bulldog1935

@waymont The one Japan vendor that seems to have a line on Valleyhill rods and generously discounts them is fishingshop,kiwi Note their shipping charge is $40-50. The Valleyhill website google-translates well enough if you want to read about rod models. Amazon.jp is another place to find good prices and great shipping (DHL is only a $5 upgrade)

@zpelletier Thanks - at least part of that is my primary fishing is inshore and kayak. We overlap tackle, and while bass fishing is a secondary target for me, I'm closer to a smallmouth fisherman there - reservoir fishing isn't high on my list, though I grew up there with my dad. The Japanese fish the way I like, and I've kept up with their rods for a couple of decades.

Similar to the way cork quality varies, the quality of EVA varies - you can especially feel this difference in handle knobs. EVA is definitely the lightest. High-grade cork is lighter than low-grade cork, because of all the resin needed to fill the holes in low-grade cork. Because of the holes, low-grade cork will eventually chip and crack. Some people put Winn grips at the top of their list - the opinion pendulum swings to both extremes. It's fair to say Winn grips are the least durable of the three, in spite of anecdotal praise. Took this photo because the butt-cap shows a 1914 date mark for FE Thomas, and this is high-grade cork after 100 years). Hopefully, you buy the rod because of the blank and how it fits in your niche. This finesse example, 8' and weighs a shocking-light 73 g

Valleyhill - Ti-frame SiC guides (Fuji + seats), great blanks, light in hand - with good Japan shopping, $200 and change. This is actually a China brand that aims at Japan market and has to try harder. Another brand they market to Japan is Whiplash Factory. Another company in the same market niche that out-finishes their price range is Seoul-based Black Hole.

no offense, but matching different braking systems to specific niches is how you set up reels that never need additional adjustments. Just about every casting brake system out there has a weight range and line match where it's flawless, gives the best distance, reliability (e.g. wind, skipping), accuracy, etc. If you're on a learning curve, working one system over is a good idea. If you want to fish from 3 g to 2 ounces, you need different reels with different braking systems.

Hey, I've been trying to teach my dad to fish since I was 12. He does all right in spite of me. Two birthday trips - 78 and 90.

Fishing will always be personal time, a personal exploration - stepping away from from what others try to teach you into your own niche is what takes it to the next level. Being tough to mentor can be a good thing.

I've caught a few bass and more than a few spring white bass trolling a fly rod with Teeny line and cats whisker behind a 14' semi-vee. (could car-top the boat and bring a battery and trolling motor). Especially useful when the reservoirs are over-full, and no wading water in miles of deep river arm. Here's a different kind of trolling with a fly rod and Teeny line. Our hill country rivers begin as limestone spring creeks in the escarpment between the southern end of the Great Plains and the coastal plain. The stepped strata creates chutes and deep plunge pools. In moderate to high flow, also generally in summer heat, river bass stack in the deep protected water below the chute - where you find them, it's fish in a barrel - the trick is knowing how to get down there. You stand at the top of a chute and troll the current seams - slow creeping retrieve, and gently moving the rod tip between current seams. The 250 cfs is pretty stout flow for this water, and I'm fishing a T200 on a 7' SB-469 cane spin/fly converted to full-time fly rod - people who know want these 7-wt fly rods for redfish. My dad was with me this day, we busted and waded down about a mile, and I only fished the series of 5 or 6 chutes down and back up. My dad counted 200 bass that I released. Short leader, 4-1/2', and up to 18" tippet. I don't go finer than 3x tippet on Teeny line. Here, I'm 20 miles downriver, August heat, and doing the same thing in another favorite chute for KT Diaries. Lower flow and T130 sinking line. btw, this is the same way Hemingway fished soggy silk line and wet flies.

A good friend who's been out of the loop for awhile with extreme personal business thought about me. He had to settle his dad's estate - the cool outcome, he brought home his dad's cherry Model A, and has since become the Program VP for the local car club. Here are the photos that will interest most. He established his hobby business restoring antique bicycles, partly because his real job with heavy equipment mfg included traveling with a trade show van. Every town he visited, he previewed craigslist and made appointments to view and buy bicycles that interested him, which he restored and turned - his wife wouldn't let him keep them all... Also in this tough time, his grown son across the country got into legal trouble. My friend sold $8000 from his bike collection to help, including a 1939 Umberto Dei condorino (Mussolini-era Italian city bike). But through that carnage, he held out this '85 Mercian - we never talked about it - he just knew I would want it. I picked it up last weekend, and got to see the A-model - earlier photos I took when he brought it out. And since I'm showing, here are the photos I took before of the stunning Dei, well-received by its new owner in California. He still has more than a few bikes, including his favorite Gloria and Team 7Eleven that rode in TdF.

l to r, 3-mm spool 120 m 27-lb braid; 5 mm spool 300 m 35-lb braid; 5 mm spool 200 m 35-lb braid 19-lb leader on the left, 30-lb leader on both surf reels and for all the pontiffs, they're essentially backlash-proof Catching big fish on light tackle. If you don't do anything to frighten the fish early, but simply confuse them, they wind themselves before you put the pressure on, and you can land them quickly. I released this 25" rainbow hen, and 2 weeks later she was caught by a guide's fare and is the current state record. (miles away, I released a buck 2" longer than her). Judging by the results of their photo session, I suspect they killed her.

Close, you set the drag to 1/4 of the weakest link, leader or line test, or rod max line rating. I use a spring balance at the first guide (closest to the reel). The reason for this is both shock-loading and rod leverage can add back the 4x If 10-lbs is your weakest link, the drag set should be 2-1/2 lbs (one-fourth of 6 lbs = 1-1/2 lbs, etc) btw, when I was 19, I landed a 6-1/2-lb largemouth on a jitterbug and Daiwa Minicast. My dad was going crazy while I played the fish - GET IT IN THE BOAT - but she had to wind a bit before I could lip her. Her size belied her weight - she was lean from guarding her nest.

All else being equal, every 20% increase in rod length doubles cast distance (simple ballistics). You will definitely notice a difference between 7'6" and 8' Over a decade, I've added rockfish rods for salt finesse, 7'6", 7'9", 8', 8'3" There is a noted distance advantage in each 3" step, whether it's crossing a tide pass or reaching fish sign past the dock lights (or casting to the next dock light). Especially with bank fishing, longer rods help you keep the lure lifted in shallower water. I also fish steelhead rods up to 9', both from the beach and inshore - same physics rules apply. here, whoever gets farther away from the boat catches more fish (hull slap). The longer rod helps you work the lure (neutral density jerkbait) at that distance. If you're fishing a weighted lure, the rod length helps you keep it above the grass.

not only that, he can carry 800 yds of his 2-lb braid.

limp = leader If you want limp fluorocarbon, buy Blue or Gold in leader spools, and pick it by diameter. Adding a ps for @ATA - Gold leader is notably harder and more abrasion-resistant than Blue. I fished through a couple of 12-lb bulk spools in Abrazx for salt, and it was go-to line for me - before braid.

@Big Hands @Bass_Fishing_Socal I'm too, let's call it empirical, to not know, and to settle for "about" anything. I love those multi-colored X-braids, because you can count off every 10-m while you're loading them (plus they have black marks every 1-m). They're also neat that you can look at the color of your spool and read your cast distance. or how much line you have out One reason you want to be careful topping spools is being able to remove them. I swap spools around (a couple of Daiwa 34 mm reels with even more spools). But you also need to get inside for maintenance, especially if you're oiling unshielded spool bearings.

I hope this thing is on. There are better reel choices than Lew's for light braid and light lures, simply because they either come with BFS spool, or good aftermarket BFS spool choices are made for them. You'll hear much praise for Curado BFS, etc. Good Revo options, which is essentially Lew's design. got an old Ambassadeur? - the microcast parts are out there. The reason I went from Lew's (after 35 years) to Daiwa is this exact reason. No spool options are made for Lew's. With this spool, no problem fishing small braid, no problem casting 1/16 oz (to 130', even). I just walked a friend through a new Daiwa Tatula 100, because the Momo honeycomb SV spool to match it still has online stock.

My deep spool Super Duty G (LFS) is loaded halfway with 20 yds 20-lb Ultragreen mono; good Allbright knot that will pass through the line guide; topped with 120 yds 20-lb Sufix 832. A serious casting and fishing champ, released 16 redfish this size in a few hours a year ago tomorrow. here's the line-stacking calculator: https://www.pattayafishing.net/advanced-fishing-reel-line-capacity-estimator/

I still have a shared niche reel between two rods, and will eventually add one for me. salt finesse bass finesse (ooh, sorry about the green tint in this photo)

The king of these looks like it will be the Silver Wolf, due in June. https://japantackle.com/casting-reels/daiwa/low-profile-casting-reels/reg0000324.html adding a ps here - I fish PE #1.2 (Resin Sheller) on my braid-raced 4600C3, and PE#0.8 (Duel X-wire) on my braid-raced 1500C. I do note slight line dig when I'm setting drag on both reels, but no problems with it while fishing, and never a line dig problem with PE#1.2 (X-wire) on my salt ML with braid-raced Zillion. Since I already referenced Jun Sonada at JapanTackle, he recommends PE#1.0 hard shell as the smallest braid to use on a baitcaster to avoid line dig. Note the Silver Wolf is made for down to PE#0.4 - equivalent diameter is 4-lb braid in Sufix 832 @cyclops2 - about that 75 years ago thing - 75 years ago, braid and mono were the same diameter for the same test.

ok, since I already exposed it here, the rod for my braid-raced 4600C3 My new Smith Super Striker handle - best price on this by far is Amazon.jp - they remove the JDM tax, which happens to be slightly more than DHL Express shipping (only $5 more than standard JP EMS post). Asian Portal has stock of 4 different blades, 3 glass and one carbon, and prices less than half of the ebay hoarders. I picked the FO-56 Top Water Light for my primary application linked above, and will probably go back later for the 6' big-lure-weight carbon blade.

ok, I have a soft tip rod for you. All along, the goal for my braid-raced 4600C3 was a light frogger from kaykak in small water like this. First application I had on hand was this Falcon glass rod, Just under 6', though with long handle, the blade length is 4-3/4'. Rated 1/4 to 1/2 oz, I would call the Falcon rod a fast para - it does not have a soft tip, rather the flex is in the mid. Smith with their Super Striker made no bones about copying Champion handle that matched with Fenwick bass rod blades 50 years ago. Nice, though, they made it magnesium. It places the spool of your big round reel in the same thumb spot as a low-profile reel on straight handle. I hemmed and hawed over the available Smith blades, and finally decided on the Top Water Light, nice wide range 5 to 14 g (1/2 oz), and said to be optimized for 12-14 g. (hard to read, this was a tough photo to get). The blade length is 4-3/4' Comparing rod curves on Smith website, https://www.smith.jp/superstrike/curve.html The FO-56 is the exact mid and butt taper of their WS-51MM deep crankbait blade (rated 7 - 24 g), but with an added 5" of softer tip. Casting notes on this soft-tip rod with 1/2 oz (my target). The Smith feels less tippy than the Falcon Glass with a half-ounce, it doesn't flex near as deep. Casting off the tip, it's a close-in scalpel with the half ounce, overall gives more distance than I could ever need, and skips the half-ounce like a champ (reverse spiral cast) - much easier than when I tried skipping a half-ounce on the Falcon Glass (para). The fast mid of the Smith is also going to strike better than the Falcon - even with the soft tip of the Smith. _____________________________________ The best definition of a soft tip rod is that it adds a light-lure range to an otherwise fast taper. This is where new solid-tip tapers are heading, and the Japanese are way ahead on this curve. But if you want to give it a name, it's a progressive or super-progressive taper, the opposite of a para taper.

complete and total absence of line memory lower mass/inertia on b/c spool farther casting with everything

That's much better than using a hardware store screw. Next to impossible to find a truss head on a metric screw here. It's probably a 2 mm or 2.5 mm screw, aluminum alloy, and standard lengths for Shimano frame screws are 5 mm, 6 mm, and 8 mm. It would be cheap enough to buy a gang of different stainless panheads to find the right screw thread and length from Bolt Depot ($0.08 ea), but you wouldn't get the correct screw head, and would have to use a washer. This is mainly why I didn't chime-in to make the suggestion.

I set my drag with a spring scale, always at the first guide, and usually limited by (1/4 of) the rod max line rating, so to 2-1/2 lbs on this rod. But even my ML and MM rods are set to 3 lbs drag. The plug was one size smaller than this one (38 mm), with size 8 barbless single plug hooks, and came undone in the net. Laid them on the dock table and took a quick photo of the 18-inch snook before I released it - he's close to hopping off there - I just drop my camera on lanyard and get him back in the water quickly. The 45 mm plug above took my first BFS redfish the month before, a 14" rat - he was solid on he size 6 barbed hook. There's really not much drama involved - both fish take good drag, and the first 3' of the 8' rod move around frantically, but the butt section has good power and control. Looking forward to one of these with shoulders on the rig.

Stazo flex jig I'm still fishing a cache of these from the '90s, have an ebay search set up, and buy a few more now and then when they turn up.