Kastking Calamus UL

[Largemouth21]

Anyone own one? They have a 6 6 foot 2 piece F for only 60$, the specs seem too good to be true...

[NYWayfarer]

I own the 6'6" light version and I love it. Purchased it for Trout fishing but it has been handling Bass and Pickerel as well.

 

It has become one of my favorite rods. If only they sold a one piece medium action version!!

[Largemouth21]

On 5/16/2018 at 9:10 AM, NYWayfarer said:

I own the 6'6" light version and I love it. Purchased it for Trout fishing but it has been handling Bass and Pickerel as well.

 

It has become one of my favorite rods. If only they sold a one piece medium action version!!

What’s the lightest lure you think you could throw on it? I was thinging a size 15 or 20 reel and 10lb braid. 7 foot 2 piece light or ultra light

[Bluebasser86]

They're a very nice looking rod. I'd love to buy one for my 4 year old but I'll have to wait until he gets a little more careful with them before he graduates past the Ugly Stick Lite. 

[NYWayfarer]

15 hours ago, Largemouth21 said:

What’s the lightest lure you think you could throw on it? I was thinging a size 15 or 20 reel and 10lb braid. 7 foot 2 piece light or ultra light

The lightest lure I throw on mine is 1/8 oz. I have a 1000 size reel that I spooled with 4# flouro hybrid line for trout. I now have it spooled with 6# mono for Bass.

 

The Calamus 7' rods are Medium or Medium Heavy only. There is no light or ultra light version in that size.

[Largemouth21]

 

I think I’ll buy one, (6,6 LF) it should be better than my current light rod anyway. I think I should be able to throw even lighter than 1/8 oz with 10 lb braid, (with a leader of course)

and I will pair it with a Daiwa Legalis LT 1000 reel, Daiwa seems to make good stuff...

EDIT: how is the KASTKING warranty and customer service...? Are they okay to deal with

[NYWayfarer]

On 5/24/2018 at 3:30 PM, Largemouth21 said:

 

EDIT: how is the KASTKING warranty and customer service...? Are they okay to deal with

I think the rod has a one year warranty. Customer service is excellent!

[andruha]

Hi folks,

 

New to the site and new to fishing. I've been researching spinning rods and reels that are decent for a beginner. Ugly Stik came up as an obvious choice but then I came across the new KastKing Calamus rod. Seems like a very good rod for the money and I'm considering a 7' M option, hoping to use something like a 8lbs mono line on it for some bank fishing in lakes and ponds in Northern NJ, where I live. There seems to be plenty of bass fishing spots in my area.

 

What would be a good reel for this type of rod? I've read people are putting 1000 and 2000 on these. What confuses me is that the 7' M is rated for a 8-12lbs mono line. When I look at something like a Pflueger President, I would have to go up to PRESSP40X to match that rating. That seems like a huge reel for a UL rod like this.

 

Any suggestion for this noob would be much appreciated

 

p.s. Sorry to hijack the thread but it looks like Largemouth21 got his answer and my question seemed relevant for this conversation.

 

[NYWayfarer]

5 hours ago, andruha said:

Hi folks,

 

New to the site and new to fishing. I've been researching spinning rods and reels that are decent for a beginner. Ugly Stik came up as an obvious choice but then I came across the new KastKing Calamus rod. Seems like a very good rod for the money and I'm considering a 7' M option, hoping to use something like a 8lbs mono line on it for some bank fishing in lakes and ponds in Northern NJ, where I live. There seems to be plenty of bass fishing spots in my area.

 

What would be a good reel for this type of rod? I've read people are putting 1000 and 2000 on these. What confuses me is that the 7' M is rated for a 8-12lbs mono line. When I look at something like a Pflueger President, I would have to go up to PRESSP40X to match that rating. That seems like a huge reel for a UL rod like this.

 

Any suggestion for this noob would be much appreciated

 

p.s. Sorry to hijack the thread but it looks like Largemouth21 got his answer and my question seemed relevant for this conversation.

 

I would pair the 7’ medium version with a size 2000 reel. The medium rods are ultra light in weight not action.They are literally feather light so a smaller reel balances well with them. I would   spool the 2000 reel with 8# line.

On 5/24/2018 at 1:53 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

They're a very nice looking rod. I'd love to buy one for my 4 year old but I'll have to wait until he gets a little more careful with them before he graduates past the Ugly Stick Lite. 

After having this rod since April I can vouch for its toughness. I have dropped mine in the rocks, snagged it multiple times bank fishing both on trees and submerged cover and it is still going strong. It’s Ugly Stick tough. 

 

I think it it would be safe to get him one.

[islandbass]

On 6/22/2018 at 1:02 PM, andruha said:

Hi folks,

 

New to the site and new to fishing. I've been researching spinning rods and reels that are decent for a beginner. Ugly Stik came up as an obvious choice but then I came across the new KastKing Calamus rod. Seems like a very good rod for the money and I'm considering a 7' M option, hoping to use something like a 8lbs mono line on it for some bank fishing in lakes and ponds in Northern NJ, where I live. There seems to be plenty of bass fishing spots in my area.

 

What would be a good reel for this type of rod? I've read people are putting 1000 and 2000 on these. What confuses me is that the 7' M is rated for a 8-12lbs mono line. When I look at something like a Pflueger President, I would have to go up to PRESSP40X to match that rating. That seems like a huge reel for a UL rod like this.

 

Any suggestion for this noob would be much appreciated

 

p.s. Sorry to hijack the thread but it looks like Largemouth21 got his answer and my question seemed relevant for this conversation.

 

Welcome. I second a 2000 at least but I’d personally go with a 2500 sized reel. 

 

One last thing... The line rating for a rod is not the same as the “line rating for a reel”. It just tells you how much line the reel will hold given the line strength. For example, if it says on a 2500 reel 6# 200yds, 8# 175 yds, 10# 150 yards, it is simply telling you how line it will hold and not that you could not put 4# or 12# test on the reel. You could. It would hold more than 200 yds if 4# and less than 150 yds of 12# test. 

 

For a 2500 sized reel, going up to 12# mono, it might get unruly and I wouldn’t go more than 10# test with mono. 

 

 

[NYWayfarer]

I just ordered a Lew’s Mach II speed spin size 100 reel for my 6’6” light action Calamus rod. The rod deserves a reel just as tough as it is.

 

 

[d-camarena]

Its a good reel

[andruha]

Thank you so much for everyone's input. This is very helpful.

 

And islandbass, this makes perfect sense. Thanks for that explanation.

[NYWayfarer]

2 hours ago, d-camarena said:

Its a good reel

Thanks.

 

My hope is Kastking will come out with some ultralight reels now that they have an ultralight rod series in the Calamus.

 

I hope they come out with some 500 size reels. Right now the lightest reel they have is a 1500 size Sharky II There size 1000 Kodiaks and Sharky III appear to be larger in size than the Sharky II

[Largemouth21]

15 hours ago, NYWayfarer said:

I just ordered a Lew’s Mach II speed spin size 100 reel for my 6’6” light action Calamus rod. The rod deserves a reel just as tough as it is.

 

 

It’s been around a month since I started the thread and I still have been stalling to buy it. I’m still stuck on whether to get a light action or medium light action. I would most likely be using a 20 size reel (mostly for line capacity as I fish where snags are everywhere) and 10 lb braid. It’s going to be a travel rod so I could be using it for anything. Even thought it’s a moderate fast action, does the light rod give you enough hook setting backbone? Does it feel whippy? Thanks.

[islandbass]

8 minutes ago, Largemouth21 said:

It’s been around a month since I started the thread and I still have been stalling to buy it. I’m still stuck on whether to get a light action or medium light action. I would most likely be using a 20 size reel (mostly for line capacity as I fish where snags are everywhere) and 10 lb braid. It’s going to be a travel rod so I could be using it for anything. Even thought it’s a moderate fast action, does the light rod give you enough hook setting backbone? Does it feel whippy? Thanks.

It all depends on what you want and need the rod to do.  Do you truly want to have a blast fighting whatever species on light tackle, because of the challenge and the thrill? Then go that route. Barring cover, ULs can handle big fish, but it might take a little longer, lol.

 

One thing we bass anglers have, is a perception that whippy translate to weak, including in hook setting potential. That simply cannot be true. It especially isn't if the appropriate hook type is used. In other words we shouldn't be using some thick flipping hook, but a light gauge hook instead.  Also, that same "whippiness" is what's going to keep the big fish from getting away (like I said, barring cover). I've said this a few times - In my neck of the woods, some people battle king salmon on light action rods with as little as 4# test. Kings are bigger and stronger and fight harder than any big bass out, yet they are subdued. No 6-8# bass (barring cover) is going to get away. Nope, no way, no how, except by user error or user negligence (eg, knowingly fishing with damaged line on account of being lazy - I've been guilty but in my defense, I've done this when targeting blue gills and perch. Still no excuse for me, though.

 

Or, do you want this next rig to be more suited to bass fishing with lighter items and line? Then go ML.

 

The final option is the bait monkey option, but you already know the answer to that...Get both!

[NYWayfarer]

24 minutes ago, Largemouth21 said:

It’s been around a month since I started the thread and I still have been stalling to buy it. I’m still stuck on whether to get a light action or medium light action. I would most likely be using a 20 size reel (mostly for line capacity as I fish where snags are everywhere) and 10 lb braid. It’s going to be a travel rod so I could be using it for anything. Even thought it’s a moderate fast action, does the light rod give you enough hook setting backbone? Does it feel whippy? Thanks.

It's whippy for sure. I have been fishing a lot of exposed hook baits (wacky rigs, neko rigs, jighead grubs, etc) so the hook setting has not been an issue for me. I originally bought it for Trout but I have been using it for Bass fishing as well. It has handled LMB's in the 1 pound range just fine. I will eventually get a medium action as well.

[Largemouth21]

34 minutes ago, NYWayfarer said:

It's whippy for sure. I have been fishing a lot of exposed hook baits (wacky rigs, neko rigs, jighead grubs, etc) so the hook setting has not been an issue for me. I originally bought it for Trout but I have been using it for Bass fishing as well. It has handled LMB's in the 1 pound range just fine. I will eventually get a medium action as well.

Would you say it’s even less than moderate fast then? Im not sure if the medium light would cast the spinners and other light lures well but I suppose I might have to just try it.

36 minutes ago, islandbass said:

It all depends on what you want and need the rod to do.  Do you truly want to have a blast fighting whatever species on light tackle, because of the challenge and the thrill? Then go that route. Barring cover, ULs can handle big fish, but it might take a little longer, lol.

 

One thing we bass anglers have, is a perception that whippy translate to weak, including in hook setting potential. That simply cannot be true. It especially isn't if the appropriate hook type is used. In other words we shouldn't be using some thick flipping hook, but a light gauge hook instead.  Also, that same "whippiness" is what's going to keep the big fish from getting away (like I said, barring cover). I've said this a few times - In my neck of the woods, some people battle king salmon on light action rods with as little as 4# test. Kings are bigger and stronger and fight harder than any big bass out, yet they are subdued. No 6-8# bass (barring cover) is going to get away. Nope, no way, no how, except by user error or user negligence (eg, knowingly fishing with damaged line on account of being lazy - I've been guilty but in my defense, I've done this when targeting blue gills and perch. Still no excuse for me, though.

 

Or, do you want this next rig to be more suited to bass fishing with lighter items and line? Then go ML.

 

The final option is the bait monkey option, but you already know the answer to that...Get both!

I do not like casting a rod that flops around after throwing my bait out there and I would not enjoy fishing with it. If I could cast my light lures decently with the ML then that’s what I’ll get. My goal of buying this rod is to be able to cast lighter lures (my MF veritas’ lowest rating is 3/16) and also I need a 2 piece rod to fit in the car. I’m not as worried about the challenge factor that’s just a bonus. 

[islandbass]

Fair enough. There is a rod in the Okuma Celilo Line Up that is a light action rod, and it's 2-piece and 7'. I have one and love this rod but unfortunately, it doesn't fit the bill. If I were to want to fill the niche you mentioned, I too would prefer a medium light rod.  

[Papo21]

Any further updates on this rod? Just ordered the 6’6” Light. I know the specs say 1/8 to 3/8 oz, but was wondering what the lightest weight it will cast with light line, say 4lb. I enjoy throwing very light jigs such and trout magnets, but opted to go with the longer rod because I primarily fish from shore. 

[new2BC4bass]

On 6/25/2018 at 12:51 PM, Largemouth21 said:

It’s been around a month since I started the thread and I still have been stalling to buy it. I’m still stuck on whether to get a light action or medium light action. I would most likely be using a 20 size reel (mostly for line capacity as I fish where snags are everywhere) and 10 lb braid. It’s going to be a travel rod so I could be using it for anything. Even thought it’s a moderate fast action, does the light rod give you enough hook setting backbone? Does it feel whippy? Thanks.

Not singling you out....as you can see several people have used the same wording.  Light, Medium Light, Medium, etc. are not actions.  They are a description of the rod's POWER.  Extra Fast, Fast, Moderate, Med. Fast, etc. are a description of a rod's ACTION.  I even see professionals describing a rod the same way.  They should know the difference and describe a rod accordingly.  You can't buy a rod with a ML action and Fast power.  That doesn't even make sense.   

[Largemouth21]

1 hour ago, new2BC4bass said:

Not singling you out....as you can see several people have used the same wording.  Light, Medium Light, Medium, etc. are not actions.  They are a description of the rod's POWER.  Extra Fast, Fast, Moderate, Med. Fast, etc. are a description of a rod's ACTION.  I even see professionals describing a rod the same way.  They should know the difference and describe a rod accordingly.  You can't buy a rod with a ML action and Fast power.  That doesn't even make sense.   

True true, I am just in the bad habit of saying that... I got an email from KASTKING and they said it was a mistake, they literally thanked me and said they would change it...

6 hours ago, Papo21 said:

Any further updates on this rod? Just ordered the 6’6” Light. I know the specs say 1/8 to 3/8 oz, but was wondering what the lightest weight it will cast with light line, say 4lb. I enjoy throwing very light jigs such and trout magnets, but opted to go with the longer rod because I primarily fish from shore. 

Mine arrived today, I opted for ML and it has plenty of tip and backbone, not at all whippy. I can’t speak for the light one though, but @NYWayfarer has one that he seems to like... Anyway the ML seems adequate for spinners and the like while still having enough tip and backbone for my taste