Palms Pinwheel pfss-59UL (slimed) disappointed

I got my Palms Pinwheel pfss-59ul yesterday and I got to slime it today at the Town Pond .
Well, a little bit , anyway . Two bass , two shellcracker and a small bluegill rounded out my catch for almost a two hour effort.
I paired the Pinwheel with a Shimano Soare XR 500sspg and Daiwa J braid .
I started off with WormZ , what seemed to work yesterday, but had no luck and my luck really ran out with it when I got hung up on something and had to break off.
I replaced it with a size 10 hook , 4.5mm tungsten micro jig and olive mini Trout Magnet .
I caught a small bass on about the third cast and the skunk was off .
But the fishing remained slow .
I lost two fish today , one wrapped me around the rusted old drain pipe and I had to break off . It felt like a nice fish .
The other lost fish was a bluegill in the 9” range that I came off while I was waited for people to cross behind me on the walk path bridge. I hooked it vertical jigging the bridge posts .

Now to the disappointment.
I’m disappointed in the Palms Pinwheel rod . It’s an Ajing rod , specifically designed for jigging . They missed the goal IMO . An Ajing rod should be very sensitive, this one is not .
Especially, since I was using braid , the sensitivity should be off the chart .
It’s just isn’t there . My Major Craft Glass rods are more sensitive than this rod . Mt St Croix rods are more sensitive.
It casts and looks awesome.
It’ll flip a small jig (.8g) 60-70’ when I time the lull in the wind right .
There’s just some times , I don’t know what my jig is doing .
This will make a great rod for swimming baits .
With a fish on , the fight is there and felt , with the bend throughout the top section .
The rod feels stiff in the hand , that’s what’s so disappointing. To be this stiff , I should feel a fish breathe o my jig .
Sometimes my jig would feel like it was coming through algae. Couldn’t feel the twitches .
I have the shorter 5’6” version that should be here next week .
I hope it’s better .

Edit: This is what the description reads on one of the sites .
The solid tip enables versatility for soft plastics and microjigs combining sensitivity and flexibility for situations where the bites detected by the tip of the rod is vital.

Nice report, Gilchaser. I hope at least you enjoyed a nice bending curve and its( Palms Pinwheel) great look. However I heard this time of year fish bites are barely noticeable anyway so lets hope for Spring's more aggressive bites for another test. Thanks for the ride along!

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Originally Posted by LVSpinfisher1

Nice report, Gilchaser. I hope at least you enjoyed a nice bending curve and its( Palms Pinwheel) great look. However I heard this time of year fish bites are barely noticeable anyway so lets hope for Spring's more aggressive bites for another test. Thanks for the ride along!

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I don’t think the lack of sensitivity caused me to miss any fish and the rod does have a nice bend with a fish on .
I think my expectations were so high for this rod is what made my disappointment so great .

It’s a good looking rod. Hate it’s not what you were expecting. Hopefully it has something it excels in and has a place in your collection.

Good report, and glad you see you catching some variety.

What that chartreuse thing attached to the rod handle?

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Originally Posted by INFrank

Good report, and glad you see you catching some variety.

What that chartreuse thing attached to the rod handle?

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That’s a hook holder . Most JDM rods don’t come with hook holders .
I’ve respooled my reel this morning with 2# Floroclear to see if by some chance the thin fluorocarbon coated polymer line is a better link between the jig and rod .
I got to thinking about the difference in the feel of my TFO Pastime the other day after putting braid on it .
Could it be that braid isn’t the best line for getting all of the sensitivity out of a rod ?
I’ll post what I find .

I would like for Randy to comment but a solid tip rod isn't going to be sensitive like a tubular tip rod.

Sorry that you didn’t get what you were after. It’s a looker and one would think it would be better than you found. I hope the other one you have coming hits the mark. Looking forward to the review on it.

Some nice catches there. It doesn't surprise me that you don't find the rod as sensitive as you thought it might be. The weight of the road alone tells me that....and the cost. While I don't have any experience with the Pinwheel I did purchase a low end rod from Palms years ago....the Palms Egeria area trout rod. First impression when I took it out the first time was that the rod was not sensitive. Of course all of that is relative to what one compares it to. The rod is a thing of beauty and build quality is great. I still have this rod and fish it often...well at lest when I get out...LOL. The Pinwheel appears to me to be a well made rod and it sure looks good. Solid tip rods fascinate me. I remember to this day the first one I bought over a decade ago. It was a medium-low end rod from Major Craft. My very first cast was below Normandy Dam fishing for trout. Of course I was twitching a Trout Magnet and when you fish a TM for trout you may catch over 100 fish in an 8 hour day but you will have missed around 50 getting to that number. It was the first time I had a trout hook itself twitching a Trout Magnet. I read descriptions years ago about "Automatic Hooking" with solid tip area trout rods......and the same pretty much applies to azing solid tip rods as well. I thought that was just BS...but it is true. The solid tip rods can really increase your hook up rate. For years I have used solid tip rods for bluegill, trout, and crappie. They really shine on crappie and trout. I have not set a hook on a crappie in 14 years...no need to. I still own several solid tip rods. The best of the bunch is the Tict Rockin Drift. The complete upper section is solid carbon fiber. Lost count of the crappie I have caught with this rod. Then there are the Diplomat Extreme rods. They are extremely sensitive rods...as they should be seeing how it is the same blank material that was used on the Abu Garica Slow Taper Special. I know some do not like sold tip rods. I hope the rod works out for you.



Regards

Randy , thanks for your insight .
Even though the rod doesn’t seem as sensitive as I expected, I think I did experience the automatic hook up you referred to. I didn’t feel the initial tap but the fish was just there . The bite of LM bass have that feeling a lot of the time . Most bass, I think follow the bait and suck it in . And a weightlessness is felt until the fish is swimming away .
It’s a good looking rod and I’ll find a place for it .
I can fish it . It’ll make a good swimmer bait rod and it’s a fun rod to fight fish on .
It got good reviews that talked about its sensitivity and I bought into it . That and I liked the looks .
I received a Major Craft Aji Do 1g yesterday, the s502ul , a short five foot model with a solid tip . The little rod is a lot more sensitive than the Pinwheel and is super light at 47g.
I haven’t been disappointed with a Major Craft rod so far .

And I sit back and soak up the education from posts like these. Thank you both.

I took the Pinwheel back these evening for a forty minute quick trip. I swapped out the reel for A Shimano Soare bb c2000sspg with a Ultegra spool and 2# Floroclear.
The weather was overcast, 59 degrees, it felt nice because there was very little wind .
The Pinwheel felt better today , it seemed like I could feel the jig better and most bites . Several times it felt like something grabbed the tail of my mini trout magnet.
The difference, the wind and no braid .
The first trip out the wind was blowing a bow in the line eliminating any feel of the jig .
Brought four to hand , two small bass , a bluegill, and a shellcracker. A pond slam plus one :) .
I lost the first fish I hooked when the 2# approximately LM bass jumped and threw my jig back at me . Guess the water temperature has warmed up and made them a little more frisky.
One thing I like a lot about this rod with 2# line , it’ll flat sling a .8g jig . Guessing 75-80’ . Definitely a long caster .
Had a flock of cranes headed north fly over . Spring is near !