one was a Diplomat X 66UL, It's not what I would consider an UL compared to other JDM rods I haven't really fished this rod as the power of it doesn't make it much fun for smaller fish. The second one was a Daiwa Presso ST 53XUL-4, this one is fun with smaller fish, it's a nice rod, but the action is just slower than I would prefer, it's not what I'm used to fishing with.

I've read many times how much gillchaser like the Mass Beat so I placed another order for the rod. The rod showed up today, I spent about an hour fishing in my pond. Caught probably close to 25 bluegill/sunfish from 4 to 9.5 inches. probably 10 of them were around 7 inches. The bigger ones were a good bit of fun with the rod. The smaller ones you can feel on the rod just not as much fun. The action of the rod is what I'm looking for in a rod, if they made a travel rod in UL or XUL I'd order one in a minute. For the price of this rod, I think your getting an excellent value for the money.

I do have to say that my favorite rod for smaller fish is the Abu Garcia Carabus 602XUL, the action I like, lightweight, with good sensitivity. A one ounce weight will bend the rod tip 20.5 inches, so even a smaller fish can fool you into thinking it's bigger than it really is. I've caught a lot of fish I thought were going to be 7 inches or bigger only to get them to the boat and it be a 5 inch fish. I'm amazed at how much fun you can have catching dinks with that rod.

Biggest blue gill in my pond
Attachment 468977

Decent fish for the pond
Attachment 468978

Little fellar
Attachment 468979

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Nice catches. Good job

Glad you got it. And glad you like it .
No , it’s not an XUL , but it’s a rod that if I had to choose just one rod that could do it all , it would be it .
My biggest disappointment in a JDM rod has been the 5’6” Daiwa Iprimi XXUL .
Not giving up on it yet .
I’m still playing with that one trying to make it work for me .

Glad to hear the deal finally worked and that it works for you. Too many differences from one maker to another makes it tough to find the right one. Have fun with it.

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

Glad you got it. And glad you like it .
No , it’s not an XUL , but it’s a rod that if I had to choose just one rod that could do it all , it would be it .
My biggest disappointment in a JDM rod has been the 5’6” Daiwa Iprimi XXUL .

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Can't disagree with the if I could only have one rod. It's certainly a much better rod than I used to fish with all the time before I went down the JDM rabbit hole. I have a Carabus Delicate coming from Spain along with a second Nano XUL (spare in case I do something stupid and break it) Once I see how that rod is I may order a 2 piece model for my wife.

If I didn't already have the Nano XUL I'd be tempted to order the XUL model of the MB3. Even with having to order from Japan and paying shipping I think it would be a good value.

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Originally Posted by zekepa

Can't disagree with the if I could only have one rod. It's certainly a much better rod than I used to fish with all the time before I went down the JDM rabbit hole. I have a Carabus Delicate coming from Spain along with a second Nano XUL (spare in case I do something stupid and break it) Once I see how that rod is I may order a 2 piece model for my wife.

If I didn't already have the Nano XUL I'd be tempted to order the XUL model of the MB3. Even with having to order from Japan and paying shipping I think it would be a good value.

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I’ve been tempted to order a XUL .
I wanted a MB3 in a 5’6” UL and thought I was ordering one , but it had a C in the model number . Being a dummy at the time I didn’t notice the C and wound up with a casting rod .

Awesomeness

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Originally Posted by zekepa

Can't disagree with the if I could only have one rod. It's certainly a much better rod than I used to fish with all the time before I went down the JDM rabbit hole. I have a Carabus Delicate coming from Spain along with a second Nano XUL (spare in case I do something stupid and break it) Once I see how that rod is I may order a 2 piece model for my wife.

If I didn't already have the Nano XUL I'd be tempted to order the XUL model of the MB3. Even with having to order from Japan and paying shipping I think it would be a good value.

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Zekepa, where did you order your Carabus Delicate from?

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Originally Posted by Crappie Pro Wannabe

Zekepa, where did you order your Carabus Delicate from?

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I ordered from tradeinn.com Price today is about $95 with USPS shipping. DHL shipping is an extra $40 above that.

A google search for abu garcia carabus delicate will bring it up near the top of the results. The same company is selling the rod on Amazon but it's about $20 more total price including shipping, and the shipping isn't any faster.

Shipping is slow, expect at least 3 to 4 weeks. Amazon shipping estimates 4 to 8 weeks.

I came across the Delicate while looking at the Carabus Extreme and Nano. I like the others enough that I decided to take a chance on the Delicate, It's more for my wife, I'd like her to have a nice rod, I'm just not willing to trust her with any of my rods that cost $$$.

This is my 4th order from them, other than the slow shipping I have no complaints.

That is one big gill! Great report and beautifil looking rod too. :ThumbsUp

It's probably a PB, though it came from my own pond so I'm not counting it. Kind of like fishing from a personal aquarium. I believe it's the only one that size in the pond.

We live on what was my grandparents place, has a decent sized pond and a hand built in ground cement swimming pool 24 x 48. The pool is a lot of work to maintain. Every year it needs drained, cleaned and patched from all the leaves, algae, toad and frog eggs, and cracks that develop over winter from freezing. For two years after my mom passed away I didn't bother to get it ready for the summer. I think one of the neighbor kids caught a decent sized bluegill and LMB and put them in the pool. For a year or two I saw them swimming in the pool. The next time I went to get the pool ready I tried to catch them on a rod to put them back in the pond. I didn't catch them so once the water was low enough I ended up netting them and putting them back in the pond 2 years ago. At the time the blue gill was the biggest I had seen since I was kid, as far as I can remember. Not sure what it was eating in the pool but it must have been eating good.

I was actually wondering if it was still alive, as this is the first time I've caught it in those 2 years. Most of the fish in the pond are stunted, bluegill, LMB, couple yellow perch and 6 crappie I put in this year because I didn't want to fillet them, so I'm pretty sure it is the one that lived in the pool for a year or two.

Fished the MB3 travel rod a lot today. Hit the lake a little before 7 am, was foggy with temps in the high 40s to low 50s to start the day. Glad I had a spot marked fairly close to the dock as it was to foggy to see where you were going.

The rod model is 634L, 6'3" 4 piece, Light power. After fishing it in the pond yesterday it didn't seem like a Light power to me. I did some bending curve comparisons between other JDM rods I have to see how similar or different they were. Initially I did the comparison between other Abu Garcia rods, after 2oz of weight the power is almost identical to the Carabus Extreme that is rated as UL. I'm not saying the rods are equal, just that the power of the rods are very similar. I switched between the two rod while fishing today. Fun factor is pretty close, but the Carabus is much lighter and more refined as it should be considering the price difference.

I also compared it to my Major Craft 632SUL and UL. From 1 to 4 ounces the bend is almost identical with the SUL. The Major Craft 632UL has more backbone than the MB3634L.

I'm a big fan of having fun when catching fish, mostly smaller fish, IMO this rod delivers plenty of fun with decent sized gills, 6" and bigger fish put really nice bend to the rod. Several times I had fish on that felt like pretty good fish, that ended up back in the lake and not the live well.

I was a little concerned that with the Light power rating it might not being very fun catching the size fish I catch most of the time. I'm pleasantly surprised that the manufacturer over rated the power of the rod compared to the other JDM rods I have.

Thanks for confirming what I found the rod to be .
IMO, it’s definitely an UL and a fun rod to fish .
Also I feel like it’s one of the best bargains in a JDM rod .
A four piece rod that feels and fishes like a one piece .
I’m glad you like it .

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Originally Posted by skeetbum

Glad to hear the deal finally worked and that it works for you. Too many differences from one maker to another makes it tough to find the right one. Have fun with it.

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Just as Skeet said. I have 2 variants of Abu UL...the MB iii (2 pc) and my most expensive rod to date, Abu Eradicator 5-10. While both UL they fished world apart. Thanks for write up, Z!

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I have no idea what criteria (if any) or how rod makers use to come up with the power rating of a rod, even with the same maker in this case Abu Garcia there doesn't seem to be any consistency.

Just talking about Area trout rods I have 3 different models now. Carabus Nano XUL, Carabus Extreme UL, and the Mass Beat III Light.

I have a Carabus Delicate 622UL coming will have to see where that falls with the power rating from the rod maker.

Using a totally arbitrary testing method of putting the rod in a jig that holds it at an angle of apx 60 degrees and measuring the rod tip height from the floor initially then adding weight 1oz at a time. I got the following percentages of for how far the rod tip moved from the original height.

Carabus Nano XUL 54% with 3 oz of weight
Carabus Extreme UL 48.6% with 4 oz of weight
Mass Beat 3 Light 50% with 4 oz of weight

While fishing it's hard to hook a fish that doesn't give you a good time on the XUL. For pure fun factor it's my favorite rod. Both of the Carabus rods are much lighter weight wise Nano (58.7g), Extreme (51.5g) than the MB3 (77.5g) 25 to 30% lighter. They feel more refined and almost delicate in comparison. It looks like the price of both the rods has gone up since I bought them, they are now 3 to 5 times more expensive than what the MB3 is going for on Amazon.

As Gillchaser said value for dollar spent the MB3 would be hard to beat for an introduction to what a JDM rod has to offer. I have ordered two more of the rods, hoping the order goes through before you can't get them at the current price.

Might come down to %carbon used, Z. But no doubt bangs for bucks, Abu MB hard to beat...BUT against a $100 St. Croix triumph UL, I won't dare fish it at the SoCal pier.

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Duplicate post

I own a few 6’6” St Croix Triumph light action rods .
Although not as lightweight as the Abu Garcia MB3 , the action is similar.
They used to be my #1 rod for fishing a float and jig rig .
I’ve thought about ordering another MB3L , but I’m going to put a light 500 size reel with some 2# Floroclear on one of my SC Triumph and see how it’ll throw a 1/64 jig .
I have a 7’ SC Premier UL , but have never fished it much because it’s just too noodlely . It reminds me of a 7’ Iprimi . Not a jig rod .
I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but some time in last few years I’ve become a primarily jig fisherman .
I fish a jig probably 90% of the time .
Addicted to the thump !

EDIT : I got curious about the weights of these two rods .
They’re closer than what I thought.
The AG MB3 weighs 78g or 2.75oz
The SC Triumph weighs 88g or 3.1 oz for a two piece rod , one piece is 3.0oz
Only 10g difference.
Most of that is in the 3” extra length and the full cork handle .

One thing about fishing the SC , I’d be able to lift those pound size shellcracker when fishing off the dock .
I’ve been hand lining them up once I have them played out .

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Originally Posted by LVSpinfisher1

Just as Skeet said. I have 2 variants of Abu UL...the MB iii (2 pc) and my most expensive rod to date, Abu Eradicator 5-10. While both UL they fished world apart. Thanks for write up, Z!

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That’s the one most important factor that keeps me from diving into the JDM rod pool. That plus I’ve got too many for my available space now. Thought about y’all today and yesterday while I was giving the Phenix a workout. A 14” LMB is a genuine howl on it.

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

Thanks for confirming what I found the rod to be .
IMO, it’s definitely an UL and a fun rod to fish .
Also I feel like it’s one of the best bargains in a JDM rod .
A four piece rod that feels and fishes like a one piece .
I’m glad you like it .

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Not that I need another multi-piece travel rod ( just got the Palms Quattro and 5 yr old 4-pc Abu MB extreme 602L), this looks very promising.

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Nice color too.Attachment 469659

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A four footer. Nice. Let us know what you think of it.

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Originally Posted by zekepa

I have no idea what criteria (if any) or how rod makers use to come up with the power rating of a rod, even with the same maker in this case Abu Garcia there doesn't seem to be any consistency.

Just talking about Area trout rods I have 3 different models now. Carabus Nano XUL, Carabus Extreme UL, and the Mass Beat III Light.

I have a Carabus Delicate 622UL coming will have to see where that falls with the power rating from the rod maker.

Using a totally arbitrary testing method of putting the rod in a jig that holds it at an angle of apx 60 degrees and measuring the rod tip height from the floor initially then adding weight 1oz at a time. I got the following percentages of for how far the rod tip moved from the original height.

Carabus Nano XUL 54% with 3 oz of weight
Carabus Extreme UL 48.6% with 4 oz of weight
Mass Beat 3 Light 50% with 4 oz of weight

While fishing it's hard to hook a fish that doesn't give you a good time on the XUL. For pure fun factor it's my favorite rod. Both of the Carabus rods are much lighter weight wise Nano (58.7g), Extreme (51.5g) than the MB3 (77.5g) 25 to 30% lighter. They feel more refined and almost delicate in comparison. It looks like the price of both the rods has gone up since I bought them, they are now 3 to 5 times more expensive than what the MB3 is going for on Amazon.

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I ordered a Carabus Delicate 622UL on Aug 18 it arrived today, so a little over 3 weeks to receive it from Waveinn.

Caught a few 5 to 6 inch bluegill with it at my pond, not enough to give it a fair evaluation. I'll do a write up on it once I've had a chance to fish it for a day so I can experience it catching fish in a wider range size.
It weighed in right at 90g so fairly heavy compared to the other rods above. Guides are the Fuji New Concept O ring type according to the tag on the rod, and reel seat is also Fuji.

Put it in my testing jig like the rods above. Using that method it falls between the Nano and MB3. So at least a rod rated as UL kind of falls into the rod power rating where you would expect it to.

Carabus Nano XUL 54% with 3 oz of weight and 60% at 4 oz

Carabus Delicate 622UL 47.5% at 3 oz of weight and 55% at 4 oz

Mass Beat 3 Light 43% at 3 oz of weight 50% with 4 oz

Carabus Extreme UL 41.7% at 3 oz 48.6% with 4 oz

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Originally Posted by zekepa

I ordered a Carabus Delicate 622UL on Aug 18 it arrived today, so a little over 3 weeks to receive it from Waveinn.

Caught a few 5 to 6 inch bluegill with it at my pond, not enough to give it a fair evaluation. I'll do a write up on it once I've had a chance to fish it for a day so I can experience it catching fish in a wider range size.
It weighed in right at 90g so fairly heavy compared to the other rods above. Guides are the Fuji New Concept O ring type according to the tag on the rod, and reel seat is also Fuji.

Put it in my testing jig like the rods above. Using that method it falls between the Nano and MB3. So at least a rod rated as UL kind of falls into the rod power rating where you would expect it to.

Carabus Nano XUL 54% with 3 oz of weight and 60% at 4 oz

Carabus Delicate 622UL 47.5% at 3 oz of weight and 55% at 4 oz

Mass Beat 3 Light 43% at 3 oz of weight 50% with 4 oz

Carabus Extreme UL 41.7% at 3 oz 48.6% with 4 oz

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Waiting for the write up and pictures. Congratulations on the new rod.