u/Dramatic_Sock_9108

Just a fit of curiosity I wanted to plug into this subreddit:

Does anyone know of any lakes that are predominantly Green Sunfish? I may be misremembering details of my childhood, but I remember 10-15 years ago we had a select number of metro lakes that carried Green Sunfish in bountiful populations (I remember Snail Lake had a bunch).

Now as a young adult, I rarely encounter Green Sunfish at all. It seems the lakes that used to carry them in abundance are now dominated by hybrid sunfish. The last time I saw anything resembling a full-blooded Green Sunfish was back in 2013 (Ravine Regional Park in Cottage Grove, MN). Typing this out all just seems weird since Greenies aren't something people regularly target but their recent absence (recent to me at least) has peaked my interest into trying to find them.

Random side note: I have more recently encountered Orangespotted Sunfish which are a species I would have never expected to find in higher abundance than Green Sunfish.

***1st real post on Reddit, please don't tear me apart for poor formatting and the such***

First fish on the casting setup

***CONTEXT***:

I have only been using this rod for about 1 month , but within that month I have put in a ridiculous amount of time into this rod in the pursuit of being able to comfortably throw heavier lures and chase fish with different presentations than previously available. I have always fished with the mindset "I'll graduate to bait casters when the time is right."

As a budget oriented fisherman, I have always thrown everything on my spinning setup. With a recent (and completely undeserved promotion) I finally had the the financial backbone to invest in my favorite hobby... so ofc I dished out money into a budget oriented casting setup to learn it. (I didn't want to make the mistake of buying a super expensive setup off rip).

Which leaves us here:

I will not expand on the PROS as they are self-explanatory, but I feel the need to include an explanation/justification for the CONS

PROS: (+)

1.) Lightweight Feel

2.) Surprising amount backbone for a 2 piece rod

3.) Pretty Aesthetics

4.) Great Portability (2 piece rod, so ofc)

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CONS: (-)

1.) Long and awkward butt section

The butt section of this rod is long and unwieldy (almost like a surf rod). Everyone has different attributes and I am admittedly a smaller guy, but the butt section of the rod extends like 3 inches past my elbow. Without being able to tuck the butt against your body comfortably, you have to compensate by holding onto the rod EXTREMELY TIGHTLY, which brings me to my next point.

2.) Wooden Handle

I got lured in by the marketing of having a wooden handle on a budget rod, but it does not work. Sure, with wood you will FEEL every vibration going into rod, but what's missed is that every bit of shock that the rod experiences goes directly into your wrist. On top of this, the wood handle does not offer good grip at ALL. You feel every bit of shock going into your wrist whilst having to hold the rod with a white knuckle death grip.

Like all fishermen, I experience some minor discomfort on longer days, but I cannot call this discomfort, this is PAIN. Admittedly, I cannot figure out how to set hook with this rod, no matter what I try! Whether it's a jerk or a long sweep, I can never aggressively stick a fish without hurting myself.

3.) The segments of the 2-piece are EXTREMELY tight

There are pros and cons to this design, like you will NEVER cast the top off of your rod ever again, but at the same time, separating the 2 pieces for storage is a nerve-wracking experience. The pieces fit together so tightly that I would not be surprised if one day I crack the epoxy holding in the line guides. I at first thought it was a defective rod because the segments do not meet a determined point. Even when fully seated, you can see part of the unfinished blank that joins the two segments.

As I've consistently separated this rod for storage, that unfinished blank has stared scratching. This could be placebo from seeing the blank scratched, but I swear there are carbon fiber shards in my eyes, lungs, and fingers from how tightly the pieces join.

4.) Odd balance characteristics

This is kind of a part II to 1.) but with the butt end being so long, it forces you to balance and control this rod with you wrist. Without any additional points of contact, the rod feels front heavy when casting and back heavy when jigging. The rod may be perfectly balanced, but perfectly balanced is somehow different than comfortably balanced... and this perfect is not comfortable!

That's 4 pros to 3.5 cons, but the cons are glaring faults that I'm sure others would agree on. One thing I left out is that I am predominantly a kayak fishman. This rod is not built with kayak fishermen in mind, but since that demographic is niche, I left it out of my pros and cons. At the end of the day, all rods are just a spine to whatever reel you choose to use and this rod is serviceable. I have never had any concerns of snapping the rod, nor have I ever lacked power when fighting a fish. The glaring problem here is that the rod is marketed as something that is premium feeling whilst being cheap. This rod has not been comfortable to me and that completely kills the "premium feel" marketing.

Nobody seems to be posting about this brand because it does seem like Chinese garbage, but I got GOT by the marketing and thought I'd provide an unbiased review for anyone looking at this brand. From everything I've seen, there are rods in the same ball park of price that are better. The one thing I cannot deny is that the rod is pretty... and if that's all you care about, knock yourself out.