Guide to buying a GT rod - updated as at February 2017

[lang schab]

Very informative thanks!

[Doug Terry]

[Marko Pekic]

great information there thanks for sharing

[Graham Blackmore]

 Just returned from first GT trip in Indonesia and used the info in this thread to help with my choice of rods.  My heavy (PE10) rod is a Wild Violence and its a dream to cast and fish - lucky to have the build to handle it I guess.  Picking up a EP85/32 was like a child's rod after that but still a pleasure to use   I caught fish up to 20kg and we had them up to 35kg on the trip (was landed on EP so its man enough)

[Tony Warnett]

Great thread Guys.

Is there any where in the Perth that stock Carpenter/Ripple fisher/Fisherman rods?

I am fully aware of on line sales but with the cash involved would like to view range before purchase.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Al Morrison]

Tony, I'm not aware of any of those brands available here in Perth. Smith are available at Campbells in Leedeville, but stocks vary. I know a mate of mine bought his Tokara 60 there on sale.  I use carpenters and all have been bought sight unseen based on detailed feedback such as is available here, and the descriptions you read online in this forum are pretty accurate. Viewing wont tell you much, its use on the water that will give you a feel for the rod. Sadly many of these animals are rare, and unless you live somewhere near a really top store the chances to get a feel for one are few and far between.

I've got a Wild Violence, an SP 78 EXH and a LR 88 if you want to come and take a look PM me. These are all "old-style" carpenters, or classics as i prefer to say.

[Chris Webster]

Tony, I'm not aware of any of those brands available here in Perth. Smith are available at Campbells in Leedeville, but stocks vary. I know a mate of mine bought his Tokara 60 there on sale.  I use carpenters and all have been bought sight unseen based on detailed feedback such as is available here, and the descriptions you read online in this forum are pretty accurate. Viewing wont tell you much, its use on the water that will give you a feel for the rod. Sadly many of these animals are rare, and unless you live somewhere near a really top store the chances to get a feel for one are few and far between.

I've got a Wild Violence, an SP 78 EXH and a LR 88 if you want to come and take a look PM me. These are all "old-style" carpenters, or classics as i prefer to say.

Al why don't you PM Tak and ask where your closest Carpenter stockist is.
Apologies if that was mentioned earlier in the thread. Havent read it all.

Chris

[Al Morrison]

Chris, no worries, they werent for me, I work in Singapore and have access to many Carpenters and Ripple Fishers. I've got 3 and cant really justify any more. Tony was wanting to "wiggle one" before buying.

[neville hood]

Tony try compleat angler in nedlands. they have alot of good gear. from memory the last time i went in they had a couple of yamagas, and a smith komodo dragon and until recently a ripplefisher gt79r (which i just bought). hope that helps

[Tony Warnett]

Thanks Gents for the friendly advise.

much appreciated 

[Peter Heinke]

Very informative......
Have you Heard anything about the Wilson Venom Popper Rods?

[James Wang]

Hi Brandon,

I booked a trip to fish at Maldives this April. This is my first time handling these heavy gears. I have bought done stickbait ranging from 70-120grams and poppers from 120-140grams.
I thinking of getting the Coral Viper 79/40 for poppers pairing with a 8000HG with SOM 16000 spool. And a Ripple Fisher 83M pair with a 10000XG.
Whats your view on this pair of setup? Are their range too close?
I m a small size fellow weighing 70kg, height 169cm.

Thanks and best regards
James

[Brandon Khoo]

Hi James
Sorry for the delay in my response. I didn't even see your question.
Your two outfits look pretty good to me. Are you going to get a 16000 spool for the 10000XG as well? I don't think the 10000 spool is ideal.

Hi Brandon,

I booked a trip to fish at Maldives this April. This is my first time handling these heavy gears. I have bought done stickbait ranging from 70-120grams and poppers from 120-140grams.
I thinking of getting the Coral Viper 79/40 for poppers pairing with a 8000HG with SOM 16000 spool. And a Ripple Fisher 83M pair with a 10000XG.
Whats your view on this pair of setup? Are their range too close?
I m a small size fellow weighing 70kg, height 169cm.

Thanks and best regards
James

[Simon Bomholt]

Hi Brandon
Thanks on this great info.
I am off to Bali in april, and is going to get my first real gtpopping rod. I have been talking alot with Mark, who are giving me super advices, and this thread is almost the same. Carpenters sounds like the way to choose from the start. I am a bit confused if i am going for a CV 79 or MH 80 as both sounds like super rods. I will only start with one rod, so it should be a good allrounder. I am not a tiny bloke, so it should be possible enough for me to handle both models.
If you had to choose one of these two, what would you go for?
The areas for fishing will be bali as a start, but i am allready looking a bit on the red sea and on the andeman islands, as next places to go.
As reel i have stella 10000 FA, with a 20000 FA spool

I read you posts in http://www.gtpopping.com/forum/index.php?topic=2997.45

[Brandon Khoo]

Hi Simon

I think the easiest way for you to make your decision will be whether you want a PE6-8 rod or a PE8-10 rod.  I would point out that your reel will probably suit the MH a little better. My preference is to use an 08 Stella 10000XG on the CV. The MH will work poppers up to some 20-30g bigger but would cast stickbaits up to 250g in my view. I see the CV as being good for poppers up to about 140g and stickbaits up to around 160g. You coud go a little heavier on the stickbaits but it wouldn't be ideal.

If I could have only one GT rod that had to cover the full spectrum of places that I go, I would choose the MH for the simple reason that I fish PE8-10 regularly. I would not recommend anyone using PE10 on a CV. It can be done but you'd have to be very careful with how hard you loaded the rod and your rod angles.

While I have a strong personal preference for Carpenter rods ( and I had this before I started testing for them), i feel obliged from a gtpopping perspective to point out that there are other companies making excellent GT rods, as i have pointed out in my guide.