Japanese Domestic Market fishing reels.

[Alphahawk]

Anyone ever order a reel from Japan...and if so did you have to pay any customs charge? The reel is under 300 bucks. Thanks in advance.




Regards

[Pookie]

Anyone ever order a reel from Japan...and if so did you have to pay any customs charge? The reel is under 300 bucks. Thanks in advance.




Regards

Link?

[Alphahawk]

Link?


You mean a link to the reel? Will have to wait until I return home. On way to fishing.


Regards


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[Reel Tune]

Once you go JDM, you'll never look at another reel the same. I couldn't tell you on the shipping and customs part.

[Travis C.]

Usually the shipper pays customs charge on over seas shipments. It could be built into what you are already paying for the reel.

[Pookie]

So where do you find Japanese equipment?

[SAMBOLIE]

So where do you find Japanese equipment?

Usually with the Chinese equipment. :)

Don't bother to try and find USA equipment.

[Reel Tune]

http://japantackle.com/

[Alphahawk]

Thanks guys. Pookie here is the source I was looking at http://digitaka.com. Yeah Jeremy one thing that was constant in my research about buying a JDM reel was that if you do it once you are hooked...LOL. But I am going to take the plunge. During my 24 years working out of the country I brought a ton of stuff back to the USA through customs but getting something in the mail is a little different...but I think I will be OK.




Regards

[TroutFiend]

Alpha, keep us posted on how this process/product goes. Are these higher quality reels? I have never heard of getting equipment directly from overseas.

Andy




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[Alphahawk]

Alpha, keep us posted on how this process/product goes. Are these higher quality reels? I have never heard of getting equipment directly from overseas.

Andy




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Will do.....just pulled the trigger on a Daiwa Luvias 2004H spinning reel. It was 239 bucks shipping included. All my research says the Japan made reels are extremely high quality. The reel compares to a Daiwa Steez....that is sold in USA but made in China. But the Steez sells for 600 bucks. I read many forum posts last night that said same thing as Jeremy said in his post....once you use a JDM reel you will never buy a US market reel again. Should be here in about 10 days. Is being mailed through EMS...which is Japanese postal service.



Regards

[TroutFiend]

Wow... That is a deal right there. You have done your homework as usual I see. New Kayak/reel setup, you are gonna be on a new level this year good sir. We expect great posts. LOL.



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[Alphahawk]

Wow... That is a deal right there. You have done your homework as usual I see. New Kayak/reel setup, you are gonna be on a new level this year good sir. We expect great posts. LOL.



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LOL....I don't know about that but every step up in reels has been more than worth it. Fishing with 2# test one can't afford to have a drag even bind a little. I started with Shimano Sedonas and kept stepping up until I got to the Stradics I now use. They have and are performing well. My oldest one is 3 years old and I have fished it very hard. The bail spring is very weak in it but it still is going strong but looks horrible. It has caught a lot of fish. My step up this year was going to be the Sustain but the Luvias was 100 bucks cheaper and supposed to be a far better reel. I will give an honest review of the Luvias and if I feel it was a bad purchase I will say so. A guy on the forum...that I think lives in Pennsylvania...steered me to this reel. He and I have followed each others reviews of UL equipment the last couple of years and he just bought one but has not used it. I have sent him a PM about customs.


Regards

[agelesssone]

Nice! We'll looking forward to the reviews.

I'm really waiting for the psychiatrist's report on your mental state, going fishing in weather like this!

You, sir, are one dedicated and hardcore fishing fanatic.

But you can bet I'll be looking forward to your report on today's fishing trip.

Be careful and be safe. No one can replace you and your fishing reports!

[Reel Tune]

Congratulations on pulling the trigger. A step up from the Sustain "WOW". I have two Sustains and they are the smoothest reeling, smoothest drag on a spinning reel that I have ever witnessed. I've been wanting a Daiwa Pixy for a while, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

[Alphahawk]

Not sure that it will be that good but have read a lot about this reel on Australia forums. The Japanese evidently are big on UL gear. I was looking at a rod that was rated to cast a jig as small as 1/100 of an ounce. But importing a rod is much different than doing a reel. My understanding is the duty on a rod may double the cost but reels come in with no charge. Looking forward to getting the reel and try it out. Also just ordered a Humminbird 899 ci HD si sonar for my BG Prowler II. Hope Chad and guys can help me figure out how to mount that beast......LOL. At least I will no longer be fishing blind.


Regards

[Alphahawk]

Received my reel in the mail today. It took two and a half business days for it to arrive.....pretty impressive right there. It started out in the Japanese EMS mail service and was handed off in New York to US Postal. There was no customs duty on the reel and it is my understanding no matter which reel you order from Japan...be it 100 dollars or 700 dollars......there will be no customs. A rod on the other hand is a different story. The Luvias 2004H is not a high end Japanese reel...I would consider it a lower middle class reel. The best US market reel I have used is a Shimano Stradic. Up until today I thought it was a great reel. I have 4 Stradics....3 of them are less than a year old....2 Pflueger Supreme XT's....the new ones...but this Luvias blows all of these reels out of the water. Everything about this reel is quality. The fit and finish are great and I have never had a reel as smooth as this one. There is no play, flex, or wobble in this reel at all. When you take it apart and look at the drag...gears......you can tell it is very well made. The clicker for the drag is heavy duty. The bail spring is very strong. The spool on this reel is a shallow spool....which is what I wanted. I will probably spool this reel with Sunline Sniper FC and use it for trout fishing. If I had the money I would replace all my reels with a JDM reel. After handling this reel my old stock of reels feel like junk......there is just that much difference. I was warned by Jeremy and also read on several forums around the world that once you use a JDM reel there is no turning back. While I have not caught the first fish on this reel when and if I need another reel it will be from Japan. This reel was $233. You can get several brands of JDM reels for $180....and I would bet money right now they are far better than any $300 US domestic market reel. I cannot imagine what JDM reels in the $600 range would be like. I feel to get this quality of reel in the US stores you will have to spend four to six hundred bucks....IMHO. One thing for sure is you can't buy a reel this quality in the USA for less than 300 bucks. There are drawbacks to buying a JDM reel. If I need warranty service I have to return it to Japan. Shimano...Daiwa...ABU Garcia.....will not service a JDM reel in their US Service Centers. There are two people that I have found so far that do service on JDM reels here in the USA. While any reel can break at anytime I don't expect that to happen. If it does I will just have to deal with it. Daiwa has a JDM Certate that is $351 at todays exchange rate. There are also many JDM Shimano spinning reels between $180 and $350 that will be far better than any spinning reel in our market other than the Daiwa Steez and Shimano Stella. Both of those are made in Japan and sold in the US market. So maybe Thursday or Friday I can try the new reel out.


Regards

[TroutFiend]

Wow! Can you say Rolex...
It may be to pretty to fish with Alpha... Nahhhhhh




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[Travis C.]

What's the weight on the reel?

It's look pretty sweet.

[Alphahawk]

What's the weight on the reel?

It's look pretty sweet.

It weighs 190 grams=6.7 ounces. Travis I tell you I was not expecting this reel to be as good as it is.



Regards

[Alphahawk]

Wow! Can you say Rolex...
It may be to pretty to fish with Alpha... Nahhhhhh




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It is a nice looking reel. But I am blown away by the difference in quality. It ticks me off these reels are not sold here. Europe has them.....New Zealand and Australia have them. My next step up in a reel was going to be the Shimano Sustain...a $300 plus reel. I am glad I did not buy it. I know a lot of folks won't spend this kind of money on a reel but I would not be surprised to know that in Japan they sell $100 dollar reels that are made with same quality involved. Of course you won't find a $100 JDM reel on the Net. I just don't understand why the US market does not sell JDM reels.


Regards

[Dakota]

Good info Alphahawk


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[Reel Tune]

Congratulations. That is a shallow spool. 70yds of 4lb?

[Alphahawk]

Congratulations. That is a shallow spool. 70yds of 4lb?

It states 110 yards of 4# test mono but I'm not thinking so. But should hold 150 of 2#-5# test NanoFil or 100 yards of 2# mono.



Regards

[XxthejuicexX]

That's a sweet looking reel. I subscribe to the idea that for the most part you get what you pay for. If you have a hobby that you spend a lot of time doing you might as well get quality equipment because it will be worth it in the long run. The nicest spinning set up I have is a pflueger patriarch on a carrot stix black rod, Both extremely light weight. I still think you are crazy for fishing 2# test line :D

[Reel Tune]

Take that setup out with txnative and see how quick it takes to remove all the line off that reel, or put the drag to the test with skipjack.

[Alphahawk]

Take that setup out with txnative and see how quick it takes to remove all the line off that reel, or put the drag to the test with skipjack.

Oh it won't take long. I have been in that situation many times below Pickwick. Having a 1000 series reel spooled with 2# test NanoFil if you hook into a 5# striper your probably going to lose all your line unless you grab the spool and break it off yourself. But with a good 2# test mono one stands a good chance of getting that fish in.....but it just takes too long.....takes away too much fishing time when the schoolies are in there. I like my kayak fishing but the older I get the more cold weather and me do not agree...LOL. Four years ago I was fishing in single digit temps below JPP but those days are gone. I can still take it in the mid 30's with no wind but that is the bottom for me.



Regards

[Alphahawk]

That's a sweet looking reel. I subscribe to the idea that for the most part you get what you pay for. If you have a hobby that you spend a lot of time doing you might as well get quality equipment because it will be worth it in the long run. The nicest spinning set up I have is a pflueger patriarch on a carrot stix black rod, Both extremely light weight. I still think you are crazy for fishing 2# test line :D

The Patriarch is a good reel. I expect the reels I have now....Stradics....Supreme XT's.....and this new Luvias to last a very long time. I have a Stradic FI that is 4 years old and there is nothing wrong with it other than cosmetically it is beat up pretty bad...it has been on the water a lot. As for the 2# test line if you have read some previous posts you will find that when fishing below Pickwick Dam for stripers...large mouth....and white bass I will use anywhere from 6# test up to 17# test. But the majority of my fishing is with 2# test. I just love ultra light fishing. I spent a lot of years working in Saudi and caught plenty of big fish.....and I still love to catch big fish but ultra light is my favorite fishing.


Regards

[Buccaneer]

You can learn a lot at http://www.tackletour.com/
Read the "Enthusiast" articles - http://www.tackletour.com/menuenthusiasttackle.html
Go to their forums and there is an Enthusiast & Import Tackle forum - http://forums.tackletour.com/viewforum.php?f=24&sid=a148bb849132bcb35662e1cc0c57c560

[Alphahawk]

You can learn a lot at http://www.tackletour.com/
Read the "Enthusiast" articles - http://www.tackletour.com/menuenthusiasttackle.html
Go to their forums and there is an Enthusiast & Import Tackle forum - http://forums.tackletour.com/viewforum.php?f=24&sid=a148bb849132bcb35662e1cc0c57c560

Thanks for the link. I had found them in my research and used a lot of info I read off of tackletour to make my decision to go down the road for JDM reels. Should get the reel strung up and try it out on some Normandy trout this coming week.




Regards

[Hammy]

Normandy trout this coming week.


I wouldnt get too hung up on the idea as far as you have to drive.

I was at Normandy today. Nobody was catching anything. Lot of shad floating down river.

Hammy

[Alphahawk]

I wouldnt get too hung up on the idea as far as you have to drive.

I was at Normandy today. Nobody was catching anything. Lot of shad floating down river.

Hammy


Normandy is only 39 miles for me. Caught between 50 and 70 there yesterday......shad kill was going on then also. Another guy that was there same time as me but left earlier had caught 40 when he left. But it is going to be windy this week so will have to think hard on my destination.

Regards


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[Hammy]

Normandy is only 39 miles for me. Caught between 50 and 70 there yesterday......shad kill was going on then also. Another guy that was there same time as me but left earlier had caught 40 when he left. But it is going to be windy this week so will have to think hard on my destination.

Regards


Wow ! I must have been doing something wrong. I need to go with you.

Hammy

[Alphahawk]

Wow ! I must have been doing something wrong. I need to go with you.

Hammy

Welcome anytime Hammy. Even though I did well there was a young man next to me fishing the Trout Magnet that was catching a fish on each cast or getting a hit...he was using the float. I did not have any of the Gainer color with me and that was the color he was using. I am sure he would have given me some but I didn't ask. I had left that color at home. But you can bet when I go back I will have that color with me. It is not unusual to have 100 to 150 fish days at Normandy. When you consider that they will dump 25,000-27,000 trout there from November through I think July, it is no wonder.







Regards

[Alphahawk]

An update for info on gear from JDM. If you purchase a fishing rod that is 2 piece and the shipping box is 150cm or less it stays in the Japanese Postal System and the US Postal System. What that means is there will probably not be any customs on it. In my research found out that when an oversize parcel is handed off to UPS or FedEx they tack a large handling fee and will in all likely hood collect the customs fee.....which are not that great but the handling charge is pretty big. Not many bass rods are 2 piece but I have found a few looking around.....but for the ultra light angler it is an absolute amazing selection of rods from 70 bucks up to as high as you want to go. I am sure I will order one of the UL rods. Will report back if and when I do.



Regards

[Hammy]

Alphahawk, I definitely will take you up on that offer. Let some of this rain run off and water levels get back to closer to normal and I'll be in touch with you.

I was at HOOK1 today and saw your yak. Great looking ride, cant wait to see you out in it.

Hammy

[Alphahawk]

Sure thing Hammy. I was going to go to Normandy this week but the flow is way too much.



Regards

[Hammy]

Randy, pm me when you think youre headed that way. My schedule can be adjusted sometimes as necessary for fishing.

Hammy