Travel Rod and Reel combo

[Alex Gomez]

Fin Nor are good for their price but personally I would never consider throw lures for gt's witha real that costs $130. It costs that much for a reason and something will give. Even a smaller gt will find a weekness.

I agree for longer term usage but for one trip it's a sensible option for someone that may not use it again.

They are used by Craig McGill on his kingfish charter and he catches 10-15kg kings all season on them.  Although not GT's they still pull some string!

[Kyle Stacey]

Zaneq do a 3 piece that is reasonably priced and if it is anything like thier other rods it will be very good, I think fish head have them

[Alex Gomez]

Thanks Alex
Which fin nor offshore size were you referring too? The 9500.looks huge castability wise

Or this
http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/lth10.html

[Sam Phillips]

Cheers for the advice lads, off to check the reels out tomorrow morning. Whats everyone use for line, I heard of varivas gt, sunline monster battle, and Jerry brown is it? And I've got some 130Lb and 170Lb leader and think ive almost got the fg knot down pat.

[Mark Richie]

Cheers for the advice lads, off to check the reels out tomorrow morning. Whats everyone use for line, I heard of varivas gt, sunline monster battle, and Jerry brown is it? And I've got some 130Lb and 170Lb leader and think ive almost got the fg knot down pat.

Jerry Blown Solid Core comes highly recommended due to being nearly as good as the Varivas but at cheaper price.

Certain brands of braid do not like the impact of a GT strike and break so make sure you do some research on this forum before your purchase. But as I mentioned you can't go too far wrong with the JB.

As for the line size, we can't recommend anything with knowing the rod and real that you've settle on.

[Sam Phillips]

Thanks Mark, Ended up getting a Saragosa 10000 that u recommended earlier felt really nice I know it wont tame any brutes but hopefully do ok for a first trip and my local tackle shop gave me too good a price to resist. I can afford decent line and terminals, I was thinking maybe pe 6 or 8?

[Mark Richie]

Go with pe6 mate. You'll get about 300 metres on that reel where as if you go with pe8, you'll struggle for line capacity to begin with and then be up shit creek if you get snapped off in a fight.

And you're basically wasting your time putting pe8 on that setup (I'm assuming you've gone the 15-24kg t curve travel?). You'll break the rod and burn out your drag before the line breaks.

[Sam Phillips]

Sweet I'll pick up some pe6, yeh got the tcurve 15-24kg, it feels ok for a cheapo it says it can throw up to 200g lures but I think it's only going to be good for 100-110g size

[Sam Phillips]

Hey mark, What pe ratings are Jerry Brown? im guessing their pe 6 is 80Lb in the solid core, I cant seem to find any info on their stuff.

[Mark Richie]

If you're going JB, go the 65lb mate. According to the paulus just fishing site, it breaks at around 95lb and the 80lb breaks at around 120lb. Waaay too high breaking strain for your equipment.

[Bryce Faydherbe]

Ripple Fisher make a travel GT rod called GTX.

[Boerris Polakowski]

Is their a limit for the length? The  Ripple Fisher GTX is a two piece rod, splited in the mid. If your budget is just 1000 $ including rod,reel and some lures, most of the entioned rods are to expensive.
I bought last year the Illex Ashura Waiefu 270 H . It works fine fine for poppers up to 150 gr . There is a MH version on the market to. The new version i heard i a 4 piece rod im 240 cm.
It was not a problem to manage Gts up to 15 Kilos. As a result i can say the rod is for the budget ok, but the old version was to long and heavy for me.
Last year i bought the T Curve. I didnt fished the rod an sold it, because i dont like the grip and the weigth of the rod.

[Nicholas Santeloudi]

Cheap reel to look at is the saltist daiwa 6500. I've got a 4500 that's caught yellowfin to 18 kg and doggies to 14 kg  strong good drag smooth for the price. Not a stella or saltiga but ok. Smith make the 3 piece amami for about 800 but only fish pe 6 on it. I think it's still available from Europe. Teamed up with a saltist, I reckon 1100 aud.

[Mark Richie]

Cheap reel to look at is the saltist daiwa 6500. I've got a 4500 that's caught yellowfin to 18 kg and doggies to 14 kg  strong good drag smooth for the price. Not a stella or saltiga but ok. Smith make the 3 piece amami for about 800 but only fish pe 6 on it. I think it's still available from Europe. Teamed up with a saltist, I reckon 1100 aud.

Hi Nicholas,

I'm interested to know how long you've been using the Saltist?

I started with a 6500 Saltist and had nothing but trouble from the start! Spool corrosion, a drag that would go into free spin mid fight and gear box issues. I binned it after 2 months and got a saragosa and had no issues.

Don't take this as an anti-Daiwa claim as I use a 6500h saltiga and love it however feel I got burned by the Saltist and can't recommend one. Mine may have been a dud but for a comparable price, the saragosa was faultless.

[Nicholas Santeloudi]

Hi Mark I have the 4500. I've used it in the tropics for a five day liveaboard and a five week work stint in the tropics. So its still in great condition. I use predominantly shimano reels apart from this saltist. I clean it religiously,  apart from the 5 day liveaboard. When i eventually pulled the drag apart it was like new and it got absolutely soaked. I must admit I grease it up but never had a problem with it. It feels tight theres no play at all in it. I guess time will tell !!! It sucks when you buy a new toy and it lets you down.