American ultralight specialist Fish Anything has cracked open his garage and laid out the six rod-and-reel combinations he is taking into the 2026 season - a mix of US-made blanks, Japanese domestic-market reels and one budget standout - in a back-to-basics breakdown of what each setup does well and where each one falls short.
"Today I just wanted to take a step back. It's cold outside, might as well sit in here in the garage and talk about fishing gear because why not?" he says, opening the video. "I'm going to go through I think six ultralight setups, and I'm going to talk about what I like, don't like."
The new headliner is the Temple Fork Outfitters Pastime - a 6'6, one-piece, two-to-six-pound rod that handles 1/32 to 3/16-ounce lures. "This has become my favorite ultralight rod," he says, citing both its USA build and its versatility. "I really can do anything. I love throwing drop shots on it. I love throwing the jigs on it. You can definitely throw treble hooked baits like rooster tails, little jerk baits." The Pastime took the top spot after his Dobyns Sierra broke for a second time and went unanswered. "Every time I emailed Dobyns, they never replied to me. So, never got it replaced, so this has become my number one favorite, and I'm not looking back."
Number two is a 7'6 Phoenix Elixir paired with a shallow-spool Shimano Vanford 2000. "This reel is insane. It's so good. I wish I had one in a size 1000 because I probably wouldn't use any other reel ever." He uses the longer rod for vertical work and offshore casting - drop shots, jigs, spoons - and runs Phoenix Iron Feather 5-pound braid to a 4-pound copolymer leader, deliberately stepping up from the 3-pound option. "When you start to go that light, it makes it a little bit more difficult to manage. So, the 5 lb is a good number for me, and I can cast it a million miles."
Third in the line-up is the Daiwa Tatula XT 642 with a Daiwa Tatula LT 1000. "It's very, very sensitive for a $100 price point. I love this setup," he says, noting that the Tatula reel "is sleek. The black-on-black looks so good. Got the chrome accents." He runs Sunline Siglon PE X4 3-pound braid that he found stiff out of the package but better with a few sessions on it. "As I've fished with it more, it seems like it's kind of broken in a little bit. It feels like it's actually gotten better."
Fourth is the KastKing Kestrel 552 FL2 - a two-piece 5'5 ultralight at around the $90 mark, paired with a KastKing Kestrel size-1000 reel. He calls it the budget standout in the rack but is upfront about preferring a Daiwa or Shimano reel on top. "Honestly, a pretty good reel... but the rod itself is really good for a relatively lower price."
Fifth, and arguably his most loved setup, is the Daiwa Gekka 5'5 ajing rod - a JDM panfish stick rated to 5 grams and 1 to 3-pound test - matched with a Shimano Soare BB 500 and 1.7-pound ester line. "Sometimes I would consider it my favorite," he says. "This is not an ultralight. This is a super ultralight, which basically means lighter line, lighter lures, more fun."
The sixth setup is a brand-new test piece: the Cashin' Core, a 6'6 USA-made ultralight he picked up at $150 as a cheaper alternative to the Pastime. He has not cast it yet and is hedging his bets. "It does not feel the same at all. The blank just looks a little bit thicker. It doesn't necessarily look like an ultralight," he says. "It might be an amazing rod, so we're still going to test it, but it wasn't necessarily what I was expecting. I have a feeling it's going to be a little bit more of a crappie stick for my liking."
His ambition for the year is simpler than the gear list suggests. "I am so excited for 2026. Not only to test gear, but to just fish more often," he says. "Multi-species ultralight fishing is what I'm looking forward to most. I'm probably going to take off a lot of Fridays from work. We're calling them fishing Fridays."