First popping rod

[Bent Inge Bentsen]

Hi, I have booked a trip with Gamefishing Asia to the Andaman Islands in January 2016. The fishing will be a mixture of both popping and jigging. Except for a few hours in Panama I have never been popping before. I'm 175cm (5.7 feet) and weigh about 75kg. I will use lures of 120-160g, both poppers and stickbaits. Therefore I need a general purpose rod  which handles both poppers and stickbaits. The rod will be matched with a Stella 10000 SWB. I know the gear ratio is not optimal for popping, but I bought it because most of the time it will be used for jigging in Norway. I'll probably buy a Stella 14000 or 18000 later if I will have more popping-trips. Brandon's guide to buying a GT rod was very helpful to read and I searched the forum to find out what rod to buy. Here are some suggestions by me:

- Ripple Fisher GT79 Reversal
- Ripple Fisher GT80 Reversal Nano
- Carpenter Monster Hunter 80H
- Carpenter DJ83MH
- Carpenter DJ83ML
- Carpenter Coral Viper 79/40
- Carpenter Coral Viper 79/35
- Black Hole Cape Cod Special 7.6 / 8 / 8.6  Graphite / Nano
- Saltywater Tackle Race Point rods

As mentioned I've got very little experience with popping so feel free to suggest other rods than what I mentioned. I've also found out that some of these rods are difficult to get, I guess its because of a limited production. Can I ask if a tacklestore that are dealer of f.ex. Ripple Fisher want to order a rod for me from the maufacturer (Ripple Fisher)?

Regards
Bent Inge

[Courtland Babcock]

In my experience, which is a relative newcomer to GT fishing, you should stay away from the real high end stuff. Although, if you buy quality to start you'll get back the investment if you don't like the rod.

Being your size, you are likely not going to be an overpowering angler. I would keep the rod under 8' and don't watch any videos of Sami landing #300 fish in 5 minutes, that will not be you. A good rod would be something like a Black Hole 7'6" Nano. The nano makes the feel soft and somewhat fore giving as opposed to the graphite version. It can do stickbaits or poppers just fine and will be half the cost of others on your list. It is a PE 6 rod in my opinion which should line up well with the reel you have.

Although the Andamans serves up some big fish, it is the quantity and variety that keep you casting. Most of my fishing there was done with 100-120 gram poppers and I was as successful as the rest of the anglers.

After your first trip you will know what "type" of rod you are looking for and can move on to "higher end" more specialized products.

For the record, I have an "affiliation"(read: friends with Kilsong) with Black Hole USA but have many rods from Carpenter, Temple Reef, Black Hole, MC Works....the rod I mentioned is a good all around mid-level rod.

[Mark Harris]

The first issue to deal with is the reel.  Fishing for GTs with a 10000-sized reel is really not that easy. You can't get enough line on there unless you are going to fish PE6 and as a newcomer to this type of fishing, I would strongly counsel against you doing that. You need PE8 minimum unless you really know what you are doing.

The solution would be to buy an aftermarket 16000 (or 14000) spool and fit that to your 10000. That would give you enough capacity to fish PE8.

For the rod.. from your spec you want an all rounder to work 120-160 gram lures.  If you can afford it go for a top quality rod. This will not only serve you better but also if you decide this type of fishing is not for you, then the better the rod, the better it will hold its value if you want to sell it later.

Given your spec I would look for a Carpenter Monster Hunter 80H as first choice.  It may not be straightforward finding one at the moment though. You could also look at Ripple Fisher 79 Reversal to do a similar all round job and that should be  easier to find.

[Amr Kehila]

Hi Bent, you need to upgrade your spool so you can fish for GT properly as a beginner! I would get a SOM 16000 spool or upgrade to a 14kSWB or 18kSW/SWB.

Ripple Fisher GT80 Reversal Nano (I've owned the 79Reversal and its almost the same) or Carpenter Monster Hunter 80H are solid high-end choices.

However, you don't need to expensive, you could look at a Saltywater Tackle Race Point for instance, but i can't suggest a model...

EDIT: Seems Mark already beat me sorry for the double up!

[Bent Inge Bentsen]

Thanks for all the replies! The Black Hole 7'6'' Nano looks like a suitable rod for me, and as you say it's half the price of some of the other rods. I've got a couple of Heru Cubera 150's and plan on buying some Orion Cono Cono poppers (160g), will this rod handle these as well? Or do I need the 8" Nano version to throw these poppers? How is the casting capability of the 7,6'' compared to the 8'' and 8,6'' ? I've used a Black Hole jigging rod for halibut, cod and coalfish for several years and are very pleased with it. The reason I added the more expensive rods was that they were recommended by others on this forum and that I want to buy a rod that is so good that I don't feel for buying a new rod after a couple of trips.

Gamefishing Asia recommends 80-100lb line for popping and 60-80lb line for jigging, therefore I was thinking to buy a 1500yd spool of Power Pro Super Slick 80lb and use it on both reels (Saragosa 10000SW for jigging). The diameter is 0,43mm which according to this https://www.facebook.com/MahigeerWS/posts/676602492364682 equals PE7. Do I need PE8 (100lb) for popping? And is PE8 suitable for jigging? The jigging rod will be a Black Hole Cape Cod 250g spinning.

I've read on this forum and on 360tuna.com that some people have had problems with aftermarked spools like SOM and Jigging Master, therefore I'm a bit sceptical. I guess if you suggest that I abolutely need more line capacity, that a 14000 SWB spool could be the solution. Will it fit the 10000 SWB reel without any problems/modifications?

Will the lower gear ratio of the 10000 SWB be a problem in popping? Or can I just reel a little bit faster?

[Courtland Babcock]

Thanks for all the replies! The Black Hole 7'6'' Nano looks like a suitable rod for me, and as you say it's half the price of some of the other rods. I've got a couple of Heru Cubera 150's and plan on buying some Orion Cono Cono poppers (160g), will this rod handle these as well? Or do I need the 8" Nano version to throw these poppers? How is the casting capability of the 7,6'' compared to the 8'' and 8,6'' ? I've used a Black Hole jigging rod for halibut, cod and coalfish for several years and are very pleased with it. The reason I added the more expensive rods was that they were recommended by others on this forum and that I want to buy a rod that is so good that I don't feel for buying a new rod after a couple of trips.

Gamefishing Asia recommends 80-100lb line for popping and 60-80lb line for jigging, therefore I was thinking to buy a 1500yd spool of Power Pro Super Slick 80lb and use it on both reels (Saragosa 10000SW for jigging). The diameter is 0,43mm which according to this https://www.facebook.com/MahigeerWS/posts/676602492364682 equals PE7. Do I need PE8 (100lb) for popping? And is PE8 suitable for jigging? The jigging rod will be a Black Hole Cape Cod 250g spinning.

I've read on this forum and on 360tuna.com that some people have had problems with aftermarked spools like SOM and Jigging Master, therefore I'm a bit sceptical. I guess if you suggest that I abolutely need more line capacity, that a 14000 SWB spool could be the solution. Will it fit the 10000 SWB reel without any problems/modifications?

Will the lower gear ratio of the 10000 SWB be a problem in popping? Or can I just reel a little bit faster?

Sorry for all the questions.

Here is a video I shot in the Andamans last year. Black Hole 7'6" Graphite with a Saltiga 5000(#80 JB hollow). This was after 3 days of fishing heavier gear and settling in on what worked best for me at that time. I would have been fishing the nano 7'6" but it got broken by a lure being thrown though it while in a rod holder. You can get a good idea of the action of the rod.

[Bent Inge Bentsen]

Awesome video and fishing! The rod looks great, I think I'll order a 7.6'' Nano rod. Another thing to consider is that if something happens to the rod and it gets broken I have only lost half the money compared to a high-end rod. Sorry to hear that you're rod got broken in Andaman. Thanks again for the answer!

[Mark Harris]

Thanks for all the replies! The Black Hole 7'6'' Nano looks like a suitable rod for me, and as you say it's half the price of some of the other rods. I've got a couple of Heru Cubera 150's and plan on buying some Orion Cono Cono poppers (160g), will this rod handle these as well? Or do I need the 8" Nano version to throw these poppers? How is the casting capability of the 7,6'' compared to the 8'' and 8,6'' ? I've used a Black Hole jigging rod for halibut, cod and coalfish for several years and are very pleased with it. The reason I added the more expensive rods was that they were recommended by others on this forum and that I want to buy a rod that is so good that I don't feel for buying a new rod after a couple of trips.

Gamefishing Asia recommends 80-100lb line for popping and 60-80lb line for jigging, therefore I was thinking to buy a 1500yd spool of Power Pro Super Slick 80lb and use it on both reels (Saragosa 10000SW for jigging). The diameter is 0,43mm which according to this https://www.facebook.com/MahigeerWS/posts/676602492364682 equals PE7. Do I need PE8 (100lb) for popping? And is PE8 suitable for jigging? The jigging rod will be a Black Hole Cape Cod 250g spinning.

I've read on this forum and on 360tuna.com that some people have had problems with aftermarked spools like SOM and Jigging Master, therefore I'm a bit sceptical. I guess if you suggest that I abolutely need more line capacity, that a 14000 SWB spool could be the solution. Will it fit the 10000 SWB reel without any problems/modifications?

Will the lower gear ratio of the 10000 SWB be a problem in popping? Or can I just reel a little bit faster?

I will not comment any further on the rod as you seem to have made your mind up no the budget option.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the SOM 16000 (or Nature Boys) 16000 spools. Cannot speak for the JM 16000 as I have not used it.  I have caught a number of very big GTs on the SOM 16000s without them missing a beat.  The stock 14000 Stella spool capacity is fine with PE8 just about.

If you are looking to buy a bulk spool of Spectra braid you might be better off with Jerry Brown 100 lb or Tufline than PowerPro. I have not used PowerPro for years but it used to be extremely unreliable.

[Bent Inge Bentsen]

Thanks for the comment! The reason I suggested Power Pro was because I have used it for years without problems, although not as extreme as GT-fishing. I've heard people had problems with Power Pro many years ago, but I thought this was mostly because of fake line on ebay. I'll definitely check out Jerry Brown and Tufline.

[Amr Kehila]

Awesome video and fishing! The rod looks great, I think I'll order a 7.6'' Nano rod. Another thing to consider is that if something happens to the rod and it gets broken I have only lost half the money compared to a high-end rod. Sorry to hear that you're rod got broken in Andaman. Thanks again for the answer!

I would take a little more time to consider the other 'budget' options available for a GT fishing rod whilst I cant confidently offer you a specific alternative; I just note that the Black Hole seems to be a Tuna rod and although perfectly usable; taper will be slower and more parabolic as a result, no?

If you are looking to buy a bulk spool of Spectra braid you might be better off with Jerry Brown 100 lb or Tufline than PowerPro. I have not used PowerPro for years but it used to be extremely unreliable.

Yes and Daiwa Boat Braid is another cheap option used by some for budget reasons but I would use JB regardless.

[Bent Inge Bentsen]

I'm open to alternatives and any suggestions on rod. Also more expensive rods than Black Hole. The nano rods have a more parabolic action, is this negative in GT fishing? As I mentioned before is the reason I'm positve to Black Hole because I've got a Black Hole jigging rod. Is it Jerry Brown Line One hollow braid you recommend? Or is it the JB Solid braid?

Here is a link to the rod:
http://www.jignpop.com/black-hole-cape-cod-special-76n-rod-nano/

[Mayur Panday]

Hi Bent,
I have the cape cod nano 8.0 and I use it for GT fishing all the time. Excellent rod for the price IMHO. It's a very nice first rod (7.6 or 8.0). Later you can upgrade based on your preference/style of fishing/size of poppers or stickbaits. The 8.0 does both stickbaits (up to 150g) and poppers (up to 130/140g) well.

I know there are mixed opinions about aftermarket spools, however I have the SOM and the JM 16000 and never faced any problems whatsoever.

Andaman is a nice place! You will have a blast of a trip!

[Bent Inge Bentsen]

Thanks for the advice! I'm really looking forward to the trip to Andaman 

[Trevor Skinner]

Bent,

You need to fish PE8 (100lb) for decent sized GTs. PE6 (80lb) is doable if you're an experienced GT fisherman but only in the right place at the right time. You can use the 10000SWB fine but you'll need to get a bigger spool as the guys have suggested.

In my experience, there are only two budget rods I've seen cope with big fish and would recommend either of them to anybody. The Race Point line (the 200 is the choice imho) and Hots, particularly the 77XH or the 79XH. I've seen both do great jobs on +50kg fish. I saw the 77XH put a 45kg fish on the deck yesterday, admittedly in the hands of a good angler. The Hots is also a great rod for lighter guys as it's physically light and very forgiving, the RP is less forgiving and is ideal for anglers who like to sit on a fish with high drag settings.

Don't get too carried away by length of the rod and casting distance. Yes it's important....eventually. Most beginners I've seen have read that an +8ft rod casts better and end up very frustrated when their spanking new distance machine is a fizzer. Learn how to load up a rod properly with 150g lures and then make you're own mind up as to what suits and what doesn't.

Regards,


Trev   

[Bent Inge Bentsen]

Thanks for the input on rods. I'm thinking on maybe buying the Jigging Master 2014 Monster spool 16000. Seems to me that the SOM only has 16000 spools for the SW reels and not the SWB.