help with LB reel & rod

[kriss brown]

Dear Angler

I Just don’t know how to start….but with many question….hope I can narrow them down ….If I could let me introduce by my self to you all….I am mainly by land base angle but not an oldie but newbie…I know this is not for a place for LBG fishing but here a lot of fellow have a lot of experience and I think I can get different perspective views and get great help from you all. Please be bare with me while you reading if things make not much logic to you. My Goal for this year is to chase Long tail and Spanish of the north coast ledges. Of course for the lure choices I will be throwing big metal slugs. But I also want to pop and stick baits as well….I have already have 2 spinning reels emblem pro 5500,saltiga 4500 h …For the rod I have got sea jigger 325 .And I have got live baiting gear is already set.I would like to get a new rod and reel set up for upcoming season….Just for mainly popper and stick baits….For the reel choice I am thinking of to get Stella…..but before that I would like to tell you about my strength and body type…I am skinny dude weight about 60 kg .when it come down to drag ,powerful big fish would easily pull me in for drink if I set my drag too high…..high mean I think 12 kg is my ideal sunset from the rock….may be I might be able to  handle more but at this stage I would stick with 12kg.So I don’t know which reel will suit .And of course I need a lot of line in the spool too …Have read a lot of forum written by Brandon and I think if u reading this could you please put your though for me as well.
With the Rod choice it’s even got much difficult. You all know that different rod is suitable for different application. For this Rod first thing I need to have is the length .Main thing because some of the ledges I wouldn’t be able to fish too close to the edges and another thing casting distances I will need it …I know the length wise will hurt me bit when fighting big fish …As Brandon said in many of his forum shorter rod are easy to fight big fish than longer. I think stiffness of the tips is also crucial when working popper. I don’t know how big the popper I would be able to handle when trying to cast all day. I am fit but the hot weather will take a toll on me sooner or later. I now should end my topic quick as I could write all day …  Finally my budget I would put just above 2k for both reel and rod…..of course excluding line ,popper and lures…. Can please put me some of the though what should I do ?Reel or Rod that might suit me….Sorry I am newbie so please be patient with me if a lot of my say might not make a sense to you at all.J

Thanking you all for your help
Cheers
kriss

[Brandon Khoo]

Hi Kriss

From what I can gather, you're essentially looking for a land based popping outfit. You have me caught a bit short on this one because I have no expertise on this type of popping whatsoever. I have done a little over time but really, have little idea on what I am doing. What I have found myself is that 12kg of drag would see me swimming. It's hard enough already trying to hold onto that long rod while standing on the rocks.

Talking about the rod first, what I do know is that distance is paramount. On the rocks, you also need a rod that is going to be able to clear the rocks so you need length. I have a Ripple Fisher Infinity shore based GT rod that is ten feet long and suitable for PE6-8. Another rod you could think about that is available locally is the Zenaq Defi Muthos range. You can find these at www.zenaq.com/rod/big/defi_muthos.php. If you're interested in some feedback on these, PM Peter Morris here on the forum. He has one.

For the reel, it really comes down to budget. I would be looking at a size around a 10000 Stella or 5000 Saltiga and I would be thinking PE6. That would provide for a bit more capacity and the weight of the outfit would still be manageable for long periods of time. If budget is an issue, you could look at a Twinpower SW12000.

[Bernie Keys]

I used to do a bit of casting from the rocks, but a long time ago.

I assume when you say 12kg is your sunset you are talking about the highest drag. If it is then you are braver than me 

Unless I have some way to brace myself and have a good safety line I doubt I would be able to use 12kg of drag on the rocks, particularly with a reasonable spinning rod, and I tip the scales round 85kg.

I would use 10kg drag but on a fully  rollered game stick & live baits. On the rocks its always a compromise between length of rod and useable drag. You can make a rod with a long butt but you may find they are awkward to use. The longer and stiffer the rod (& shorter the butt), the more lever the fish has on you.

To use 12kg of drag pesumably you would be using at leat 37kg line (or more) line and with that weight of line, with a fair bit out with a big fish on and an overun or other fault you will be in trouble trying to brake it off to prevent ending up in the water or losing your gear.

For me casting line of about 20kg is not out of the question and for this, for me the rule of thumb is 1/3 breaking strain fighting and 1/2 breaking strain when you are desperate. This means fighting with 6kg of drag which I would be able to manage with a reasonable length reasonably stiff rod. You can use a very fast taper rod which will make it easy to fight but will limit the lures you will be able to throw.

In this day and age with braided lines, diameter of line & flexibility being  major limitations on casting distance no longer applies. You will be able to cast just about any size lure with the right rod & line combination but perhaps its worth considering whether you will be able to actually fight the fish in reasonable safety.

I would work back from what drag I can manage, decide on the line I wish to use, then the lure weight I can reasonable want / expect to throw and suit the rod to the lure. The rod just has to match the line/ lure weight.

You can always go for heavier gear and just run it with lighter drag, but a rod designed for the heavier work of high drags will seem a bit stiff when used with lighter drags.

I should add that the times I tried to throw poppers off the rocks I got very frustrated at how far I could get them compared to other type s of lures. Their very design makes them either big or light for their size (if that makes sense?) generally you need to cast lures a reasonable distance on the rocks whereas in a boat you just get the boat closer..