What is your finesse casting rod?

[njbasscat]

After a couple seasons of use, I still love my Super Eiger. Pure pleasure to fish with. For baits in the light range, I like the NRX 852. Both have Alphas SV's on them.

[Houndfish]

I spent the weekend reading this thread, lots of good info in here, but I still have some questions I would love some thoughts on.

Right now my finesse casting combo is a PX68 with BFS Air bearings and a DYI spool. I have it mounted on a PHX-C682. With it I can cast a true 1/8oz lure (4' Zoom worm w/hook) a good distance but the road needs a lot of force to load and I cannot make short, accurate casts. Anything lighter is a no go at all. The use I envision for my BFS combo is to throw micro (1/16-1/8th) cranks and inline spinners for white perch out of my kayak and to throw soft plastics (4" worms, 3" senkos, and Ned Rigs) when wading small rivers for SMBs and panfish. In addition to a lighter rod, I am looking for one that is shorter, in the 6' to 6'5" range, with the desire to be closer to the 6' side.

My original plan was to have a custom rod made up on a CS721-MHX blank. I have a no-frills spinning rod made on the next blank up I use for finesse spinning and love it. It loads well at the low end of it'r range so I would think the lighter blank would as well. Based on my spinning rod, I suspect I could get the same guy to make me one up for around $150-200. While I like the idea of a super short rod, I would rather spend a smaller amount to test the theory and if I do end up liking it, I could sell it and have a nicer one made on a better blank.

However, with the Yen/USD exchange rate being what it is, I am also looking at the various JDM rods, but am having a lot of trouble getting clear info about them. I am specifically looking at the Major Craft rods, as there are a lot of L or UL options on ebay around my price point, including shipping. I have a ML Go Emotion and a UL Trapara and I like both of them, but both were more or less bought blind and I am still not sure about the differences across their product lines, many of which have rods with similar or the same ratings.

I would any insight, suggestions, or criticisms.

[LowRange]

I spent the weekend reading this thread, lots of good info in here, but I still have some questions I would love some thoughts on.

Right now my finesse casting combo is a PX68 with BFS Air bearings and a DYI spool. I have it mounted on a PHX-C682. With it I can cast a true 1/8oz lure (4' Zoom worm w/hook) a good distance but the road needs a lot of force to load and I cannot make short, accurate casts. Anything lighter is a no go at all. The use I envision for my BFS combo is to throw micro (1/16-1/8th) cranks and inline spinners for white perch out of my kayak and to throw soft plastics (4" worms, 3" senkos, and Ned Rigs) when wading small rivers for SMBs and panfish. In addition to a lighter rod, I am looking for one that is shorter, in the 6' to 6'5" range, with the desire to be closer to the 6' side.

My original plan was to have a custom rod made up on a CS721-MHX blank. I have a no-frills spinning rod made on the next blank up I use for finesse spinning and love it. It loads well at the low end of it'r range so I would think the lighter blank would as well. Based on my spinning rod, I suspect I could get the same guy to make me one up for around $150-200. While I like the idea of a super short rod, I would rather spend a smaller amount to test the theory and if I do end up liking it, I could sell it and have a nicer one made on a better blank.

However, with the Yen/USD exchange rate being what it is, I am also looking at the various JDM rods, but am having a lot of trouble getting clear info about them. I am specifically looking at the Major Craft rods, as there are a lot of L or UL options on ebay around my price point, including shipping. I have a ML Go Emotion and a UL Trapara and I like both of them, but both were more or less bought blind and I am still not sure about the differences across their product lines, many of which have rods with similar or the same ratings.

I would any insight, suggestions, or criticisms.

If your goal is to cast below 1/8 ounce and intend to purchase a Majorcraft rod, I'd recommend an UL powered over an L. The L powered Majorcraft rods are rated down to 1/16 ounce but that's a bogus rating. 1/8 ounce total seems to be their comfortable low limit for casting distance. The shipping fees ob once piece rods can be a $100 or more which can make importing a budget BFS rod cost prohibitive.

Honestly, if you're looking to target panfish and perch along with the bass tossing micro cranks I'd look at a trout rod instead of a BFS rod to save some coin. I HIGHLY recommend the Kuying Teton 662L and it is very cheap as well at $53. I use mine to toss 3-5 gram hardbaits and 1/16 ounce lead heads targeting bass in small state parks but regularly catch panfish on it as well. The rod doesn't have much backbone and is ill suited to use around cover but is ideal for tossing very small cranks and jigs targeting a variety of species.

Here's a link to Kuying's Aliexpress store. There are also two UL models, a 6'3'' and 6''.

https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?ca ... ying+teton

As a higher end option there is the Majorcraft Finetail and it comes in a once piece option as well.

http://www.majorcraft.co.jp/catalogue/p ... ode=id/201

[Houndfish]

Thanks for all that info!

I had been eyeing the Kuying Teton as it seemed like a good low cost option to see if I really want an UL casting rod and the price is low enough to take a chance on one. I stuck my PX68 on one of my UL spinning rods and it seemed to cast tiny spinners pretty well, if absurdly uncomfortably.

The Finetails look, for lack of a better word, adorable and if I saw one in a store I would be unable to resist. I only mentioned Major Craft as they seem to be around the price range I am working with, including shipping, on ebay and they are the only jdm brand that I have any personal experience with.

[dirtygeary]

I am still using a cumara med 6,8" for this application.

[Bootytrain]

Thanks for all that info!

I had been eyeing the Kuying Teton as it seemed like a good low cost option to see if I really want an UL casting rod and the price is low enough to take a chance on one. I stuck my PX68 on one of my UL spinning rods and it seemed to cast tiny spinners pretty well, if absurdly uncomfortably.

The Finetails look, for lack of a better word, adorable and if I saw one in a store I would be unable to resist. I only mentioned Major Craft as they seem to be around the price range I am working with, including shipping, on ebay and they are the only jdm brand that I have any personal experience with.

Whats your price range?

[Houndfish]

Whats your price range?

About $150-200, shipped. While I think really want a rod this light and short, I have been known to get overly excited before, so I want an inexpensive rod to fish for a season to make sure it works out how I envision it before I invest in a nicer one.

[southpaw619]

I would any insight, suggestions, or criticisms.

I would be cautious fishing a Teton, any UL-L trout rod, or Ajing rod from a kayak. It will be difficult to land fish from kayak without snapping rod. The Teton 662L snaps much easier than the UL ones though so maybe the 6ft UL Trout would be something worth trying as test for $50. Honestly if you mainly fish from yak I would consider upgrading to a better casting reel and fishing an UL Bass Style BFS rod like a Volkey.

[southpaw619]

A good rod for your test might be a UL featherlight. It's 4'10" and will cast a light cranks easily and is $20 or less. It's glass and very forgiving for landing fish in tight spots. Only downside is it runs heavy but nothing unmanageable.

[Houndfish]

I would be cautious fishing a Teton, any UL-L trout rod, or Ajing rod from a kayak. It will be difficult to land fish from kayak without snapping rod. The Teton 662L snaps much easier than the UL ones though so maybe the 6ft UL Trout would be something worth trying as test for $50. Honestly if you mainly fish from yak I would consider upgrading to a better casting reel and fishing an UL Bass Style BFS rod like a Volkey.

I ended up ordering the 6ft UL Teton. I have little experience with such a light and slow rod, so I agree that a $50 rod makes sense until I figure out what I really want. I stuck my reel on a 5' UL/M spinning rod and it loaded and cast reasonably well around the yard, so I have some hope the Teton will work out.

With an UL rod, this combo is going to be put to wading duty until I can figure out it's limits. My favorite spot gives a good mix of large sun fish, tiny smallies, and the occasional tough old stocked trout. I suspect I will settle on a L rod in the end as that will be more generally useful, but for now I want to push the limit and see what this reel can do.

I was looking hard at the Jackson Super Trickster line of BFS rods before I bought the Teton but I could not find a place to buy one. It is maddening that in this day and age there are mass produced products that are this hard to source.

[LowRange]

I would be cautious fishing a Teton, any UL-L trout rod, or Ajing rod from a kayak. It will be difficult to land fish from kayak without snapping rod. The Teton 662L snaps much easier than the UL ones though so maybe the 6ft UL Trout would be something worth trying as test for $50. Honestly if you mainly fish from yak I would consider upgrading to a better casting reel and fishing an UL Bass Style BFS rod like a Volkey.

I ended up ordering the 6ft UL Teton. I have little experience with such a light and slow rod, so I agree that a $50 rod makes sense until I figure out what I really want. I stuck my reel on a 5' UL/M spinning rod and it loaded and cast reasonably well around the yard, so I have some hope the Teton will work out.

With an UL rod, this combo is going to be put to wading duty until I can figure out it's limits. My favorite spot gives a good mix of large sun fish, tiny smallies, and the occasional tough old stocked trout. I suspect I will settle on a L rod in the end as that will be more generally useful, but for now I want to push the limit and see what this reel can do.

I was looking hard at the Jackson Super Trickster line of BFS rods before I bought the Teton but I could not find a place to buy one. It is maddening that in this day and age there are mass produced products that are this hard to source.

The STC-63UL is an amazing rod but hard to source. It's has a flexible UL solid carbon tip yet has a decent little backbone to it. I searched for one for a while and finally got mine from bass.co.jp They still have one in stock. Click on the American flag in the corner of the page for English instructions on how to register and use the site. Rod shipping is around $100 but you can ship two rods in one tube for that price so it's worth while to pick up a second rod. They have a used rod section as well.

http://www.bass.co.jp/index.php?m=mc&mc ... 01G4501128

[southpaw619]

I ended up ordering the 6ft UL Teton. ]

Sweet! It is a fun stick to throw. I've fished mine almost exclusively the last few months .

[southpaw619]

The STC-63UL is an amazing rod but hard to source. It's has a flexible UL solid carbon tip yet has a decent little backbone to it.

Can this rod throw 1-2 grams easily?

[Black Haze]

Not a big finesse guy, but will be using the 2016 loomis 892 GLX paired with a Pixy Type R...oh and i have a old school Bcr 852 GLX with a Alphas 105sv.... Both rods will be used for small jigs, small plastics, shakey heads.....

[LowRange]

The STC-63UL is an amazing rod but hard to source. It's has a flexible UL solid carbon tip yet has a decent little backbone to it.

Can this rod throw 1-2 grams easily?

Nothing throws 1 gram easily but the STC-63UL is certainly an ultra light rated BFS rod that is capable of casting 2 grams very well. It has a much softer tip than what you would find on an UL Volkey BFS enabling it cast very light weight baits very well yet, unlike the Teton, has larger diameter blank in the lifting section of the rod making the rod more rigid and allows you to fight fish better by the boat. I've been able to turn a fish diving into the weeds encourage the fish to come to the surface to be lip landed with this rod. That's a heck of a feat for an UL rod.