Thread: JDM rods relating to Panfish

Originally Posted by Yodie

Randy, I’ve got the Abu Garcia 6’7” SUL slow taper special on its way to me from Digitaka, I’ll post a report of it next week when I have it in my hands.

That would be great. I know of one gentleman who owns one in California.....he seems very pleased with it.

Regards

Got the 6’7” Eradicator SUL in today. Had to hit the road for work so didn’t get much of a chance to use it, but did stop by a random city park pond to at least test it out when I stopped for gas somewhere in central Illinois. Second cast with a Bison trout magnet felt a big thump and before I could react much the drag was screaming, until it wasn’t... pulled back a jig head with a straightened hook... maybe had drag too tight, next cast, same thump, after 15 minutes or so landed a 5-6lb blue cat. Great test of this rod. Proceeded to catch a few Green Sunfish out of the shore line rocks for some fun before getting back on the road.

Initial Impressions:

This rod feels and fishes somewhat more like a typical American market UL, but different. I would liken this to a fast or moderate fast USA panfish/trout rod. Has a nice curve to it when loaded up, somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 the rod length id say. Although, has a great parabola going with that big blue cat.

Cast distance is excellent, casts as far or farther with a 1gr Daiwa jighead and trout magnet as my previous record holder, the 6’3” Tenryu Lunakia. I know I can get better distance from this Eradicator with better line, I was testing some Varivas Mebaru Fluorocarbon that I could feel was causing some resistance on the cast. The next day or so I’ll be able to hit some shore fishing on the Illinois river and will get a feel for true cast distance with the Red Eye Ajing Ester and some 2lb Suffix Nanobraid, both of which I’m confident will give me even better cast length.

Sensitivity is excellent, will be even better with Braid/Ester. I’m going to rate this as close to or the same sensitivity as either of my Lunakia, but probably won’t quite match what the Finezza Prototype has, but should be close with the Ester or braid.

The reel seat is phenomenal.

One little feature I like is at the rod joint they have put alignment arrows and the tip section is also labeled as to what rod it goes to.

I fished it tonight with a JDM Shimano Cardiff 1000SSHG and will be trying it with a Daiwa Luvias 2004H in the next couple days. Both reels might be slightly heavy for this rod, not enough to matter, but after putting a 1025 Presso or 1003 Luvias my Dad has, thats the way to go.

This rod is LIGHT, I believe it’s listed at 55grams. They are also claiming 100% carbon content.

I now have 5 JDM rods, 6’10” Tenryu Lunakia, 6’3” Tenryu Lunakia, 6’10” Graphiteleader Finezza Prototype, 7’3” MajorCraft N-One Mebaru, and this new Eradicator. For everyday panfishing its a close tie between this Eradicator and the little Lunakia, I’d say once I get some more time with it this new rod will take the cake.

Compared to my Dads 6’ SUL Banshee and 6’3” UL Banshee I feel like the Eradicator is similar, but different, not as parabolic action and a bit more backbone. I’ve not fished with the Banshees enough to comment on sensitivity between the two.

Fit and finish is honestly on par with my Finezza, which surprises me since this is a Made in China rod, I’m very pleased on this aspect.

All in all this rod filled a hole in my lineup I was lacking and rounded out my arsenal of JDM rods nicely.

Also, consequently the MajorCraft N-One will most likely be going up for sale, there is nothing this new Eradicator can’t do that the N-One can, and it’s longer,heavier, and less sensitive to my hands.

Without any hesitation, even with my limited time using this rod, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a higher end JDM rod for bluegill/crappie. I’m also not afraid of hooking into bigger fish, a big spotted bass or smallmouth would be an absolute BLAST on this rod and as long as I did my part right, no concern for me landing either.





Here is is next to the Finezza Prototype and Little Lunakia







Sorry for terrible lighting, I’m in the hotel tonight and apparently they don’t believe in CFL or LED bulbs for their lamps.

Originally Posted by Yodie

Got the 6’7” Eradicator SUL in today. Had to hit the road for work so didn’t get much of a chance to use it, but did stop by a random city park pond to at least test it out when I stopped for gas somewhere in central Illinois. Second cast with a Bison trout magnet felt a big thump and before I could react much the drag was screaming, until it wasn’t... pulled back a jig head with a straightened hook... maybe had drag too tight, next cast, same thump, after 15 minutes or so landed a 5-6lb blue cat. Great test of this rod. Proceeded to catch a few Green Sunfish out of the shore line rocks for some fun before getting back on the road.

Initial Impressions:

This rod feels and fishes somewhat more like a typical American market UL, but different. I would liken this to a fast or moderate fast USA panfish/trout rod. Has a nice curve to it when loaded up, somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 the rod length id say. Although, has a great parabola going with that big blue cat.

Cast distance is excellent, casts as far or farther with a 1gr Daiwa jighead and trout magnet as my previous record holder, the 6’3” Tenryu Lunakia. I know I can get better distance from this Eradicator with better line, I was testing some Varivas Mebaru Fluorocarbon that I could feel was causing some resistance on the cast. The next day or so I’ll be able to hit some shore fishing on the Illinois river and will get a feel for true cast distance with the Red Eye Ajing Ester and some 2lb Suffix Nanobraid, both of which I’m confident will give me even better cast length.

Sensitivity is excellent, will be even better with Braid/Ester. I’m going to rate this as close to or the same sensitivity as either of my Lunakia, but probably won’t quite match what the Finezza Prototype has, but should be close with the Ester or braid.

The reel seat is phenomenal.

One little feature I like is at the rod joint they have put alignment arrows and the tip section is also labeled as to what rod it goes to.

I fished it tonight with a JDM Shimano Cardiff 1000SSHG and will be trying it with a Daiwa Luvias 2004H in the next couple days. Both reels might be slightly heavy for this rod, not enough to matter, but after putting a 1025 Presso or 1003 Luvias my Dad has, thats the way to go.

This rod is LIGHT, I believe it’s listed at 55grams. They are also claiming 100% carbon content.

I now have 5 JDM rods, 6’10” Tenryu Lunakia, 6’3” Tenryu Lunakia, 6’10” Graphiteleader Finezza Prototype, 7’3” MajorCraft N-One Mebaru, and this new Eradicator. For everyday panfishing its a close tie between this Eradicator and the little Lunakia, I’d say once I get some more time with it this new rod will take the cake.

Compared to my Dads 6’ SUL Banshee and 6’3” UL Banshee I feel like the Eradicator is similar, but different, not as parabolic action and a bit more backbone. I’ve not fished with the Banshees enough to comment on sensitivity between the two.

Fit and finish is honestly on par with my Finezza, which surprises me since this is a Made in China rod, I’m very pleased on this aspect.

All in all this rod filled a hole in my lineup I was lacking and rounded out my arsenal of JDM rods nicely.

Also, consequently the MajorCraft N-One will most likely be going up for sale, there is nothing this new Eradicator can’t do that the N-One can, and it’s longer,heavier, and less sensitive to my hands.

Without any hesitation, even with my limited time using this rod, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a higher end JDM rod for bluegill/crappie. I’m also not afraid of hooking into bigger fish, a big spotted bass or smallmouth would be an absolute BLAST on this rod and as long as I did my part right, no concern for me landing either.





Here is is next to the Finezza Prototype and Little Lunakia







Sorry for terrible lighting, I’m in the hotel tonight and apparently they don’t believe in CFL or LED bulbs for their lamps.

Great write up.

Regards


Sent from my iPad using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

That is a good looking rod... so based on the specs it’s a super ultra light that can handle up to 10 gram jighead? I do not like a super flexible rod so I was thinking SUL would be out of the question for me but the specs fall in line with something stiffer? Handle looks awesome by the way

Originally Posted by VaCrappieMan

That is a good looking rod... so based on the specs it’s a super ultra light that can handle up to 10 gram jighead? I do not like a super flexible rod so I was thinking SUL would be out of the question for me but the specs fall in line with something stiffer? Handle looks awesome by the way

The closest US rod I know to compare it to is a GLoomis 841-2 7’ UL 2 piece... but this Eradicator has a softer tip and less parabolic action, but a little less backbone, and definitely significantly lighter weight.

The closest JDM rod I can compare it to is the 6’3” UL MajorCraft Fine Tail Banshee area trout rod, but the Eradicator is longer, less parabolic, and with more backbone, I will get some blank measurements next week and post a spreadsheet of all the JDM and US ultra lights I have access to so as to help make a good comparison.

This rod is unique in that it’s not quite like any of the 20+ US ultralights I’ve fished/handled as well as not being similar to any of the 10 or so JDM rods between my dad and I. But, so are all the other 10 or so JDM rods between my Dad and I unique to each other as well.

A note on the 10gram lure rating.... I haven’t tried anything on this rod nearly that heavy, but when throwing a 3gram Niakis Spinner last night, I can tell you 10gr will be A LOT for this rod. I have an assortment of 1/8-1/4oz drop shot weights with me, I’ll load up enough to make 10gr and just see what it does to the rod tonight while in the hotel room.

I know Randy has several overviews of his rods around, I am thinking about writing similar type overviews for all my rods with my impressions of them for my own records, if there would be any interest in others seeing these I could keep a running access list to a Google doc for anyone interested in any of the JDM I or my Dad has. I know Randy’s post/videos on his rods have probably saved me multiple hundreds of dollars, none of the rods I have bought on his recommendation were a dud. Real world experience doing the kind of fishing we all do with these rods has been invaluable to me.

I would be very interested in your reviews should you create them. Randy has been my main source of information and I am so thankful for his reviews and the fantastic videos he posts.

Originally Posted by Yodie

The closest US rod I know to compare it to is a GLoomis 841-2 7’ UL 2 piece... but this Eradicator has a softer tip and less parabolic action, but a little less backbone, and definitely significantly lighter weight.

The closest JDM rod I can compare it to is the 6’3” UL MajorCraft Fine Tail Banshee area trout rod, but the Eradicator is longer, less parabolic, and with more backbone, I will get some blank measurements next week and post a spreadsheet of all the JDM and US ultra lights I have access to so as to help make a good comparison.

This rod is unique in that it’s not quite like any of the 20+ US ultralights I’ve fished/handled as well as not being similar to any of the 10 or so JDM rods between my dad and I. But, so are all the other 10 or so JDM rods between my Dad and I unique to each other as well.

A note on the 10gram lure rating.... I haven’t tried anything on this rod nearly that heavy, but when throwing a 3gram Niakis Spinner last night, I can tell you 10gr will be A LOT for this rod. I have an assortment of 1/8-1/4oz drop shot weights with me, I’ll load up enough to make 10gr and just see what it does to the rod tonight while in the hotel room.

I know Randy has several overviews of his rods around, I am thinking about writing similar type overviews for all my rods with my impressions of them for my own records, if there would be any interest in others seeing these I could keep a running access list to a Google doc for anyone interested in any of the JDM I or my Dad has. I know Randy’s post/videos on his rods have probably saved me multiple hundreds of dollars, none of the rods I have bought on his recommendation were a dud. Real world experience doing the kind of fishing we all do with these rods has been invaluable to me.

Yes by all means do the reviews. The more info out there the better for someone to make a purchase decision.

“The closest JDM rod I can compare it to is the 6’3” UL MajorCraft Fine Tail Banshee area trout rod, but the Eradicator is longer, less parabolic, and with more backbone, I will get some blank measurements next week and post a spreadsheet of all the JDM and US ultra lights I have access to so as to help make a good comparison.”

This is what I was thinking this rod would be like. Sounds like it fills the void between an Area Trout Rod and a Mebaru rod. Also sounds like a rod I would like to have. I have my heart set on the Super Bellezza 6’ 4” UL.....but I want to avoid overlapping rods if I can. I am a little surprised to hear it has fit and finish compared to the Finezza.


Regards


Sent from my iPad using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

I would love to see more reviews... my wife would probably appreciate you not doing them :D