Tailwalk Saltyshape Dash Bay Twitcher 68L vs 68UL

[Renmazuo27]

On another post on here I was asking for suggestions on a rod with a TVS reel seat and a maximum price of $280. One of you suggested the Tailwalk Saltyshape Dash Bay Twitcher series (quite a mouthful I know).

So after giving it a look over I decided to take the plunge and do a blind order on the 68L, by that I mean buying online without having felt the rod physically.

It arrived about a week and a half from Japan (I ordered via Rakuten) and the instant I had it in my hand I was itching to give it a try, luckily I didn't have to wait long.

Now by no means am I a professional fisherman. I'm just a bloke who enjoys perfecting the art of catching Bream on lures but here is my insight on the two different rods.

Instantly my initial feelings towards the 68L was that it was a tad stiff. Despite this the tip was still sensitive enough for me to whip out 1/32 jigheads to respectable distances and feel the tiniest nibbles. Business end-wise I had no trouble coaxing fish back my way when they decided to make a run for any structure.

While the website says it is a regular action rod, I would personally say it's more of a fast-regular action. It has a beautiful bend when loaded up but still rebounds quicker, giving you that sensitivity. It's more of a structure rod if i'm blatantly honest with plenty of grunt to guide the meanest of fish out of close quarter battles.

So after playing around with the 68L, I decided to get the 68UL. Now essentially both rods are pretty much exactly the same weight (it's 77g and 78g for the 68UL and 68L respectively). The 68UL is definitely a tad softer as one would expect but the action is identical. The 68UL was severely tested when I was lucky enough to hook and land a nice 33cm Black Bream. There is still plenty to guide the bigger fish around on the lighter rod but whereas the 68L was more of a "yank and pull" the 68UL was more of a "gentle coax".

Both rods are beautifully crafted with the dull matt black finish on the seat, Carbon fibre locking rings, foam grips and Fuji SIC KR guides while the blank is a nice navy blue. Not a bright rod by all means but rather going for a more inconspicuous look and conveniently for me, both are two piece.

1st 3 pics are of the 68UL and the larger fish (with a very pleased yours truly) and the last two pics are of the 68L and the juveniles.

Both rods were tested with the same setups: Shimano Ultegra Advance 1000s, spooled with .6pe YGK WX4 braid and 6lb Sunline FC Rock leader. 1/32 jigheads and 3in madeye Paddleprawns.

Both rods are around the $200AUD mark, shipped from Japan so from that perspective they met my requirement on the reel seat and price.

All in all, I'm very happy with both rods. Both are decently light and very well built. Safe to say, I think I found what I was looking for.

Ps. If anyone would like more pics, I'd be more than happy to take some more.

[smashmonkey]

Nice rod, thanks for sharing