Ultralight rods with micro thin tips

[replica66[]]

One of my favorite ultralight rods is an old Quantum Micro MS-54SUL which I believe was made by Zebco. I have it matched up with an equally old tiny Daiwa Spinmatic 500T reel and 2 lb test Izorline. Both rod and reel were probably purchased in the early 1990s, but are still in great shape and I am very careful with it. Although this set up is an inexpensive one, it is a joy to use on my nearby lake that has an abundant population of large Bluegill. This rod has a small diameter overall, but has an extremely small diameter tip, and because of this feature I can use the tinniest lures and detect subtle bites quite easily, not to mention how much fun it is to fight even a small sized fish.
These rods were discontinued some time ago and I cannot find UL rods like this at any of my local stores. I thought someone here on this site might have some info for me.
Are there other rod manufacturers that make UL rods with such small diameter tips? Does anyone know if rod blanks like this are available somewhere? Thanks in advance.

[Smead]

Seems like you might be interested in some of the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) rods with solid tips which have been discussed here a bit. It's been mentioned that those sort of rods are hard to find here and you have to look toward an import.

I'll try to find a few past threads to get you started.

http://forums.tackletour.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=71803

http://forums.tackletour.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=68087

http://forums.tackletour.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=71271

[replica66[]]

Hope you are right Smead about the "solid tip" thing. The rods I saw on ebay featuring solid tips looked like the old popular Ugly Stick, the unbreakable solid fiberglass rods that had quite thick clear tips. I did find a Micro Master Super Featherlite 1 piece rod that looks like it may have the tip that I want, but it could be real garbage too.

[Alphahawk]

I have JDM rods with solid tips as small as 7/10 of a mm. Tict has a new rod on the market that is only .65 mm on the tip. You will not find these in the states....and I would venture to say no rod has ever been made here, or sold in the states with tips even remotely that small...the only rod....blank in the states that comes close is the Phenix Iron Feather at .8mm. If you step up to JDM rods you will be fishing the most sensitive rods you have ever had in your hands. As I read a couple of years back on a thread here "One can't understand a JDM rod until they fish it". Once you have a good JDM rod in your hands the light comes on. I don't have a Lake Perris here but I am an avid Gill chaser myself. I cannot imagine going after those fish with anything other than my JDM gear. Plat currently has all Major Craft rods 20% off...that's a great deal....plus the yen is up to 113 to the dollar as of today....so it is a good time to buy. Right now from Plat you could own a top of the line UL rod for as little as 236 bucks deliverd to your door. Their FineTail Banshee trout rods...or their Truzer Ajing and Mebaru rods. Those are Major Crafts top of the line......if you wanted to step down in price you can spend in the 120-180 buck range and still have a rod that is far better than any UL rod in the states.....IMHO.


Regards

[Smead]

With the JDM gear, there's the cost, shipping, possible import duties and usually no warranty.

I just measured my St Croix Avid, 5' 1 pc rod...it's ,060" at the tip...not tiny solid tip diameter, but made in the USA, with a warranty...FishUSA carries it for $150 shipped.

I guess it depends on how much you want to spend. Daiwa has their USDM Presso line of ultralight rods priced $60-75 based on length.

http://www.fishusa.com/product/Daiwa-Pr ... nning-Rods

[earthworm77]

I've got a MajorCraft BENKEI BIS-S632UL/SFS(2PC) It cost me 110.00 and about 28.00 for shipping. Fast action, awesome little UL rod with a solid tip.

[Bryin]

I own many JDM rods... most with solid tips. One of which is the most delicate spinning rod I have ever held. Solid tips are THE answer to UL and XUL fishing. If you fish one, you will never go back. You can buy great rods from $110 or so... I have fished many Loomis and St. Croix rods and they are crap compared to my JDM rods. Now that does not mean you cant have fun fishing a Loomis or St. Croix rod but better is better. Dollar for dollar, JDM UL rods with solid tips are much better than anything made or sold in the American market.

Solid tips are more precise, more sensitive and fish a greater range of lure size. I believe that solid tip allows the manufacturers to create rod that has less tip bounce when casting.

The only reason that companies like Loomis get away from making UL rods and selling them for $200-$500 is that American consumers can not compare them to JDM rods.

[replica66[]]

What's the reason that U.S. manufacturers of fine fishing rods do not make these kinds of rods that are so much better than what they normally make and what the anglers here in the states use? Seems strange that the rods are only available through the JDM. And one wonders why they are so expensive. The profits must be huge. I did purchase my Quantum Micro solid tip rod here in California several years back, and they were a popular ultralight rod that many fishermen could afford, bought and enjoyed.

[Bryin]

American fisherman are no where near as demanding as Japanese angles... The JDM rod makers are importing high end rods to America, just not UL stuff as they do not think the market for high end UL stuff is big enough in the US. Makers like Mega Bass are selling high end $200-$600 rods in the US. Japanese angles are obsessive about equipment and willing to spend up to $1000 for a rod. That has allowed JDM companies to spend money on technology specifically for UL.

Makers like Daiwa (I have several Daiwa rods with solid tips) could easily import rods into the US market but do not because they do not see demand for them here.

Companies like Loomis do not see the need to invest in new technology for what is very small part of the market. Loomis makes some nice UL rods... if you have never fished a JDM rod they seem like top of line rods. I fished a few of the Loomis TSR rods before I got into the JDM stuff and I caught a ton of fish and had a bunch of fun with them. (except for the ones with Recoil guides, stay away from Recoil guides at all costs)

Phenix is making a rod called the Iron Feather that has a solid tip... I have never seen one... I thought about getting one last year but my girlfriend pointed out that one person only needs so much tackle. So I am going to sell some rods before I pick up any new ones.

Daiwa offers a model called the Steeze that has a solid tip but it is a "finesse" bass rod. This is an area that JDM solid tip rods are making inroads to the US market. I picked up a Mega Bass rod with a solid tip last year, on sale, that is a finesse rod (some finesse rods are UL some are Light rods) and it was because a tackle shop carried Mega Bass and ordered this model and it never sold. Apparently Alabama tournament bass fisherman are not real interested in light tackle.

I am pretty sure that making solid tips requires different manufacturing tools and techniques and US makers have never willing to invest in that technology for UL because UL is a tiny portion of the US market and in the US rod market $100 as been seen as a premium price point for a UL rod.

[Bryin]

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[hill country]

Ultralight rods built on fly rod blanks have a pretty small tip diameter. I have a 2 piece 6' St. Croix Avid 3 weight built up as a ultralight, and the tip diameter just behind the finished tip top guide is .005". I built a spin/fly rod from the TFO 1 weight 4 piece fly rod blank, using the top 3 sections (5'1" long). Tip diameter is .006", also behind the tip top. Lastly, the production TFO Spin/Fly rod, 6' 2 piece, is about .0068". Good luck.

[Alphahawk]

Ultralight rods built on fly rod blanks have a pretty small tip diameter. I have a 2 piece 6' St. Croix Avid 3 weight built up as a ultralight, and the tip diameter just behind the finished tip top guide is .005". I built a spin/fly rod from the TFO 1 weight 4 piece fly rod blank, using the top 3 sections (5'1" long). Tip diameter is .006", also behind the tip top. Lastly, the production TFO Spin/Fly rod, 6' 2 piece, is about .0068". Good luck.

I think you mean .05" instead of .005". The .005" is almost like a human hair. JDM rods at 7/10 of a millimeter are .027". Thus it is almost half the size of a .05" tip. There is not a blank available in the states that will approach the thinness of a JDM micro tip rod. As I stated before the only one that comes close is the Phenix Iron Feather....coming in a 8/10 of a millimeter.


Regards

[hill country]

I think you mean .05" instead of .005". The .005" is almost like a human hair. JDM rods at 7/10 of a millimeter are .027". Thus it is almost half the size of a .05" tip. There is not a blank available in the states that will approach the thinness of a JDM micro tip rod. As I stated before the only one that comes close is the Phenix Iron Feather....coming in a 8/10 of a millimeter.
Yeah, I added one too many zero's there. Thanks for the correction. Tight lines.

[replica66[]]

hill country- "There is not a blank available in the states that will approach the thinness of a JDM micro tip rod." Maybe so, Except for the Quantum Micro rod me and several hundreds if not thousands of other fishermen bought back in the 90s from Turners. I'm going to have to buy or borrow a micrometer to measure the tip. It is about the diameter of 25 lb test monofilament. Really, I compared the two. It's tiny.

[Bryin]

There are some fly rods that have tips as small as .035, St. Croix makes 2 that are that small... I guess that is the limit of tubular rod manufacturing... this is approaching JDM solid tip size...

I played had a St.Croix 2 weight fly rod blank that was built up as a spinning rod and it was OK but no where near the rod that the JDM rods are...