pe 2-4 casting/popping rod

[Kasey Leong]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone can help me out here. Am stumped if I can find a decent rod that can fit the following specs. Budgets maxes out at around 300AUD (for the moment...)

7ft or so,
pe2-4, to match with stella 6000 size, and 40g or so stickbaits (miss carna, dog heat) and poppers (pop queen, small dumbells and roostas)
must be a good casting rod, with a tip that is not too soft to work such poppers
targets: elops, jacks, groupers and trevs (small to big-ish) for shore game (new cal/exmouth)
tuna, mahimahi, kawahai, possibly for sails offshore (in perth/exmouth/rompin)
4kg+ drag would be mighty handy
2 piece would be perfect.

not limited to any market, have open access to JDM, provided stock is available.
BUT the price of whats available JDM that will suit has sent shivers down my spine (Carpenter black current, hots tide lez, ripple fisher aquila and caranx kaibutsu light pleasure)
cheapest being the caranz kaibutsu... do i have any other options other than to sell part of my liver? 

cheers,
kc

[lonhro]

What about the Shimano T-Curve Blue water spin in the 10- 15kg range. Or is it too heavy

[Ken Best]

Kasey,

I have a Smith WGJ-XS610L. It is 6 ft 10 inches and is rated for PE2-4. It has a drag rating of 5kg and a max drag of 8kg.
I use a Saltiga 4500 Blast with it and 40lb braid. Great to use, light and strong.
I paid $499 for it, I know it is a little above what you want to pay, but its worth checking out.

Ken

[Jon Li]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone can help me out here. Am stumped if I can find a decent rod that can fit the following specs. Budgets maxes out at around 300AUD (for the moment...)

7ft or so,
pe2-4, to match with stella 6000 size, and 40g or so stickbaits (miss carna, dog heat) and poppers (pop queen, small dumbells and roostas)
must be a good casting rod, with a tip that is not too soft to work such poppers
targets: elops, jacks, groupers and trevs (small to big-ish) for shore game (new cal/exmouth)
tuna, mahimahi, kawahai, possibly for sails offshore (in perth/exmouth/rompin)
4kg+ drag would be mighty handy
2 piece would be perfect.

not limited to any market, have open access to JDM, provided stock is available.
BUT the price of whats available JDM that will suit has sent shivers down my spine (Carpenter black current, hots tide lez, ripple fisher aquila and caranx kaibutsu light pleasure)
cheapest being the caranz kaibutsu... do i have any other options other than to sell part of my liver? 

cheers,
kc

KC ,

Just finished Rompin yesterday n still in K.L. till tomorrow , used BC75MH but found this rod isn't ideal for popping sailfish , the tip is too soft to drive the hook into the bill , lots of missed hook up , next time will try using LR88 to cast 60 gr. stickbait onto the school of sailfish but this next time may well be next year though , according to the captain .

My fishing buddy were using TBL80/30RF SHP and with more experiences in sailfish popping scored 6 CnRs in 2 days while I managed only 1 CnR with 4 broken lines due to my using PE4 line upon striking the fish , perhaps it's due to too high a drag I set but after I changed to PE5 Varivas , things get better with me , certainly a learning curve to set hook into the bill of those sailfish but I believe I have got it now . Certainly a new experience for me !

We were the only boat popping , there were a couple more boats out but they were baitfishing . Sailfish were prolific , have never seen so many sailfish in my life in one place at one time albeit they aren't big speciments and some are just only weighing 5 kg to my guesstimate .

Jon .



 

[Kasey Leong]

Hi Randy, spot on. weight is a big factor. For comparison, the caranx kaibutsu Light pleasure is ~365g.

Hi Jon,
I hope you found Rompin and my hometown KL to be enjoyable. Would have offered to see if you were free for coffee, but atm am in Perth until Dec 10 waiting for the wind to die down and submarines to go away so I can get out and chase samsons. Personally I haven't had the chance to chase the sails at Rompin yet, due to the timing of the monsoon season. But I have seen enough videos from buddies to know very little comes close to a sail lit up and tail-walking with a stickbait in its mouth. Not big, but plenty, I hope, for a time to come.

Thanks for the input,
KC