TackleTour

I normally prefer to do an extensive written review on the rods I test akin to the ones I did on the Major Craft Basspara and Corkish last year.

But this will be short and sweet.

I picked up 3 Teton Trout rods, the split handle 6-6 spinning and baitcasting light models and the full handle 6-0 spinning UL model.

All are 2pc. this review is for the 6-0 UL Full handle spinning rod.

I bought this rod specifically for fishing for jumbo bluegills in my pond at my cabin.

Stats:-
TTS60SUL- 2 pc 6-0 Toray graphite blank UL
lure 1-4gm
line 2-4lb

Guides and tip- Fuji Concept K series KLAG guides with SiC tip

Handle- full cork handle w/ Fuji reel seat

Cork- French Composite ringed cork

Soft rod case included

Price point- 50.00, available on aliexpress, they often run sales with free shipping and a % of total. I purchased this rod for 39.00 with free shipping.

I was in N.C. the last week and a half to install a solar array on my cabin, among other projects. On day 4, I finished my work early and since I was alone, I decided to get in my creek boat and take a shot at some afternoon bluegills. I equipped the Teton with a Tica Cetus 800SB, 3lb Nanofil and I started with a 1/16oz beetlespin rig tipped with a Crappie Slayer body in green/yellow(known as John Deere).

The rod has a moderate action and had no issue casting the light offering 60+ feet, which impressed me. On my second cast, a 10 inch bass walloped the spinner and the rod loaded up. The fish fought a feisty battle and despite the ul power, I didn't feel ill equipped. It was perfect. I repeated that with a total of 5 bass, a blue gill and a crappie. In all, a positive hour on the water and it was good to try my new outfit.

The next evening I got out again for another hour and again I ended up with 5 bass and a few gills. 1 Bass was in the 1.5lb class and the rod handled it very well.

Cosmetically, the rod compares with most of the low to mid range Major Craft rods, they are put together well and are pretty and clean enough featuring winding checks, woven graphite hoods and clean guide wraps. There wasn't any glue slop or misaligned thread around the guide footings. The guides were straight and surprisingly, the spline was correct.

Overall, I hardly fished this rod to do a tried and true review that I normally provide. The next adventure with it will be putting it through the rigors of my Florida river fishing exploits and dropping some pigs into the mix to see if it can handle bigger bass as well as it did the smaller ones.

But my early impressions of the Kuying Teton are positive. For the price, you get a highly capable Japanese quality UL rod assembled in China at more than half off virtually anything you could buy from Major Craft. This rod is killer for trout and bream fishing and should be a blast for mid sized bass as well.

Only downfall was shipping time. It took about 22 days to get to me from order date.


link for photos:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1-9m-Ul ... 57813.html#!

Thank you for taking the time to write it up. Looking forward to your more full report.

Wow. Talk about the product not matching the price point. Judging by the pictures I'd say you did pretty well

Concerning the 2 piece - is there a ferrule mid blank or is it a full blank inserted at the handle like a Major Craft ?

Looking forward to more reviews.

It is a ferrule mid blank typical of lower to mid end Major Crafts and it is just as small and almost unnoticeable. If you read my other reviews, part of them was my amazement about how much technology allowed for such small and unobtrusive ferrules that "Were not my Daddy's 2pc rods" which were big and clunky and loosened up often. I think this could be a 100.00 rod and would easily be if it was assembled in Japan.

Even the Majorcraft rods are assembled in China, correct? I know Megabass rods are. Tetons are really good UL rods for the money. I would consider the 662L to be a an UL rod as well given it's 2-10 gram rating and the way it loads. It's much more similar to an UL spinning rod than an L BFS rod yet has much more backbone than any UL spinning rod I've gotten my hands on in store. I've had my Teton 662L for over a full season an have a number of BFS reels on it to test their ability to cast UL baits and have found that the rod excels at 1/8 oz total package weight and is preferred for 3-7 grams use. I've coaught plenty of fish with it too but nothing too big. A big gill on a popper is a blast with the rod. I've currently got a Black Max 3 with BFS DIY spool on the rod as part of a quest to build an ultra budget UL casting rig. I have no complaints about the rod other than the grip material gets dirty easily but it doesn't show dirt very well either. They're filthy in the pics below.

LowRange wrote: I have no complaints about the rod other than the grip material gets dirty easily but it doesn't show dirt very well either. They're filthy in the pics below.

I ran out of U-40 cork seal and found this stuff at a shoe store. Works nice on real and synthetic cork. The catch is it's very thick, not watery like U-40. You'll want to dilute it first or it will leave a thick hazy film which is easily peeled off with no damage to the cork if it happens.

I poured a bit into a clean glass jar and diluted it with water to thin it. (I capped the jar and shook it vigorously to mix it thoroughly) ... I then applied 2 extremely thin coats, letting the first coat dry before applying the second one. The only thing I would advise is to not use the brush that comes in the cap as it's pretty stiff, instead steal one of your wife's soft makeup brushes to apply it to the cork, it works much better.

Thanks for the post! Got me interested in the Super Lite with solid tip

Thanks for the review! I have the casting version and it's definitely a fun rod to mess around with. Did you find it to be a bit on the noodley side?

It is definitely a bit more moderate in action than I normally prefer but it isn't a total buggy whip either. For trout, panfish and light bass, it is fine flicking spinners and light jigs. I like it more than a couple of other comparable action, but much more expensive rods.

Yup, I hear ya. I was thinking the action was quite a bit slower than I usually fish too but I find the moderate action actually helped when flicking very tiny lures on a casting setup.

I have a Teton UL casting rod as well and am also liking it.

It balances well with a PX68 and with 4lb mono, it will cast a 1/16oz inline spinner further than my thumb can control it. Stepping up to 6lb mono and a 1/8oz inline, I can zip them as far as my 7' UL spinning rod could with a bit more accuracy. I did find it a bit soft for small jigs and plastics, but for spinners and small cranks it is quite fun to fish with and makes large white perch an absolute blast to fight in.

Tetons are trout rods and are not BFS rods. They will seem noodly when compared to UL BFS rods and UL BFS rods will be stiff broom handles not worthy of their rating and unfit for true UL work when targeting non-bass. You must know what side of the spectrum you desire to be. In rare instances you can be both at the same time (Jackson Super Trickster STC-63UL for example ) but there are FAR and few between and they are not without compromise.

I yearn for a STC-63UL with every fiber of my being, but there isnt enough fiber to get me to spend $300 on a used rod. I think I am going to have to look to getting a custom to find the BFS rod of my dreams.

Houndfish wrote:I yearn for a STC-63UL with every fiber of my being, but there isnt enough fiber to get me to spend $300 on a used rod. I think I am going to have to look to getting a custom to find the BFS rod of my dreams.

Look into Major Craft, there are plenty of BFS Corzzas and Go Emotions around at under 120.00.

earthworm77 wrote:

Houndfish wrote:I yearn for a STC-63UL with every fiber of my being, but there isnt enough fiber to get me to spend $300 on a used rod. I think I am going to have to look to getting a custom to find the BFS rod of my dreams.

Look into Major Craft, there are plenty of BFS Corzzas and Go Emotions around at under 120.00.

I have a pair of MC rods and like them a good but, but both of them are more "regular" then I would like. I would love to try a light power but still fast tip rod. I have a spinning rod on a CS722-MHX blank that I love for most finesse techniques, I would love to try it as a casting rod.