Balsa baits still have their place, but they also have obvious drawbacks: no translucent paint schemes, no rattling, paint cracks.

UPDATED : The Stella was shipped back to JapanLS over a week ago. Received an email saying they got it, "this is the normal Stella feel so they won't replace the reel" and they can't exchange it for a different reel anyways because the little sticker off the spool was missing. I again explained tha...

I finally got my hands on this rod (AGS the Ned) and it is amazing! The SMT tip imparts amazing action on the NED rig without effort. It’s light action but has some power to it. Some people drive a Volkswagen , some drive Ferrari. If you want the Ferrari of NED rods look no further. I love mine! I ...

Looking for a new Daiwa exist 2022, the 2500 model. But don’t know all the differences between them. Anybody can help ? And what you prefer, exist or Stella and why? You’ll get a lot of different opinions on this, and a bunch of this is subjective. Of the 2022 models, I have a 2500 Stella FK and an...

Price should be of no concern on this particular forum, we're all sick and possess far too much gear that cost a fortune. Agreed, but that also means that we, the group that spends a fortune to own far too much, have a choice on which high-end gear to spend our money on :lol: I think a better way t...

What are they retailing for in the US? I saw the announcement, but it didn’t have MSRP attached. I like my JDM 6’10” M (the 2022 model) quite a bit,, but feel that it’s so crisp (especially when compared with the typical Shimano taper) that it’s not as universal as aid hoped. Edit : Never mind, they...

I think there are a lot of anglers who want a one stop shop for all their fishing needs - just something that they can trust in, and know that it’ll work. That’s where companies going into the reel business comes from. Because, let’s be honest: being informed about this stuff takes effort . We do it...

Seeking information on this rod from people who have good time in with the rod please. I am thinking of getting one as a versatile moving bait, 3/8 oz chatterbait/spinner bait, weightless senko, fluke, jerkbait, 1/4oz pegged T-rig, topwater, inshore etc….. Lmk what you use your for and what you lik...

I like jarring sensitivity, the kind that scares you when you swim your bait into a rock :doh: Me too. Zander mentioned that several times he had a fish on, and the rod feedback was that 'something didn't feel right'. I used to get a lot of those kind of bites before I picked up my first Loomis IMX...

Bronzefly - I expect at least one response from you, lol I've been fishing neds on the Steez AGS 610L "The Ned" quite a bit. It certainly is an extra fast action and it makes shaking a ned to get that wobble very easy. Both the sensitivity and the visual bite detection characteristics of this rod a...

My Stella FK has about as much turning resistance as the Stella FJ. They definitely feel more connected - smooth, but with some built-in resistance. Running braid or Fireline adds a raspy feeling, but it's in the line, never in the reel. The Exists feels way freer and easier to turn than the Stella....

These posts are a bit all over the place TBH. The first post asks questions about baitcasters while the second post ends in musings about (upcoming) saltwater spinning reels. On baitcasters, you can either have light and plastic-feeling or you can have solid but heavier. You can either have aluminum...

Supposedly you can make your own using a 50/50 mix of acetone and clear PVC cement. Mend-it has more ingredients than that, but it should work. The active ingredient in these products is MethylEthylKetone (MEK), which is also the main ingredient in the clear PVC cement. MEK reacts with the plasticiz...

Of these rods, I only have the 821 NRR, and I'll say that - in my hands - it does not feel overloaded past 1/10oz. I've gone all the way to throwing 5" FattyZ worms on 3/16 heads on this rod, and while that was most definitely pushing it, it was a good enough experience to prevent me from rigging up...

There’s long-standing and recent research on what largemouth bass can see. They see red very well, they see green well, they cannot recognize blue (no receptors, so black & blue is actually black and grey to them), and they cannot distinguish between yellow and white (so chartreuse is just another s...