Thread: JDM rods relating to Panfish

Originally Posted by Alphahawk

That’s a very tough call. The Finesse is a great crappie rod....but the Lunakia does that well also. The rods behave in different manners. I could lose the Finesse and still have the Lunakia and I don’t think I would miss the Finesse. The Lunakia is a very versatile rod and in my opinion a much higher tech blank that is just as sensitive as the Finesse but will be more forgiving in a stressed situation. The Lunakia has a 94 percent graphite to the Finesse over 99 percent graphite.

Regards


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Thank you for the feedback, the graphite content you mention has me a little intrigued as I normally associate high graphite content with high sensitivity.... I have a strong bass background and do understand the glass content vs graphite content for rod bending and forgiveness. I was/still am a power fisherman and a good fiberglass content rod with a low ratio reel and a crank bait of any size in my hand drew a check more times than none. Those days and rods have long been since put away for the enjoyment of the UL journey. The handle on the Lunakia also draws my attention, unique it seems to be.

For what it's worth, I think a tubular tip rod will always have an edge over the solid tip counterpart, all other factors being equal. I understand the latter is not the case here, nevertheless solid (Finesse) and tubular (Lunakia) models are being compared. The effect of the solid tip on the sensitivity was stated here and in many other places before, and I've come to the same conclusion over the past few months. Among JDM rods, I only have Yamaga Blanks tubular tip models, but every time there is even a subtle bite, it feels like a shock to my hand. Even with 9' 6" seabass rod rated to 1.5 oz with 22 lbs PE and when lure is 50 yards far into the ocean. It is not the same with Tict and Shimano solid tip ajing rods that I have, which is not to say that tubular Tict and Shimano wouldn't have given you that effect. The solid tip does load up much better with extremely light lures and handles them with ease (also stated here before). For that reason, I really like the Finesse, though I often see the bite on that very delicate tip instead of feeling it in the palm of my hand.

Another quick update on the Evergreen Salty Sensation Limber Tip SS: yesterday I got on some slab crappie down 20 feet on brush, and they would only bite 2 lures: the Itty Bitty Swim-R in monkey milk, or the JDM Grass Minnow SS 1-1/8" in color 090 (kind of a greenish pearl). I caught and released a bunch, including this fine 1.5 lb slab:


This crappie had the rod in a full bend and even pulled drag, but the Evergreen whupped him. Later I put on a sowbug trout magnet and started throwing at bass that were lurking around 15-20 feet in deep water (I could see them and my jig on the Livescope). One of them charged the TM and hit it with a jolt. WHAM! the fight was on. I had the drag set very light (I was using the Varivas 2.3 lb ester with a 4 lb Seaguar Blue FC leader), and I could feel the fish's tail whacking the leader. It was only a 2 lb spotted bass, but it took me almost 5 minutes to get him to the net. I caught a couple more smaller ones, and they gave me all the fight I wanted. The SS Limber Tip is definitely softer than the Tict Rockin Power or the SRAM, and makes an awesome crappie/bluegill rod that can handle the occasional bass.


Last week I went to the river and caught a bunch of stocker rainbows. I kept a limit of 8 for the smoker. I used a Duo Realis Ryuki Spearhead 45S in Ayu OB color ( a small JDM sinking plug similar to a Rapala, but with a better action), or a sowbug trout magnet. The TM caught the most fish, but the Ryuki caught the biggest. I fished the TM on the Limber Tip, and used the Yamaga BC 71TZ/Nano to throw the plug.

The Chattahoochee river is great to fish on these hot days, it is very cold and is nice to sit in the shade and catch trout.

Originally Posted by jawjatek

Another quick update on the Evergreen Salty Sensation Limber Tip SS: yesterday I got on some slab crappie down 20 feet on brush, and they would only bite 2 lures: the Itty Bitty Swim-R in monkey milk, or the JDM Grass Minnow SS 1-1/8" in color 090 (kind of a greenish pearl). I caught and released a bunch, including this fine 1.5 lb slab:


This crappie had the rod in a full bend and even pulled drag, but the Evergreen whupped him. Later I put on a sowbug trout magnet and started throwing at bass that were lurking around 15-20 feet in deep water (I could see them and my jig on the Livescope). One of them charged the TM and hit it with a jolt. WHAM! the fight was on. I had the drag set very light (I was using the Varivas 2.3 lb ester with a 4 lb Seaguar Blue FC leader), and I could feel the fish's tail whacking the leader. It was only a 2 lb spotted bass, but it took me almost 5 minutes to get him to the net. I caught a couple more smaller ones, and they gave me all the fight I wanted. The SS Limber Tip is definitely softer than the Tict Rockin Power or the SRAM, and makes an awesome crappie/bluegill rod that can handle the occasional bass.


Last week I went to the river and caught a bunch of stocker rainbows. I kept a limit of 8 for the smoker. I used a Duo Realis Ryuki Spearhead 45S in Ayu OB color ( a small JDM sinking plug similar to a Rapala, but with a better action), or a sowbug trout magnet. The TM caught the most fish, but the Ryuki caught the biggest. I fished the TM on the Limber Tip, and used the Yamaga BC 71TZ/Nano to throw the plug.

The Chattahoochee river is great to fish on these hot days, it is very cold and is nice to sit in the shade and catch trout.

Some beautiful fish there. Been waiting for the report on this rod. Of the high end rods you own how does it rate in bite detection...crispness. I know all these rods are uber sensitive but can you tell a marked difference with the Ever Green? In your opinion does the Limber Tip live up to the reputation it has?


Regards

Hmmm. In my limited experience (compared to yours) it is the most sensitive rod I own, the Tict RP being a close second. With the ester line I was catching dink bream as far as I could cast a wiggler on a 1/32 jig, and the bites had a real jolt - for 4-5 inch pecker-head bream! (I was looking for shellcrackers). When I found the crappie, they were very sluggish and would not thump the jig - I would feel the weight of the fish only. For the trout, it doesn't much matter, because they knock fire from whatever they hit. You could feel those bites using the paddle for a pole.

Maybe I'll haul my boat up to Nickajack when the bream are in the dead lock, and you can try it yourself!

Thanks for a Great report and beautiful fish photos. That big slab was a beast!

Estimated delivery date has been removed from my tracking info. Last update was the 8th.

Hopefully the Eradicator shows up sooner than later.

In everyone’s opinion what is the most sensitive rod for bite detection no matter the cost ul for crappie? Thanks


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