Maldive tackle advise?

[Jaap Kalkman]

Hi guys,

I'm new to this forum and new to GT fishing. My wife and I are going on a trip to the Maldives. I will be fly fishing and my wife will do some gear fishing. The problem is that I have never done any gear fishing for GT before and so I am not sure what kind of rods/reels etc. to get for my wife. The other thing is that she is quite small and not very strong so I think I will need a relatively light outfit for her. I am thinking to get a heaver rod that will allow her to do some popping and jigging for bigger fish and a light rod for smaller fish and inshore stuff. Since I have to start from scratch I am trying to look for an economical outfit that still will do the job. Not sure if this is sufficient info to base advise on, please let me know if there is more info needed. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Cheers,

Jaap

[Wong Kai Zhee]

hmm, if your wife is small built and no serious angler, maybe you should forget about a standard poppin outfit altogether.

even a (light by current standard) pe6 outfit capable of casting 100g GT bull is not easily handled by novice.

perhaps jus a stronger, longer spinning rod loaded w pe4 line, casting 40-60 g poppers/spoons will suffice. such outfit should also be able to jig up to 150g.

anyway, the average GTs/redbass there are not really big (mostly less than 20lb), and are more fun on lite tackle.

[Jaap Kalkman]

Hi Wong,

Thank you very much for that advise. I had been wondering about that. Would you have any suggestions as to what brands of rods would be a good rod in that PE6/100gr range? And could such a rod be used for jigging as well?

Thanks again, much appreciated,

Jaap

[Wong Kai Zhee]

i am not v update regarding tackle. still using the decade old daiko southern cross stick(s).

http://fishing.shimano.com.sg/publish/content/global_fish/en/sg/index/products/rods/saltwater/caranx_kaibutsu.html

kaibutsu are known to be value for $$$, but you might not be able to get them in your country.

but do consider carefully before buying a poppin rod. poppin rods are so specialised that they are useless for almost any other applications.

there is no rule to say that popping rod cant be used to jig. in fact, older japanese daiko/ufms state both recommended popper weight as well as jig weight on the rod.

but i suspect jigging w a poppin rod is not something enjoyable.

[Jaap Kalkman]

Thanks Wong, the Kaibutsu looks pretty good, maybe like you say a bit long for jigging. I wonder if it is marketed in North America under a different name. maybe some of the other members of the forum could help me out with advise on a rod that is light PE4/100gr and could do popping and jigging and is economical (sounds like a tall bill to fulfill). The problem is that I have no experience with this type of fishing so it is difficult to make a judgement. I would imagine that a long popping rod and a short jigging rod would not combine well into one rod that does it all. But maybe someone has experience with a rod that approaches a happy medium that would fit the bill?

Cheers,

Jaap

[Wong Kai Zhee]

this blog might interest you.

jus scroll down to the section on his fly fishing trip in maldives.

http://iboey.wordpress.com/category/fly-fishing/

[Cam Munro]

I can highly recommend the saltiga 4500 matched to the saltiga 63S rod - a really versatile outfit - PE4, capable of handling a huge range of fish. The longer 7'6 rod will be better for popping, but the 63S, whilst shorter, will cover a range of techniques... def not a popping rod, but a good compromise. After your wife's first encounter, I'm sure she'll be open to dropping a few plastics or jigs!

[Jaap Kalkman]

Thanks Wong, interesting blog, can't wait to go there. Looks like a beautiful place.

Cam, I heard some more good things about the Saltigas both the rods and reels, I will have a closer look at them. I think that my wife will really like the fishing once she gets into it. And I may want to do some popping/jigging myself, looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for the help.

Cheers,

Jaap

[Bwanna Surya]

Hi Jaap,

The new Daiwa Saltiga just around the corner if you really want a daiwa saltiga reel.

Here's the link:

http://www.plat.co.jp/shop/catalog/product_info/language/en/products_id/12253/cPath/21_39_40_1641/saltwater-fishing-big/new-saltiga-4500.html

Bwanna