Land Based Spinning Sticks - Your help

[Anton Haakman]

Hello Gents

I am primarily a land based angler that targets all manner of species from the side. I have a couple of rods that I use and that serve me well. These rods are as follows:
MC Works RB 100 XR2
Yamaga Blue Sniper 100H
Ocean Revolution Black Devil 100

I would mostly pair these rods with a 10 000 Stella SW and PE 4. I have a spare SOM 16000 pool with PE 6 as backup.

These setups work well but I am always searching for something that may be a little better or may give me slightly more either in terms of casting or pulling power or weight.

I would like to ask what other options are out there in this sort of department and what you believe the advantages of these options to be.

Kind regards
Anton

[Nathan Tsao]

Aloha,

Try and switch one of your rods over to a conventional reel. I am also primarily a land based guy targeting GT. I feel the conventional reel gives you unmatched casting distance, power, and control of the fish. It also lets you throw an extra long leader. I prefer to throw JB Hollowcore to a 40ft of 100lb leader with 5 ft of 200lb rubline. Line twist wont be an issue with the conventional reel, so the hollowcore handle beautifully and packs more line onto the reel. 

[Anton Haakman]

Hello Nathan

I am from South Africa and most anglers fish with a conventional setup as their standard outfit. That said the average length of the rod would be 10ft6 to 11ft6 amongst the lure throwing fraternity and longer for those that throw bait.

What length rods are you using and what reels do you then pair to these rods. I use 2 x Trinidad DC 20 on rod blanks that are made here in SA. I am currently getting a Composte Development Graphcast 5 built for this purpose. This is 9ft6 rod that is quite powerful.

It would be great to hear about your setups.

Many thanks
Anton

[Nathan Tsao]

HI Anton,

Good to hear that more guys are keeping real with the conventionals!
A friend of mine was throwing his Trini DC as a plugging reel for a bit, but he said he hated the way it was killing his distance. He's known around here as a power caster and i trust his word about the reel, though i've never plugged with it myself.

The two reels  throw right now are the Avet MXL 5.8:1 and the Daiwa Saltiga Hyperspeed 30
With a few minor adjustments, the Avet will throw BOMBS. Casting a plug 120m is definitely possible with PE6 line with this reel. It is a fickle reel though, and you'll need constant maintenance to keep her plugging happily. I like to remove the clicker gear on the spool to lessen the spool inertia. At one point i had magged the reel, but later took the mags out because they were hurting my distance. Instead i started using just a tiny dab of light gear grease on the shaft of the spool to manage the speed. The factory magged "MC" versions of the Avet cast like junk, even on the lightest mag setting.
The spool on this reel is heavy so it can get away from you real easily, but once you dial it in, the casting distance is incredible.

The Daiwa is definitely a bit more user friendly. Since this reel has 4 optional centrifugal brakes, you have a little bit more forgiveness into the wind. I like to run 2 of the brakes for all around use. Compared to the Avet, its a little more forgiving on the early part of the cast since the spool is lighter. The drag curve is also steeper and stronger on the Daiwa. The castability is still excellent but the distance is just a bit shy of the Avet since the spool diameter is a bit smaller. My max cast on the Daiwa is probably about 110m with JB hollowcore 80lb.
All in all I have preferred my Daiwa to the Avet, but i have caught way more GT with the Avet than the Daiwa so far.

I like a slightly softer rod for throwing conventionals compared to my spinning gear. I like a smoother release and a more relaxed casting stroke; it seems the plugs fly better with a softer rod. My old faithful is a Lamiglas GSB1322M which is an 11' blank. its the first rod i reach for every morning. This blank is good for about 90g-120g lures.
Right now i'm building a 10'6" Black Hole Nano that i cut to 10'3" off the tip to throw lures into the 150g range. Also working on a 10' United Composites Buttjoint that i want to pair with a Saltiga Hyperspeed 40 for 130lb Hollowcore and heavy leaders. This blank is a BEAST, the two spinning versions i've built so far easily handle 200g poppers. I'll let you know how the conventional one turns out, its going to be an shoreline elephant gun. I WANT MY 100lb GT FROM THE ROCKS!!!!!!!! haha