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Thread: JDM rods relating to Panfish

  1. #1
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    Default JDM rods relating to Panfish


    The Japanese build UL rods for a certain specie of fish. They don’t just build a UL rod that covers all bases.


    1. Area Trout (usually labelled 'Area' = stocked trout ponds and they tend to be through action and really light - they are usually designed for straight retrieves with tiny spoons and crank baits on very light mono or fluorcarbon. Major Craft Rods of this sort tend to be stiffer than usual. We would use these for lakes and they make an excellent bluegill rod as well as for crappie.
    2. River trout (labelled or described as 'Stream' or 'River' somewhere in the blurb) - this method uses minnow baits that are aggressively twitched so a med-fast action is the norm here. If you do UL jerk baiting or fish poppers / dog walking baits these are sometimes a better option. These rods will also make and excellent Gill rod.
    3. Bass UL - these are normally designed for finesse plastics - drop shot / shaking / wacky or whatever - normally bass style stiff butt with fast, but softer tips.
    4. LRF or 'Light Rock Fishing' which is a salt water discipline but involves fishing small plastics for the most part - if you fish a lot of tiny jigs then I would suggest a light LRF rod and 2-3lb flurocarbon. They are longer (6'8" to 7'6" mostly) and provide incredible casting and bite detection - some use solid graphite tips. They are quite short and fast tapered and improve sensitivity, especially on the drop, for bites on 1-2g (1/64-1/24) jig heads. LRF rods come in two types..Ajing and Mebaru. Ajing are used to catch tiny horse mackerel and one needs a very sensitive rod just to feel the bite. Mebaru are different types of salt water rock fish that can get to over 11 inches and are much bigger than the Aji..or horse mackerel. Mebaru rods are excellent for crappie and Gills. Ajing rods are great for Gills but probably really too fast for crappie.




    Just because it is a JDM rod it does not mean it is made in Japan. It means it is made for the Japanese Domestic Market. Many of the rods…including the high end ones….could be made in China or Vietnam but they are all made with Japanese components and made to fulfill Japanese quality standards. All of my rods I own have Fuji guide frames…Fuji inserts…..Japanese blanks…and Fuji handles. The only Megabass rod I own does not say where it is made but I know it was made in China with all Japanese components and less someone thinks these rods are the same as the rods made in China for US domestic market one would be wise to think again. The Megabass Shoreluck Limited I have looks…and handles….like it was made by a master custom rod builder. All of my JDM rods I have are of excellent fit and finish.


    Now for my list of rods and how I have used them.
    1. Major Craft 6’ 5” Truzer Ajing TZS H. the H stands for hard. This rod is rated for 2-6 pound test and is very stiff. It feels like a broom handle when you hold it….but get a fish on and it goes into a very nice curve. This rod is an extremely versatile rod. You could have fun with Gills but string it with some 6# test and you have a rod that can handle large mouth….Smallies….and this is my rod of choice for white bass. Not good at all for crappie. This rod has a solid tip and is made for casting micro plastics…but can very easily handle UL crank baits. This is high end rod…a thing of beauty also. Lure rating is 1/50-1/3 ounce. Guide frames are Fuji titanium…..guide inserts are Fuji Torzite.


    2. Major Craft Volkey 6’ 8” Super Finesse Solid Tip L. It is made as a bass drop shot rod. I use it to drop shot for Gills…cast for Spotted bass…..cast for Smallies. It is a medium end rod. The line rating is 2-6 pound test. The lure rating is an amazing 1/64 through 1/4 ounce. Guide frames are Fuji stainless and inserts are Fuji SIC. This rod is great for about any specie you want to catch with an UL rod. A lot of rod for the money….a medium end rod.


    3. Yamaga Blanks Blue Current 6’ 5” Jig Head Special TZ with a tubular tip. great for Gills…..bass….trout. Line rating is 1-3 pound test and lure rating is 1/100 through 1/6 ounce. Great for throwing UL cranks…micro plastics. This rod only weighs 2 ounces…is made on a 50 ton Toray Blank and sensitivity is off the charts. It is made in Japan and is great for Gills. Guide frames are Fuji titanium and inserts are Fuji Torzite. A high end rod.


    4. Major Craft SkyRoad Ajing 7’ 4”. I bought this for trout fishing….and Gills…crappie and it is a great rod at a not so expensive price. Guide frames are Fuji stainless and inserts are Fuji SIC. Line rating is 1-5 pound test and lure rating is 1/100-1/6 ounce. Great for light plastics. Medium end rod.


    5. Megabass Shoreluck Limited 6’ 8” S…meaning solid tip. This is a beautiful rod that looks so good I at first did not want to use it. It is rated for 1-3 pound test line….lure rating is 1/50 through 1/4 ounce. The guide frames are Fuji titanium and inserts are Fuji Torzite. Great for Gills…Smallies…..too stiff for crappie…IMHO. A high end rod and a work of art.


    6. Daiwa Gekkabijin MX Ajing 7’ 1” solid tip. It is rated for 1.5 through 3 pound test line. Great for casting UL cranks or vertical jigging for Gills….Smallies. Guide frames are Fuji titanium with inserts being Fuji SIC. A medium end rod.


    7. Tict Ice Cube Rockin’ Drift 6’ 9” TOR Mebaru rod. It is great for crappie….Gills. The action on this rod is more like the parabolic action we see on many of our UL rods here. Great for casting micro plastics. Sensitivity is unbelievable. This is a two piece rod…as are all of my JDM rods…but the whole upper section of this rod is solid graphite. When I say solid I mean it is not tubular. The tip of this rod can be pulled down to form the rod into a U shape. I am not going to do it but have seen videos of it being done by hand. I have had it bent like that with a 21 inch Smallie though. This is my go to rod for Gills and crappie. The action of this rod is great for crappie and also great for shooting docks. The guide frames are Fuji titanium and inserts are Fuji Torzite. Line rating is .8 through 3 pound test. Lure rating is an amazing 1/250 through 1/6 of an ounce. This is a very expensive rod….the most expensive one I have bought. I am giving one of these to my buddy that rigged my new boat out. I have put it through it’s paces. Have landed over a thousand Gills….crappie…with this rod using 2# test line. But I have also landed Smallies in the 4 pound range. It is simply an amazing piece of technology.


    The tips on the rods that are made of solid graphite are only 7/10 of a millimeter in diameter. All of the rods I have listed here have micro guides. You look at them and you think they will break very easily…that is not the case…I would be careful with them but they can handle any fish you hook up with. I would never exceed the line rating though. All of these rods are far more sensitive than UL rods sold here. Of course the higher the price on the rod the better the blank is going to be. The Japanese can be very secretive about talking about their blanks. All I know is even on their medium lineup of rods the blanks are high quality….get to the high end and you have something in your hand you find unbelievable. I am not advocating anyone to go out and purchase these rods. They can get expensive…but 180 bucks can get you a high quality rod with great components and actions unlike you will find on the shelves here. There is a warranty on them but sending it back to Japan and having it sent back to you is just not feasible. The companies I have dealt with are Plat…JPAngler….Digitaka. They are all well respected Japanese web sites and a use PayPal. I have never had to pay any customs on a two piece rod…a one piece is a different story. If you order one and pay through PayPal and the package arrives damaged…do not accept…you will get your money back. But the companies I have dealt with pack these things to survive anything. Once again these are my experiences with JDM rods. One certainly does not need these to catch fish. But if you ever fish with one of these you will find you will not want to use anything else. JDM UL rods have caught on all over the world but not so much in the USA. I don’t know why that is. If you check around with some of your serious bass buddies you will find many of them use JDM bass rods. I have probably left out a lot of info but in trying to sell a house…and close on new one…have been very busy….plus getting out to play a little with the new boat. So if you have any questions just ask and I will do my best to answer.


    Regards





  2. #2
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    Thanks Alphahawk. Very well written article and it helped me a lot trying to guess the action. Hard to buy something and not feel it in my hands , especially an expensive rod. I like the sound of the Tict Ice Cube and will be getting one soon. Hope you get settled and enjoy the new boat. Maybe a mod can sticky this and start a section on rods. Thanks for the rewrite, bet that was frustrating.
    Life is Good !
    2018 Kentucky & Tennessee Crappie Masters State Champs!
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alphahawk View Post
    JDM UL rods have caught on all over the world but not so much in the USA. I don’t know why that is.
    Two reasons, IMO:

    1) Price - Foreign tackle tends to be expensive, and most won't pay the higher prices. Fly fishermen will mortgage their homes to buy a new rod. To a lesser extent, so will many bass guys. For everybody else ... not so much.

    2) It's too "foreign". For example, the Europeans are the best float fishermen in the world. They have a float for every possible condition and make the floats sold in the US look like kids' toys. But ... they look different and have funny names like "waggler", so almost nobody fishes with them. Go figure.

    That being said, thanks for the excellent write up.
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  4. #4
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    Thank you for taking the time to write this post. This is exactly the info I was hoping to find out. I really appreciate you doing this.
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by deathb4disco View Post
    Two reasons, IMO:

    1) Price - Foreign tackle tends to be expensive, and most won't pay the higher prices. Fly fishermen will mortgage their homes to buy a new rod. To a lesser extent, so will many bass guys. For everybody else ... not so much.

    2) It's too "foreign". For example, the Europeans are the best float fishermen in the world. They have a float for every possible condition and make the floats sold in the US look like kids' toys. But ... they look different and have funny names like "waggler", so almost nobody fishes with them. Go figure.

    That being said, thanks for the excellent write up.
    You are correct. I guess the question should be "Why are there not more avid UL anglers in the states"? I know for those of us that are enthusiast of UL angling have to look else where for top notch gear....such as the floats. Oh well.....such is life...LOL.



    Regards
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  6. #6
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    Will try to get pics posted of the rods I mentioned. Here is a link that shows the Tict Ice Cube and what kind of bend it can give you. The Tict Ice Cube starts at about at 9:30 in the video. Now the video is in Japanese but it will show the action of a rod that is comprised of a little over 99 percent graphite....which I think is impressive.


    ギアステーションギアコレクション〠ŽTICT ライトソルト用最新アイテãƒ*〠富永敦ã•ã‚“ | 釣りビジョン動画 | 釣りビジョン


    Regards
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  7. #7
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    Awesome write up - very informative!
    Lot to be said for the JDM ultra light market.
    Thnx for sharing

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    Thanks Alphahawk..very interesting and food for thought..I do UL a lot 5

  9. #9
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    Hey alpha didn't see your write up on here just haven't been on here a whole lot... Thanks for the wealth of knowledge... I've been trout fishing with a 7ft st croix trout series (light action). Which I like a whole lot. I guess my biggest worry is getting something that's really whippy but I'm assuming every rod you talked about is semi stuff until a fish puts a bend in it... For reference comparing the tict ice cube rod vs 6'8" ul fenwick river runner... Is the tict ice cube rod got a slightly stiffer feel or? Is it kind of hard to describe how different it is to the river runner?

  10. #10
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    The Tict Ice Cube is unlike any JDM rod I own....and I own far too many. It is a Mebaru rod and not Ajing....Ajing rods are pretty stiff compared to our UL rods. The Tict is...as I mentioned is a Mebaru rod. But it is unlike any other Mebaru rod in the fact it has an upper section that is solid graphite. Hard to compare it to the River Runner but it is not a stiff rod. I know I don't miss anything with this Tict Ice Cube. It is an expensive rod...and I am not made of money......but if it breaks tomorrow I will instantly order another one from Japan. Tict is a major player in the Ajing and Mebaru line of rods in Japan.....very well made. You really can't compare any high end JDM UL rod to anything you get here in the states....or for that matter their low and medium end are much different than what we have.


    Regards

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