QED

The innovative companies should at least play their cards closer to the vest until the product is actually released so copiers would be much later to market (think Apple). Also, companies would do well to patent their truly innovative inventions (think Z-man and the chatterbait patents). Problem solved...

If an idea isn't the subject of a legally recognized form of intellectual property protection, then copying it is fair game and certainly is not a crime. That's how technology companies work too.

Wow, a lot of these responses completely ignore the ultralight/BFS class of casting gear, which is a perfectly viable option. It isn't budget friendly but it is definitely fun. Before you knock it, perhaps you should try it.

Some stuff I found that are close enough to mosquitofish. The Blue Fox Vibrotail Minnow (lower left) so far seems to be working best. It's a 35ish year old lure that I bought off ebay!

Ryobi, Shimano (and other spinning reel manufacturers) once developed touch'n trip and quickfire levers. respectively, for spinning reels that permitted exactly this. But the market for them really never took off.

BFS gear from high school and now. The bottom is a Shimano GR-01451 rod with a composite Ryobi V-Mag Lite VM3G reel vs a modern Shimano Poison Adrena 163L BFS rod (JDM) and Shimano Aldebaran MGL 30HG reel (also JDM). The latter was much more expensive even when taking into account inflation.

I've been fishing ultralight spinning and casting (now referred to as BFS) gear since high school. Good ultralight casting gear is much more expensive than most ultralight spinning gear, but once you ramp the learning curve on BFS baitcasting gear, there isn't much downside to the latter.

Sounds like an overdetermined system to me. Apparently you want to cast ultralight baits with a ML fast rod, which generally is not optimum for ultralight stuff. For example, a Shimano PA267MLA (ML/F) will cast the light stuff well, but will only be marginal for the ultralight stuff and it is perhaps their best USDM spinning rod for lighter stuff.

Thanks everyone, all good suggestions. The most nearly similar plastic swim jig I could find was the Storm WildEye Swim Shad, which is more minnow shaped than shad-like, since the shad I've seen have a taller profile than standard minnows. I still have some old bagley and rapala balsa minnow baits so I'll try those too. A bit surprised that neither I nor the collective wisdom here found anything that was modeled specifically after the mosquitofish which are fairly common in the SF bay area and the san joaquin valley delta.

As an alternative, the Vanford is lighter and nearly as smooth as the Stella while being substantially less pricey. Here's a 1000 and 2000:

The degradation can't be all that radical nor linear over time. In high school, I exclusively fished ultralight gear with 4 lb test Stren mono and only re-tied knots when I knew the knot or line had suffered abrasion, nicks, extreme shock, or other severe events. Don't recall ever losing a fish due to a failed knot and I landed many hundreds from the San Joaquin County delta system during those few years.

Local pond seems to only have mosquito fish and bluegills as bait fish. The mosquito fish seem more prevalent. What lures (in your experience) work best in that particular context?

Looks like they might be on a ~4 year refresh cycle. See: https://www.shimano.com/en/100th/history/products/56.php Like computer gear, I get fishing gear when I decide I need it. There will always be a newer, better version in due course. My Stella 1000 FJ and 2000 FI:

For the cost of taking photos and taking time to post them on the large auction site, you can probably convert the items to a small amount of cash for your nonprofit org from buyers that need replacement parts or the like. I don't know the opportunity cost of your time, so you may conclude that it is better to just toss them, which is fine too.

You didn't mention if you wanted spinning vs casting or action type. For an ultralight spinning rod, the Daiwa Presso line includes some great travel/pack rod options within the price constraint. https://daiwa.us/products/presso-ultralight-rods

The one rod that I used during high school and college was a Fenwick 149 fiberglass rod with a Ryobi Powerful DX-1 reel. Caught hundreds of fish with the combo (SJ County delta system - while cutting high school, no less! How Adventures of Tom Sawyer was that?), but the Ryobi tended to break bail springs and occasionally the bail itself, so I had to toss it when replacement parts became unavailable. Replaced it with a period correct Daiwa 500C. The one rod and reel that I mostly use now for fishing at a small, nearby (~4 miles) mountain lake just outside Silicon Valley is a VERY similar setup - a Fenwick Golden Wing 49UL with a JDM Shimano Soare CI4+ reel. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

How is it that your casting reels are defiant whiners? Gear lash issues? ?

I'm using the Mustad offset neko wacky o-rings, with Berkley or Gamakatsu #1 or 1/0 weedless wide gap hooks. When using the o-rings, I find the smaller hook sizes work best.

I don't think the term "acrid" means what you think it means. ?

I have Vanfords in the 500, 1000, and 2000 form factors for 4/6/8 lb test mono, respectively. An incremental 19% weight gain for the 2500 is a substantial penalty if you don't need the additional line capacity. If you don't care about weight, then there's always the Stella series which are heavy, but super smooth and refined. I use the former much more often than the latter.

Good choice. The Vanford 2000 weighs the same as the 1000. The 2500 gains an extra ounce which defeats the purpose of getting a super light reel.

Vegas is apparently a pretty good foodie destination, but the greater bay area has no shortage of three Michelin star restaurants. So why else would one want to go to Vegas? BTW, it's true that dry heat feels less oppressive than humid heat, so if you like Vegas, then there's that.

Japan during summer? No thank you - couldn't pay me enough to go. Got up up at 5:30 am to go running. Stepped out of the hotel and was swamped by heat and humidity. Turned around and went back to bed. Japan, Florida, Hawaii - all wonderful places - aren't fun during the peak midsummer heat/humidity for outdoor activities.

"Fortune favors the prepared mind." --Louis Pasteur If you study fishing (including fish biology, proclivities, etc.) and combine it with acquired competence with relevant fishing techniques and gear via practical experience, then you'll be well equipped to take advantage of whatever luck you find. This applies to most fields of endeavor.

I have a 500/1000/2000 Vanfords and 1000/2000 Stellas. The difference between the 1000/2000 form factors in Shimano reels seems to be mostly in the spool size as the body sizes are very similar. The 500 form factor is notably smaller.