Fishing, Hunting and Camping
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The JTTVO J3000 Review: My New Backup Fishing Reel
I have been on the hunt for a cheap backup fishing reel over the winter. I picked up the JTTVO J3000 in hopes it will take the job. Today we are going to take a closer look at eh JTTVO J3000, cover the features and cover my initial thoughts.
Why I Picked the JTTVO J3000
As you might have guessed, JTTVO is not a well known brand and I believe can only be picked up online. Most of the time, I would have passed over a “no name” fishing reel but a couple things stuck out to me.
Build
Photo by Manufacture
Today, many manufactures are using plastic. I’ll never use a plastic body reel. You will just be asking for trouble out on the water. The JTTVO series fishing reels seem to built well.
- Full metal body
- Brass gears
- Stainless steel shaft
- Carbon and stainless steel drag washers
That along with the price seemed hard to beat…
Price
Seeing the above quality parts and noticing the price is what got me to take a closer look and consider this reel. Just under $30 when I purchased, the price is a step down to most best for your buck reels (I’ll be sharing those in another post soon).
My main bass reel is not an expensive fishing reel in any regards (Okuma). But the price is still closer to $50. I wanted a second set up in case of disaster but also didn’t want to invest a lot in it. The price of the JTTVO is on point to fill my needs and not too much if it breaks.
The Satisfaction Guarantee
JTTVO claims that “we support the replacement even a full refund anytime”. As to official warranty, I’m waiting to hear back from them on that (just reached out). Many manufacturers don’t throw that out there, especially on a $30 reel. It’s good to know that if I don’t like it, I’m able to return with no issues.
My JTTVO Fishing Reel Review
So, this is my initial review of the JTTVO J3000. I will update this review once I get some good water time with it.
The company offers the following sizes:
- J2000 (ultralight)
- J3000 (largmouth size fish)
- J4000 (larger fish, stripers, catfish, etc)
- J5000 (big blues, large shovel, saltwater, etc)
Shipping
I purchased the J3000 from Amazon (found here) using my prime account. Since it is fulfilled by Amazon, it was at my door in 2 days. It came double boxed.
Unpacking
I was pretty impressed with the weight, look and build.
A cool feature, the handle
Besides being able to go from left handed to right handed, I noticed a nice feature that I didn’t notice before buying this fishing reel. In the above photo, you will see a button on the bottom of the handle. This is a release to fold it in.
Most other reels have a screw cap on the other side of the reel to loosen the handle allowing you to fold the handle in. I have never seen a fishing reel with a button. If they are out there, I have never seen one. This feature made my day and will be used often.
Size
The JTTVO J3000 compared to my Okuma C-30
In the above photo, you see the JTTVO J3000 next to my Okuma C-30. The J3000 is larger than the Okuma but not as much as it may seem in the photo. The C-30 is on the small side of fishing reels and I say that the J3000 is the size you would expect to see on a bass rig.
Testing
I paired my new reel with some 8LB Mono SpiderLine.
Adding line
The reel lined well laying the line out as even as you can get. The smooth action of the internal parts gives this fishing reel a nice feel. No issues to report.
Casting
For testing purposes, I used a small 3/0 (1/4 oz I think) slit shot weight to test casting. Most of what I will be using while on the water will be much heavier than this. I just wanted to see how smooth the casting is and what type of control I can get out of the JTTVO J3000.
Using the 3/0 sinker, I was getting about 15 yards with a flip of the wrist. The cast is smooth and no binding or catching. Now, the rod and line have something to do with cast quality as well. I’m using a 6.5 foot medium/heavy action rod and brand new line. But I can’t complain.
Reeling
I can only attest to my testing situation for now. I will share more information here once I get out on the water and bring in some pigs using this reel.
The handle has an anti-reverse system that doesn’t give anything back when your setting your hook. This is a nice feature as well. See, on some reels when you pull on the line, the reel will reverse a half inch or so. This takes away from setting the hook and puts a jolt on your line when set. When anti-reverse is used, there is no play from where your handle stops and when the line gets hit with tension.
The one thing I will say, is that when reeling in, I did hear a little noise from this reel. Not much but someone may not like that. I will also say that I went from the box to testing. A little fishing reel oil may fix this.
The Conclusion
Okay, so this isn’t the final conclusion as I will be updating this review in the next few weeks after getting some water time. We’ll say the initial conclusion for now lol. It’s not one of the best fishing reels on the market, but can’t be beat for the price.
Pros
- Heavy duty build
- Very smooth
- Anti-reverse option on a cheap fishing reel
- Looks good
- Quality beats other reels in this price rage
- The guaranty form the company
Cons
- Not a well known brand (yet)
- Possibly a little noise with tension
Catch More Fish With My Favorite Plastic, The Zoom Fluke
Every fisherman has their favorite go to fishing lure. Mine is the Zoom Salty Super Fluke. I have been using the Zoom fluke for years and wanted to show how to set the rig up.
Me with a bass caught with a Fluke
The Zoom Salty Super Fluke
Like I mentioned above, the Zoom Salty Super Fluke is my go to plastic. But, in my experience, color matters. I have tried all color options but only have consistent success with the Watermelon Seed color. I’m sure this has to do with the part of the country I live in. I have tried the shad color on creeks and rivers but I always end up going back to the Watermelon Seed.
Above is a photo of the Flukes that I personally use. They can be hard to find, especially in the spring. I either get them from Walmart, Amazon or you can usually find them at most other fishing lure online store.
They come in a resealable bag which you will want to use. These Zoom Salty Super Flukes, will dry out on you.
What Type of Fish Will Hit The Zoom Fluke
When I introduce this lure to friends, the first question is usually, what hits it? Though the Zoom Salty Super Fluke is sold as a large mouth bass lure, I can tell you that many other fish do hit it. If you think about what the bait resembles, any predatorial fish will go after this lure.
I catch 90% large mouth with the Zoom Fluke but have also caught small mouth, hybrid bass, sauger, and even small catfish. I would only target large mouth, small mouth and possibly hybrid bass using the Fluke.
The Hook
Fishing the Zoom Fluke takes a specific rig to make it swim alive attracting feeding fish. Many will recommend using a regular worm hook but I like to use a weighted wide gap worm hook. When you tap the tip of your pole, your fluke jump up and then shimmers down quite nice. Depending on weight of your hook, the heavier, the faster action it will be.
I like to use a medium weighted hook so it gives plenty of action as the fluke drops, but also doesn’t dive. You want bass to see your lure as an injured bait fish that is flopping around a little.
You have a few choices when it comes to the brand you use. You can find reviews at places like Gear Lobo to help you with choices, but I prefer Gamakatsu for all my hooks (I love their circle hooks). Though a little more expensive, I find them to be thicker hold the sharpness. Your other option is Eagle Claw which is also easily found locally. I would stay away from the generic hooks.
How to Rig a Fluke
There may be other ways to rig a Zoom Salty Super Fluke, but I only do it one way. Below we are going to go over how to hook the fluke to give you wildly live action that will draw in large bass.
Take out a fluke and make sure it is usable condition. I find myself throwing old ones back into the bag when I don’t have a trash bag near by. Nothing is worse than being out and finding you have all heavily used lures!
Insert your hook through what would be the mouth of the fish going downwards. You should insert the hook as deep as the hook eye to the first corner. You want the tip of the hook on the lower part of the body.
Next, you want to pull the hook all the way through to the hook eye. At that time you will tun the hook so the point is going up into the fluke body. Photoed above, we have not put the hook back through the body yet, it is just resting inside the groves.
Note, when pulling the weighted part of the hook through the fluke, you can tear the body. It is recommended on wetting the weight lead (I spit on it) before going through the body.
Next, you will want to pull the head of the fluke up to the eye and insert the hook into the belly of the fluke and come out the top. Once the tip of the hook is coming out the top, you tuck it in the back slightly to cover the tip. You tuck the tip to make it weedless and so it will not get hooked up on a rock or piece of wood.
Note: make sure not to sink the hook tip too far into the back of the fluke. When a fish hits, it has to be able to come out easily to set. Your just looking for enough so it will not get caught on something.
Photoed above is a fluke ready to cast. On the one above, it could be tighter up on the hook eye, I was in a hurry…
How to fish a Zoom Super Fluke
This subject is a little harder to explain than to show. I will give it a shot but check back later this spring, I will be creating a video.
I have best luck fishing this fluke in cover. Either along the bank, in grass or any heavy cover.
Once you cast, let the fluke drop to the bottom. Once it has bottomed out, you tap your tip forward. You don’t need much and depending on where your fishing will depend on the size of bump. When fishing is shallow water, I bump forward slightly (6 inches or so). In deep large water, I bump up.
Once you bump, you will let the fluke drop the the bottom again, then do it again. Keep it in action only letting it sit for a second or two before bumping again.
Conclusion
I hope you give the Zoom Super Fluke a chance. With a little practice, you will find that it can catch you some big bass.
So I’m sure you have a favorite/secret plastic or spinner, I mean everyone thinks they have the best bass fishing lures. So, share with us your go to lure and how you fish it!