Thread: Shimano Clarus UltraLight 5'0" Rod - The Ultimate King Fishing Experience

[size=8pt]Alright, after having a couple of dozen people ask me various questions, I decided to share the madness.

As some may have recently seen, I've been dancing around the Octi this weekend with light tackle and giving the Kings a piece of my gear a little at a time.

I had great success with a 6'6" Greenwater Loomis with 6# test on Friday, May 25, (Yo-Zuri Hybrid Line), using a 10# top shot. Landing 10 Kings, and "almost" weaseled in a tangled mess of a Jack Crev, a Shark, and someone else's fishing pole all wrapped on my lure at the end of my line. Kudos to that Yo-Zuri line--strongest light line I've used hands down. It only failed because a swarm of Cownose rays swam into the line during the fight.

All in all, the Greenwater Loomis was great at feeling bites and making exceptionally quick and highly successful hooksets you typically can't maneuver with larger rods. I felt in control fishing with this rod, even though I still had to play carefully due to the lighter line. There were cons, though: the third king burned the tip guide out on an incredibly fast run--although the pole seems to continue to work fine without the guide because the metal seats are smooth. Also, the rod will only allow smaller reels, with the Shimano Sahara 3000 I was using being about the largest which can be utilized.

I then pulled out my Shimano Clarus UltraLight 5'0" Rod I use for Bass and Trout. I played around with a few reels, and discovered the handle could easily seat my son's Penn Fierce 5000 Reel (perfect little reel for small Kings). The construction of this miniature rod is very solid, and I've pulled off some interesting feats using this pole in the past. I was curious to see how well this pole handled in a King fishing scenario. Don't be fooled by its shape and size--the tip bends to the handle without breaking (not that it couldn't break), but it is very durable.

I spooled the reel with 10# test Power Pro super slick 8 braid for extreme line capacity, and put on a 50 yard 16# test Moimoi top shot.

The top shot is very necessary, because the rod is at its weakest when the fish is at the pier, so lighter line isn't an option. I find the 16# topshot to work best at controlling the fish at the pylons.

To my amazement, the pole worked extremely well despite what I, and everyone else, thought it would.

The greatest advantage was maneuvering. Having such a short pole allows you to dance between people's lines and rods with ease, especially when going under people at the rail when the fish is running back and forth at the Octi.

The guides held up very well. Even to the point where a boat snagged my fish at full "skipping" speed and tore out 300 yards of line very quickly--not a guide was damaged in the process.

Overall, the fight of the fish was more fun because it all rested on the strength of my arm. I could fight the fish pound for pound, and never felt in more control of a larger fish before. The play was so nice, I did not have fears of losing the fishing to too much or not enough pressure, etc.

We were all laughing at the rediculous little pole, but I have a new respect for the Shimano Clarus line after this experience.

I started to actually "prefer" using this pole for the king fishing experience. It's not exactly the best pole for throwing lures, but for tossing out cigar minnows, it worked great.

If you haven't tried using a pole this tiny, I highly recommend putting it to the test. You might find a new love and experience in fishing Kings with Ultralight.

My next goal will be to try much lighter lines on this rod and see if I can turn some of the fish. So far, the larger fish it has nailed from the Octi is a few Bull reds, a cownose ray and 11 Kings.

Anyhow, just thought I would share some of the details in case anyone is wishing to try their hand at this cute little pole.

I think Bass Pro carries them, but you can get them cheaper online.

Will post some action photos shortly.[/size]

Yeah i see ya with it i was LMAO when i seen you go by

[quote author=salt_water_guy link=topic=1226.msg11910#msg11910 date=1338237039]
Yeah i see ya with it i was LMAO when i seen you go by
[/quote]

That'd be the perfect pole for you, big guy.

Ima let you fight the next king on it. :headbang:

:headbang: HELLYEAH!!! :headbang:

what was the point of having such an unbalanced rod and reel? makes no since to be fishing 16 lb test on an ultra light rod either...

I'd say just throw what the rod is made for... if you want to catch a fish on ultralight tackle, then actually use ultralight tackle... not a king sized spinning reel with 16 lb test on it..

Cool you caught fish on it.. but i dont get what the point was?

[quote author=Peaches link=topic=1226.msg11922#msg11922 date=1338252089]
what was the point of having such an unbalanced rod and reel? makes no since to be fishing 16 lb test on an ultra light rod either...

I'd say just throw what the rod is made for... if you want to catch a fish on ultralight tackle, then actually use ultralight tackle... not a king sized spinning reel with 16 lb test on it..

Cool you caught fish on it.. but i dont get what the point was?
[/quote]

It was to try something different and put a certain product to the extreme test.

Also, only the top shot had 16# test, and that is just for handling around the pylons. The reel was spooled with 10# 8-strand, which has a 2# thickness in comparison to mono. I'd say that's plenty light of line.

My goal is to work it down to a manageable balance. Start off with the max i know it can handle, and then reduce strength to add challenge.

Some folks like to wrestle the fish in while skipping it across the water. I want to play with the fish and actually have some fun. In the process, i discovered that the shortness and flexibility of the pole made it great as a utility while at the rail. Something i didn't expect and decided to share.

Yeah, i could use my ling pole and break the kings in half, but why? No fun for me.

Wouldn't a penn fierce 5000 would hold like 500 yds of 10# braid + the top shot? Cool and all you used a UL rod but just what peaches said. Doesn't make sense to me either.

[quote author=tofer link=topic=1226.msg11933#msg11933 date=1338263515]
Wouldn't a penn fierce 5000 would hold like 500 yds of 10# braid + the top shot? Cool and all you used a UL rod but just what peaches said. Doesn't make sense to me either.
[/quote]

With a rod like that the reel doesn't matter for anything other than line capacity. And trust me, line capacity turned out to be very nice when the big king hit me.

I normally use a small shim sahara with it holding about 230 yards at max--the first few kings i hit ran beyond that distance, so i am glad i changed the reel for the king hunt. As i said before, it was only for testing reasons and turned out to be very fun--surprisingly so! I just wanted to test the endurance of the shimano clarus after talking to a rep and reading all the hype, and it surpassed my expectations.

Don't knock it till you try it. My wife caught two on it and said it was the most fun she's had catching a king in her life.

Bottom line is, for the money, the Clarus line is worth every penny. The fact that it can hold a larger reel is certainly an added bonus.

I believe the reel I used for the test has 670 total on it. 50 yards top shot, two 300 yard braid spools, and about a 20 yard backing.

I'm curious what the line and lure rating for this rod is?

Shimano Clarus UltraLight 5'0" Rod

[quote author=Pier#r link=topic=1226.msg11935#msg11935 date=1338265073]
I'm curious what the line and lure rating for this rod is?

Shimano Clarus UltraLight 5'0" Rod

[/quote]

Model # CSS-50ULB
Line wt: 1-4lb
Lure wt: 1/32-3/16oz
Power: ultralight
Action: medium fast
IM-8 graphite construction
F-Alum single foot guides
Cork handle ties down from the top (yay)

The fight rests virtually on the forearm.