Tag Archives: spinning reel

Testing Out a Major Craft Finetail Banshee FBA-602L

I’ve never been one to care about matching rods to reels when it comes to colors, but when I saw the Finetail Banshee…I couldn’t resist! When I ran across the rod on Digitaka’s website I thought WOW, “that rod would pair up perfectly with my Daiwa Presso LTD 1025 spinning reel.” So I pulled the trigger.

I have been wanting to try a rod with Fuji Titanium Guides and Torzite inserts. CHECK

I wanted to try a Fuji TVS reel seat. CHECK

So I took the rod out this morning and was pleased with its action and power rating. With a flick of the wrist I can cast a 2.2 gram jig a LONG ways. And as you can see…they pair up nicely with each other!

A Package From Digitaka Arrived Today…

The other day I was searching through Digitaka’s site and ran across a reel that piqued my interest. It was the Daiwa 2020 Gekkabijin X LT 1000S-P spinning reel. The price was 12,780 yen which equates to $121.67 usd which isn’t bad since this reel is Magsealed. It shows that it was manufactured in Vietnam. It has 5+1 ball bearings and holds 200m of PE# 0.3 braid, or 100m of 2.5lb nylon, and the weight is 195g or approximately 6.9 oz. I have been wanting to try a reel with Magseal to see what all the hype is about.

NOTE: For anyone not familiar with some of the reel designations, the “S” in 1000S-P means it is a shallow spool.

I have heard great reports about Varivas line and opted to try some while I was at the Digitaka site. IT’S PRICEY! For a 75m spool of the Infinity Area Super Trout PE x8 rated at 5.6lb it cost me 4,320 yen or $41.13 usd. That hurt! Probably why almost all of the 1000 size reels I see for the JDM market are shallow spools…but who knows, maybe they just don’t need to make long casts. We will see how it works out. I’ve got my fingers crossed…

My Go-To Rod and Reel Setup

For years now, my go-to stream fishing rod and reel setup has been the St. Croix Triumph Travel TRS66MLF4 and the Abu Japan Roxani 2500MSH spooled with Daiwa J-braid x8 in 8lb test. I chose this rod because its a 4-piece and is easy to strap to the side of a pack or stow in the trunk of a compact car. The ML (Medium Light) action is perfect for chasing Velox.

This particular rod is made in Mexico but so far (3 years) it has held up well. The Roxani has been brilliant as well and is still smooth after everything it’s been through. We stream fish and that means wading! Some spots we’ve had to swim across or even swim through deeper pools to reach the next section. Both rod and reel have been dunked or splashed but they’ve held up well.

The Roxani was my first JDM (Japan Domestic Market) reel and won’t be my last. They just have a different feel than USDM reels. We will see how it goes as 2021 seems to be shaping up into a manner where I’m going LIGHTER. Both the rods and reels I’ve purchased lately have been lighter…1000 size reels as well as Light to Ultralight rods. Time will tell…stay tuned for more!

Quick Shot of the 2020 Shimano Vanford 1000 on my Major Craft Troutino TTS-562L.

I put the Vanford 1000 onto my Major Craft Troutino TTS-562L rod and headed to a local pond. Both of these are new to me ( arrived Friday ) and I wanted to see how they paired up. Balance was really good and the action on this rod was great. No fish were caught unfortunately but I was there mainly to get a feel for the rod and see how various lure weights performed.

Randy over at TroutMagnetMan (YouTube) says, “Major Craft gives you a lot of rod for the money” and he was absolutely correct. This is a JDM rod yet its made in China but fit and finish was excellent. I’ve been using a St. Croix Triumph Travel ML spinning rod for years and this was cheaper but much nicer all the way around.

When the waters warm up a bit I plan on hitting the panfish hard as well as white bass and my beloved Neosho-strain Smallies. Stay tuned for more…