Thread: All Things Ultralight

I have been known to wind black electrical tape on the spools to reduce the amount of line needed

It sounds like we are a lot a like. I enjoy reading about $200 reels and $50 line, but will I buy one? probably not. I am also not trying offend anyone. An normal buy for me would be a $20 ebay reel, $20 walmart rod and a $10 spool of mrcrapplie line. I use my stuff until it breaks or becomes defective, some may say a $200 reel may last longer, which may be true in some ways, but not when you drop it on a boulder.

I have a tackle box devoted to UL lures. It’s not a small bag at all. I like fishing small ponds, rivers and creeks with my gear. I use my UL gear for crappie but sometimes I have to step up a bit with my gear to get those crappie out from underneath the docks on the large lakes in my area.
One thing that I have to force myself to do is sometimes use a small float or indicator to suspend my jig or bait to entice the fish when the bite slows down.

Originally Posted by UpstateSC_Bill

I have preferred fishing with ultralight tackle most of my fishing years and I am 76. I believe my tackle is respectable in that category. But as I have read through quite a bit of the "All Things Ultralight" sub forum I have found only a small minority of posts that are non JDM. It is actually somewhat discouraging. So as a result I have been doing a lot of reading just to learn what I can about this JDM stuff.

I don't question the quality or the appeal thereof the JDM tackle. But it is beyond my budget. Yet there seem to be a number of folks on here acquiring one after another rods and reels. I have to think long and hard before adding even one more to my inventory. That's fine. I still enjoy reading what you folks say about it here.

At any rate it is all about the fishing, right? I just wish "All Things Ultralight" had more for us poor folk. Well maybe not poor. I am rich in many ways and I do manage to spend a little money on my tackle. My two favorite UL rods are both St. Croix, an Avid and a Premier. I have had them both at least 15 years. Until I very recently on here started reading about this JDM stuff I have never felt undergunned. I still don't.

Are there any folks on here who fish UL tackle that isn't JDM? Do you feel your tackle allows you to fish the way you want to?

The one thing I have learned about JDM reels that I like is the shallow spools on the reels. I always wondered why most spinning reels had spools with such high capacity, especially in the lighter tackle. But quite a number of years ago many US spinning reels came with a plastic clam shell that you could install to reduce the capacity. I haven't seen that lately.

Anyhow those are my rambling comments. I would love to read further discussion. Nothing I have said is intended to offend anyone.

I fly fish a good bit and have read comments like this for years on fly boards. Premium fly rods are now in the $800-$1000 range. Do you need one to fly fish? Nope! The fish don’t care! LOL

Fish whatever you like, and don’t worry about “keeping up with the JDM Joneses”. LOL

BTW, don’t be ashamed to fish with St. Croix rods. Lots of people consider them to be premium rods. LOL

FYI: I own one JDM rod (bought from a member here.). It’s really sweet, but I probably won’t buy another. I’m trying to save money to buy a $1000 fly rod. LOL

I’ve dabbled in the JDM market some , but it’s been the entry level , around $100 or less . Actually, I’ve paid more for my St Croix rods .
I probably own over fifty UL rods . Most are USA domestic rods , several ST Croix rods .
I think I’ve been looking for , the perfect UL rod .
And about six months ago I think I found it .
It is a JDM rod , but I only paid around $70 for it . And it’s a four piece travel rod .
I ordered it through Amazon Japan .
It’s an Abu Garcia Mass Beat 6’3” light . It’s labeled light but it’s closer to an American UL .
It’s all I fish with now .
I like it so much , I bought two more as backups . One stays in its case , in my car , just in case I do something stupid and break my original.
Not all JDM equipment has to cost a ton of money.
To me it’s about performance , not how much it cost.

Originally Posted by gillchaser999

I’ve dabbled in the JDM market some , but it’s been the entry level , around $100 or less . Actually, I’ve paid more for my St Croix rods .
I probably own over fifty UL rods . Most are USA domestic rods , several ST Croix rods .
I think I’ve been looking for , the perfect UL rod .
And about six months ago I think I found it .
It is a JDM rod , but I only paid around $70 for it . And it’s a four piece travel rod .
I ordered it through Amazon Japan .
It’s an Abu Garcia Mass Beat 6’3” light . It’s labeled light but it’s closer to an American UL .
It’s all I fish with now .
I like it so much , I bought two more as backups . One stays in its case , in my car , just in case I do something stupid and break my original.
Not all JDM equipment has to cost a ton of money.
To me it’s about performance , not how much it cost.

I was going to reference you Gill. Very few are aware that they can get many US market reels out of Japan....with the shallow spools. The Sahara and Stradic are considerably cheaper from Japan than in US stores. From all I have read about the Mass Beat it is a bargain for sure.


Regards

Originally Posted by fredo

I fly fish a good bit and have read comments like this for years on fly boards. Premium fly rods are now in the $800-$1000 range. Do you need one to fly fish? Nope! The fish don’t care! LOL

Fish whatever you like, and don’t worry about “keeping up with the JDM Joneses”. LOL

BTW, don’t be ashamed to fish with St. Croix rods. Lots of people consider them to be premium rods. LOL

I need to clarify my point a little. I don't care one bit about keeping up with any Joneses or even Rockefellers. The discouraging thing is that there is very little discussion here about any equipment other than JDM. I am not ashamed of my St. Croix rods either. I've caught a fish or two with them.

And I used to do some fly fishing quite a while back. The high end fly rods have been over $1000 a long time now. And I have seen a number of the "do you need it" discussions on those forums. Never participated in those discussions.

I am not questioning if you need any of the expensive stuff. Of course you don't NEED it. But I fully understand why you would want it. It is all good stuff. I am just wondering about the total dominance of the JDM stuff in an "ALL Things Ultralight" forum.