Major Craft Go Emotion

While visiting Tokyo I had the chance to handle the Major Craft Go Emotion rods at the Sansui shop in Shibuya.
I enjoy Major Craft rods a lot but to tell you the truth I never considered buying or even checking in detail this bass rod. As a salt lure angler I always check for rods made for salt water but this time I was somehow struck by this rod.

The two models I have handled were the 66ML and the 70ML. Both are rated at 3/8 ounces and 5-10lb line. I found the rods to be extremely light with a nice fast action. The first thing it came to my mind is that these rods looked very good for a light setup in salt water. By light I mean a combination of a 2500 reel , 0.6/0.8PE line and small lures targeting fishes like small seabass and pelagics.

This is definitely only my opinion but sometimes I really need some rod with a light rating but fast enough that would allow me to work with small minnows and especially top water lures with ease.
The action of the Go Emotion was indeed the type I was looking for but I never found in other LRF rods I have tried.

The rod comes with K guides, a nice Eva grip and a fast blank.

The Go Emotion comes in different models all suited for freshwater application (bass fishing). The prices are very good (11000 YEN /112 USD avg.) and the workmanship looks great as usual.

I also liked the short foregrip for more sensibility and weight cut. I enjoyed the blank responsiveness and the price tag.  Will I buy it?  I still have to decide but I am very welcome to get feedback from other anglers who have tried it.


Short video on the Go.Emotion by Major Craft




More detailed info can be found here: Major Craft Japan

PE line rating chart

When I first started braided lines I always paid attention to the lb strength as a reference point. After all lb or Kg is still a very important number when it comes to line in general. Today lb and kg are still used widely in the market. If you look especially to products sold in the US market you will see braided lines sold according to their lb rating and almost never on the diameter. The thing is that diameter may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and one brand's 10lb braid might end up being much thinner or thicker than another brand.

1.5 PE line by Varivas.

In the Japanese market they use the line diameter as a reference measure instead of the lb rating. Surely the lb rating is still used on packages and for marketing purposes but all the reels and rods are rated and measured according to the PE line rating.
Example: If you get a USDM reel you will see that the spool as a total yard for a certain lb (lb/yd) but if you get a JDM reel you will see a PE rating/mt information.
What is the PE rating? Below is a chart that I made by looking at a very well made chart by YGK which is one the world leading brands in braided lines. Basically a number corresponds to a certain diameter that is supposed to be standard (some fluctuations among brand will always occur). The good thing is that if you get ,say, a 0.8 you end up with a 0.148mm diameter line. How about strength? It depends on the brand but anything from 12 to 14lb on average.

I prefer the PE line rating because I can understand how much line my reel will really get (JDM) and reels are sold in a way that it allows you to fill the reel exactly "as planned". For instance a 4000 size Shimano Biomaster SW is supposed to get 200 meters of 2.0 PE which is a standard number for the purpose of the fishing you might doing with the reel. If you get, let say, a YGK x4 200 meter PE2 spool you will fill the spool all the way to the lip as designed. Simple and effective with no waste of line or guessing with nylon backings.

PE Line 2 by YGK. This line is a 0.235mm with 30lb strength

Source: YGK Line Technology

Other reads: PE Rating

Reel Maintenance Video 2

Here is another nice video on spinning reel maintenance.

Shimano Soare: Where to buy the reels

After my previous post about the Shimano Soare series' catalog I got a question from a friend about how to get access to those JDM reels of the Soare series.
I decided to share the answer on my blog, also in order to guide everybody to the right place to buy them online.

You can find the Soare reels in two Japanese shops:  Cloud Nine Tackle and Plat.
Just check the links here and here.

 In case you need something different you can always send an email to C9 Tackle. They will probably help you find the items you are looking for.

2013 Shimano Catalog: Soare

If you like LRF and ultralight fishing in general you should definitely check the online 2013 catalog of the Soare line.
Soare is the special brand of Shimano dedicated to aji and mebaru fishing.
It is a short catalog but worth a check.

Click here

Source: Shimano Japan

Are you into rod building?

I love fishing at a 360 degrees. I like to catch fish with lures but also I enjoy modifying lures, tie flies and build rods from time to time. I did build 6 rods in total and even though they are not the state of the art rods I am still very proud of them and I fish with them all the time.
My first rod was a 3 piece custom travel rod. I used a baston blank, fuji alconite guides, seat and eva grips. I did some messy job with the wrapping and epoxy but in the end I ended up with a very functional rod that I still use from time to time. There is nothing more rewarding that catching a fish with a lure you made and a rod you built at home.

If you are interested in rod building or you want to learn more about it you can check the very good videos made by the guys at Mudhole. Mudhole is a US based company that sells rod building equipment and I can say that they are one of the best available online.





You can find more videos here : MUDHOLE YOUTUBE

Another video here:



A Japanese one here about wrap coating: