SanGabe wrote:
I agree with Bulldog, I need 2 different rods. On the freshwater front I was really locked in on the Dobsyn Sierra ultra finese series, but availability is next to zero. When looking at the JDM rods, not sure on the route to market, JDM websites or Ebay.
The trick is always finding stock - when the good rods show up, they sell out quickly.
If you find what you want is on ebay, and can't beat the price at a Japan vendor website, snag it.
The Dobyns is a good buy in bass finesse (lake and boat), but if stream BFS where you'd otherwise use a fly rod is your goal. the BFS stream trout rods might be a better choice.
I bought my Tailwalk Troutia on ebay, and it was a better deal than ordering from Asian Portal.
Putting together my glass Smith Super Strike (MM) bass, handle and blade, was half-price buying from one from Amazon.jp and the other from Asian Portal, than buying from an ebay scalper. (The point of the Super Strike is a round baitcast reel - Ambassadeur).
Buying in Japan well requires shopping around, and knowing to recognize and grab what you want. Plat is the place for Yamaga Blanks, always with free shipping on their ($200-300) rods, but they may also offer discounted shipping on brands like Major Craft.
Not that Valleyhill offers the right rod for you, but fishingshop.kiwi seems to have a line on Valleyhill with good stock, very good discount and reasonable shipping - they make my go-to rods for wide-range inshore MH for kayak fishing.
Because of the batch manufacturing thing, rod models may disappear before they get restocked, so you kind of have to keep up what's new, and especially know the spec you want to match for your niche.
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For you guys who may not have found their English website, here's the spec on the Y/B BCIII 69/B.
This is one rod that could fish both specs and light freshwater.
Med-length UL, 1/4 oz max lure weight - the light end is less than a g, that is, 1/32 oz jighead.
77 g is freakishly light in hand.
https://www.plat.co.jp/shop/catalog/pro ... pping.htmlThe list price at Plat (free shipping) is $207 at today's exchange rate.
Again, the trick is finding stock. If you place an order at Plat, you'd be in the queue for the next time Mr. Yamaga is building these.
btw, if you check the video at the bottom of the Plat link, he's fishing the rod on Aldebaran BFS XG with miniscule PE#0.4 braid and 4-lb fluoro leader. Also like all his videos, he saves the shoulder-fish for the end, beginning about 8:00, though it looks like he didn't land this one.
My 82/B is more of an all-range BFS, able to cast up to 5/8 oz, though I never use it for that, because I have ML and MH to go to in the salt, and reserve it for 3-5-g plugs.
Of course, I don't fish the light rod from the kayak, and reserve it for shoal wading and long casts on UL plugs.