Thread: Help Deciding on New JDM Rod

I’m thinking the little Lunakia might be a good option for you?

I should have elaborated a bit more…. I have both the Abu Slow Taper Special and the Tict Rockin Finesse and those rods to me don’t really scream creek or smaller waters to me. I use a Graphiteleader Corto 6’1” for my smaller river fishing playing around with trout, redbreast, redeye, and smallies. It is a great rod for all of the above but very hard to locate these days. I have always wanted to try the little lunakia and it screams to me in these smaller water situations. I also think it would be a quality stick for you and if bought from finesse fishing I believe it would have a warranty. I believe BobC has one and hopefully he will chime in.

Sounds scary those screaming rods but seriously the mid range cost JDM rods are a great next step in the journey to fun and sensitivity. Unfortunately not a whole lot of stock out there, pre-pandemic most rods could be sourced for a decent price and reasonable shipping times and cost. Majorcraft is in my book a step up from the Daiwa Iprimi and you get a good rod for your money. The Finetail line up varies from stocked stream to native trout to Area trout so a wide range of action is available but sensitivity for micro plastics will not be as spectacular as a some of the other blank choices from the Aji or Mebaru (Light Game) purposed rods. The Majorcraft Aji-Do rod has a new great blank that should be super sensitive and have a soft tip like the higher end rods however it is not in production right now. The Olympic Graphite
Leader Corto line of rods is awesome and affordable, again just not readily available. Chris at Finesse Fishing carries some of the Lunakia line up and you would be hard pressed to find a better built stick than found in the Tenryu stable. They are a little more expensive but worth the cost. The ABU Garcia line of Eradicator Finesse rods are my personal favorite,( not the Slow Taper), I have two that shine for my style of fishing the highland reservoirs and the small feeder creeks that fill them each Spring. Panfish are stuck before I can even feel the bite with the soft tips and forgiving blanks of these rods. They can sometimes be sourced in Australia as the Down Under blokes favor them as well. 6.1 to 6.10 sounds like your range of length, you didn’t mention bank or boat or both type of fishing styles as I would lean towards the shorter rods for the two feet on terra firma fishing. Sounds like you are actively doing the research, these threads are a great place to start. The bending curves on Randy’s and Victor’s (ifish) You Tube channels are also a place to focus on action of the rod as compared to the fish size being caught. In between the Howdy Folks and all the Shooting of Fire you can glean some great info as it relates to your style of fishing. Good luck and remember we like pictures of nice shiny new rods and reels.



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Originally Posted by VaCrappieMan

I should have elaborated a bit more…. I have both the Abu Slow Taper Special and the Tict Rockin Finesse and those rods to me don’t really scream creek or smaller waters to me. I use a Graphiteleader Corto 6’1� for my smaller river fishing playing around with trout, redbreast, redeye, and smallies. It is a great rod for all of the above but very hard to locate these days. I have always wanted to try the little lunakia and it screams to me in these smaller water situations. I also think it would be a quality stick for you and if bought from finesse fishing I believe it would have a warranty. I believe BobC has one and hopefully he will chime in.

I took a hard look at the smaller Lunakia rod but seeing how it was described on Chris’s site as a rod that excelled at its tip sensitivity vs the larger rods ability to transfer the feel to your hand is what had me considering the 6’10. Maybe I’m focusing too much on those statements though.

Many of the waters I fish would max out at about 25’ across or so (but it’s not uncommon to fish small 5’ wide sections). I fish either from the bank or wading in these situations. I’m used to the shorter rods 5-6’ but that has always been by chance more so than design I suppose.

The overwhelming variety coupled with the difficulty tracking some of these things down is daunting to say the least.

I appreciate your advice.


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Originally Posted by StantheMan2567

Sounds scary those screaming rods but seriously the mid range cost JDM rods are a great next step in the journey to fun and sensitivity. Unfortunately not a whole lot of stock out there, pre-pandemic most rods could be sourced for a decent price and reasonable shipping times and cost. Majorcraft is in my book a step up from the Daiwa Iprimi and you get a good rod for your money. The Finetail line up varies from stocked stream to native trout to Area trout so a wide range of action is available but sensitivity for micro plastics will not be as spectacular as a some of the other blank choices from the Aji or Mebaru (Light Game) purposed rods. The Majorcraft Aji-Do rod has a new great blank that should be super sensitive and have a soft tip like the higher end rods however it is not in production right now. The Olympic Graphite
Leader Corto line of rods is awesome and affordable, again just not readily available. Chris at Finesse Fishing carries some of the Lunakia line up and you would be hard pressed to find a better built stick than found in the Tenryu stable. They are a little more expensive but worth the cost. The ABU Garcia line of Eradicator Finesse rods are my personal favorite,( not the Slow Taper), I have two that shine for my style of fishing the highland reservoirs and the small feeder creeks that fill them each Spring. Panfish are stuck before I can even feel the bite with the soft tips and forgiving blanks of these rods. They can sometimes be sourced in Australia as the Down Under blokes favor them as well. 6.1 to 6.10 sounds like your range of length, you didn’t mention bank or boat or both type of fishing styles as I would lean towards the shorter rods for the two feet on terra firma fishing. Sounds like you are actively doing the research, these threads are a great place to start. The bending curves on Randy’s and Victor’s (ifish) You Tube channels are also a place to focus on action of the rod as compared to the fish size being caught. In between the Howdy Folks and all the Shooting of Fire you can glean some great info as it relates to your style of fishing. Good luck and remember we like pictures of nice shiny new rods and reels.



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My river/stream fishing is exclusively done from either the bank or wading. I can appreciate the idea of the shorter end of the spectrum, which is where my choices generally reside. It just seems like many of these sensitive rods lean more toward the upper 6’ range.

So many options to choose from it seems. It’s easy to get caught up in the fear of making the wrong choice. I’m happy to spend the money for a nice model as long as it fits the bill. It’s a shame I didn’t tumble down this rabbit hole just a few years sooner.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.




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Originally Posted by RyanRX7

My river/stream fishing is exclusively done from either the bank or wading. I can appreciate the idea of the shorter end of the spectrum, which is where my choices generally reside. It just seems like many of these sensitive rods lean more toward the upper 6’ range.

So many options to choose from it seems. It’s easy to get caught up in the fear of making the wrong choice. I’m happy to spend the money for a nice model as long as it fits the bill. It’s a shame I didn’t tumble down this rabbit hole just a few years sooner.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.




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Plenty of short rods with extreme sensitivity.

Regards


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Originally Posted by Alphahawk

Plenty of short rods with extreme sensitivity.

Regards


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Yes, absolutely. My statement was poorly made.

What I meant was that many times in the big threads when I see folks mentioning their favorite rods which they just love for their feel and sensitivity, they seem to commonly trend toward the longer size. Many times when I see shorter rod names pop up they’re models not lending as well to small plastics. I’ve seen many glowing reviews of shorter stream style rods but have been told in the past that they’re normally too stiff for what I’m looking to do. On the other hand the reviews of shorter rods can also be models too delicate for the common threat of smallmouth where I fish. The last thing I want is to break one of these beautiful rods.


This is of course in my limited research and reading.








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Hi Ryan. Like VACM above stated, I have the 6'3" Lunakai rod, and it has been just a super rod for creek/small stream pans and crappie. Rather than go thru a lot of stuff again, please go to the Sticky above "JDM rods relative to panfish", and start at page 51. You will see my post from 2019 and my water and style of fishing is very similar to what you do. Bear in mind that in 2019 a lot of the JDM info on rods was evolving due to trailblazers like Alphahawk, Yodie, Chris Stewart and others. You will read thru a lot of questions you have about both Lunakai rods. I ultimately went with the 6'3", and as my target fish are pans and crappie 99% it was the perfect choice. It casts a 1/64 with a TM very nicely, and a 1/32 will go further than you would want! The one thing I can add to my 2019 post is I now use an EZFloat float to keep the lure just in the strike zone, but eliminates constant hang ups and bottom river snot on my very warmwater creek. I have the rod paired with a 6.5 oz Pflueger 20 size, and it balances just right for me. I have an eye out for a Daiwa Legalis as a 6.5oz upgrade, but right now are out of stock everywhere. I use JDM 3lb true breaking strength nylon. I have caught smaller smallies with it no problem, and it could whip a bruiser if I'm patient and let the drag and rod do the work and not horse it. These rods sure look fragile, but if you use the proper line and set your drag I don't think you will break it. Massive hooksets, slinging and high sticking are discouraged. So there you have it. In the last several years there has been a lot of info posted here on other rods that can do the job, but I would recommend the "little Luna". I bought mine thru Chris Stewart at Finesse Fishing and he is a good person to do business with.
Hope this helps,
Bob