Daiwa Iprimi 56XXUL-S and 60XUL-4
Very recently, long after I first wrote about the Daiwa Iprimi 56XXUL-S and long after I stopped importing various Iprimi models, I learned that the Japanese fish for chubs with lures. I had known for years that they fished for chubs with seiryu rods and flies or bait, but I had no idea that they also used lures. It may be fairly recent, in that most of the YouTube videos I've seen on it are less than a year old.
The most common lures seem to be micro spoons and Smith AR-S spinners. The 1.5g Shimano Slim Swimmer Spoons and the 1.5g Smith AR-S single hook spinners offered on these pages would be ideal! I have caught a creek chub with a small spinner, and with a micro spoon, but I never considered specifically fishing for them with small spinners or spoons.
Their fishing, which is called "chubbing," mostly is done in smaller, slow moving, warm water streams. In the US we have miles and miles of small streams that have creek chubs (or various other chub species). Some are cold enough to also have trout, and some are warm enough to also have sunfish. I am sure that many of them get no fishing pressure whatsoever.
I am seriously considering importing the Iprimi rods again! The Tenryu Rayz Alter RZA5102S-LLT is a wonderful rod, fully capable of casting lures of 1.5g or less, and it is much, much nicer than the Iprimi rods. However, I am pretty confident that there are people who would truly enjoy fishing nearby streams if they had a rod that is soft enough for small fish to actually bend, but wouldn't even consider buying a premium rod to fish for chubs.
I may have ordered a few by the time you read this. If you want one, specify which on the Contact Us page.
Daiwa Iprimi 56XXUL-S
The Daiwa Iprimi 56XXUL-S is a 5' 6" extra, extra ultralight solid-tipped spinning rod. It is a very soft, full flex rod that is rated for lures as light as .4 gram (about 1/70th of an ounce). When I first saw the rod's specs, my first thought was micro fishing, which has grown dramatically in the US in the last few years.
Even creek chubs will hit micro spoonsThe great thing about the Daiwa Iprimi 56XXUL-S, given its ability to cast extremely small, light spoons, is that you can fish those tiny little creeks that no one fishes - and catch fish. Even creek chubs will hit micro spoons.
My second thought was brookies! Actually, most brookies aren't much larger than than a good sized creek chub, and this rod makes catching small fish fun. At 5'6", the rod isn't too long for the little overgrown streams of the Appalachians, and it isn't too short for the beaver ponds and alpine lakes of the Rockies. The recommended lure weights of .4g to 2.5g cover the lures you would want to use for brookies, and the recommended line weights of 1.5 to 3 lb test cover the lines you should want to use for brookies.
Most ultralight spinning rods that are available in the
US are overkill. Most are
rated for lines up to 6 lb test.
Personally, I would consider 6 lb line to be "light" rather than
"ultralight." In any event, 6 lb line is too thick and
too stiff to give good casting distance and good action with small
lures. Realistically, even 4 lb line is too thick and too stiff. A 3 lb test line like the Sunline Troutist Wild or the Varivas Super Trout Advance Sight Edition would be better, and the 2 lb Sunline Area Meister would be better yet. I don't know about you but I've never caught a 3 lb brookie. You just flat out do not need heavier line.
Pumpkinseed caught with .8 gram spoonFor that matter, I've never caught a 3 lb sunfish, either. Micro spoons, by the way, are extremely effective for sunfish.
The rod is rated for lures up to 2.5 grams, so even though you can fish the tiniest of lures, you don't have to. There is an excellent selection of JDM spoons and spinners that weigh 2.5 grams or less. Of course, if you fish larger lures you are likely to catch larger fish. I have caught fish on 2.5g spoons that were larger than I would want to tangle with using the 56XXUL-S, but the rod is more capable than you would expect an extra, extra ultralight to be.
The Iprimi 56XXUL-S is a nice brookie rod!Most Area rods are 6' long or a bit longer. At 5'6", the 56XXUL-S is one of the shortest rods intended for fishing Areas. That short length, combined with the extra, extra ultralight action, makes it a nice rod for the headwaters streams here in the US, where the brookies or rainbows or browns are not going to be very big (but they probably will be very hungry).
Coming back to micro fishing, many (probably most) people who fish for micros in the US use spinning rods. Again, most spinning rods are overkill for micros. The Daiwa Iprimi 56XXUL-S is soft enough that for the larger micros at least, you can actually feel the fight.
Also, when fishing for micros, most people use bait rather than lures. I'm sure that like me, most had no idea that creek chubs would regularly take lures - which raises the question of what other micros will take lures. I've caught shiners with an Iprimi 56XXUL-S using a small float, a small hook and a small bait. I think I need to find out if shiners will take small lures as well.
Common Shiner
Satinfin ShinerDaiwa Iprimi 60XUL-4
The "XUL" stands for extra ultra light, and this rod are exactly that. It is rated for lures from just .6 g to no more than 3 g (roughly 1/50 to 1/10 ounce) and lines of just 1.5 to 3 lb.
Wait! You mean a 1/8 oz lure and 4 lb line is too much for the rod? Really?
Yes, really.
The Daiwa Iprimi 60XUL-4 is pretty similar to the 56XXUL-S, with the primary difference being that the 60XUL-4 is a 4-piece rod while the 56XXUL-S is a 2-piece rod. At 6 feet, the 60XUL-4 is a bit longer and it can handle lures that are a bit heavier. Additionally, the greater length and the tubular tip of the 60XUL-4 make it a bit better than the 56XXUL-S at executing the various casts that Erne St. Claire wrote about in his 1961 book The Modern Science of Spin Fishing, and that Joe Robinson wrote about in his 2009 book Piscatorial Absurdities.
Still, to me the primary advantage of the of the Iprimi 60XUL-4 is that it will fit in your suitcase and doesn't tower over your head when strapped to a backpack. People do indeed fly to destinations and then backpack in to spots where a soft rod capable of casting 1 gram lures with 2 lb line is just ideal. Although I haven't backpacked in to a remote area with one, I did have one in my suitcase on a trip out to Missouri and Arkansas (and having it in the suitcase saved me $25 each way by not having to check a rod case). Come to think of it, at Missouri's Bennett Springs Trout Park I switched off between a tenkara rod and the Iprimi 60XUL-4. When I was fishing with the tenkara rod I had the Iprimi 60XUL-4 broken down and strapped to my backpack.
Trout Park Rainbow, caught with a .7g feather jig and 2 lb line.A two-piece rod would not have been strapped to my backpack. It would have been left home!
Daiwa Iprimi 56XXUL-S and 60XUL-4 Specs
Model
Type
Tip
Length
Sections
Breakdown Length
Rod Weight
Line Weight
Lure Weight
Iprimi 56XXUL-S
Area (lake)
Solid
5'6"
2
34.25"
2.1 oz
1.5 - 3 lb
.4 - 2.5 g (1/70-1/11 oz)
Made in Vietnam
Iprimi 60XUL-4
Area (lake)
Tubular
6'0"
4
19.7"
2.3 oz
1.5 - 3 lb
.6 - 3 g (1/50 - 1/10 oz)
Made in Vietnam
Best guess on prices: probably $150-160 plus $17-22 shipping.
Shipping
Finesse-Fishing no longer ships to destinations outside the US.
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Header photo: Tenryu Rayz RZ4102B-UL, Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS-HG ('17)
Warning:
The hooks are sharp.
The coffee's hot.
The fish are slippery when wet.
All the hooks sold on Finesse-Fishing.com, whether packaged as loose hooks or attached to lures, are dangerously sharp. Some have barbs, which make removal from skin, eyes or clothing difficult. Wear eye protection. Wear a broad-brimmed hat. If you fish with or around children, bend down all hook barbs and make sure the children wear eye protection and broad-brimmed hats. Be aware of your back cast so no one gets hooked.
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