JDM SUL for Scandinavian perch fishing

[parski]

Hi there,

I used to fish a lot when I was young and it's something I'm looking to get back into. I have many other hobbies where I buy incredibly high quality goods for a lot cheaper than what I can buy them for here (Sweden, northern Europe) and it seems fishing is another one of those hobbies.

I started my fishing renaissance by askimg myself what I want to target. When I was younger it was always as big as possible. Now I want to go after smaller fish and have decided on perch as well as an invasive species called Round Goby, but primarily perch.

Anyway, I stumbled upon UL via YouTube and this forum and the JDM gear for UL seems really good. When I was a kid I just fished with what was handed down to me but now I feel like I want to spend some money and get something really nice. Not the most expensive stuff, just what would be really fun and feel good in the hands.

So for the rod I've been looking at the Master Craft Finetail FAX-632SUL. I saw TroutMagnetMan's video on it and he was goving it a lot of praise and it has a good price. What worries me is what happens if I accidentally hook a pike while fishing it. I would use a 3 lb line. Would it just snap? Will it pull all my line out of the spool and then come to a hard stop and then snap, leaving the whole line after the fish? Is it better to use a stronger braid line and a 3 lb leader so that the leader snaps instead? I'm looking at Sunline Shooter FC Sniper 3 lb test line and I can't imagine I'd ever catch a perch that big but I might just get hit by a pike that large. In my head the rod snaps and I lose the whole line.

Then it's the reel. There are so many reels and one costs more than the next. I've been looking at the Shimano Vanquish and the Daiwa Luvias Airity. Then I found the Abu Garcia Zenon, the Presso and Twin Power. Then just Luvias. What a jungle! 2000 size and 1000 size seem pretty equivalent except for the spools. What the difference between the models are I have no idea and they all have crazy letters after the size SSS PGHD SH etc and they mean nothing to me. Buying used seems to be pretty much as expensive as new so I'm just gonna pick up a new reel I think. What's a good value one to get here? I like repairability, easy mantenance and premium feel. I don't need the latest and most expensive but if the difference in price is small or the difference in wow is large I'd consider going for it. Most of all I'd like to get a great reel for the money to pair with the rod and fish some perch.

Thanks!