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Antoine Leuret

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Hi everyone,
I'm not exactly new on the forum, I've been reading fo a long time now, but did not wrote so much.

I'm having trouble with choosing a popping rod...
I'm a 27 yo french fisherman and I would say fit enough to fish with a big stick.
I've been travelling for GTs those last years already in Djibouti, Egypt, Madagascar, Mayotte and Indonesia. So I'm beginning to know the fish. I used to fish with my big bluefin tuna rods (Major Craft GKC 86, Palms Olukai 73, Daiwa 803 XXH wich are PE 8 and PE 6 rods) but those rods are not made to maneuvrate big poppers, and they generally don't do the job well with heavier than 120g.
So now I'm trying to get a proper popping Rod.
I'm going for an exploration trip in SW madagascar in november, and I'm hesitating in the choice. The aim is to have a good rod to fish with poppers in the 120 to 200 grams range, and some big sinking stickbaits.This is what I saw and can get in france in my budget :
- Yamaga Blanks 710/10 Chugger
- Yamaga blanks 711/10 Dual
- Temple Reef reefer 711-10
- Temple Reef GT stick 710-8
- Hot's gipang Ryujin 3rd generation 79XH

They look pretty similar on the paper, more or less same size, same weight, same butt length. Unfortunately, I cannot hold in my hands any of those rods in my area, so I can't choose with the feeling. The yamaga 710/10 and Temple Reef 710-8 are maybe more popper typed ?
The temple reef 710-8 is lighter, and also the less expensive...

And yes, the reel will be a Stella 14k with a french aftermarket spool upgrade.

I'm really looking for a rod that will work poppers properly, and I can use with a big drag setting to pull hard on the fish with braid around 110 - 120 lbs.

Do you have any advice to help me ? I've been searching a lot on the forum bt did not find so much about those rods.

Thank you very much, and please forgive my english faults... I'm french !  ;D
Last Edit: August 31, 2017, 01:52:54 AM by Antoine Leuret

Brandon Khoo

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Hi Antoine

It sounds to me like you have your mind set on a powerful rod that can work big poppers. If that is the case, the YB710/10 will do the job for you quite nicely. It will handle the popper range you are considering and will be fine for big sinking stickbaits.

I would suggest you reconsider the reel though. With what you are thinking of using, I would suggest you would be better off with an 18000 over a 14000.
If it swims; I want to catch it!

Antoine Leuret

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Thank you very much for your help.
It's gonna be the YB 710/10, it's ordered !

For the reel, I'm going to check the possibility of getting maybe a used 18000 in France, cause I won't have the budget for a new one right now with the trip coming as well...
I'll let you know my impressions and the results of the exploration trip !

Thanks again for your help and for that perfect forum.

Antoine

Antoine Leuret

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Hi, just received the Yamaga 710/10 Chugger.
Looks nice, sober, very clean finishes, it's light and feels powerfull. I think it's definitely the kind of rod I was looking for.
It comes with a very soft microfiber blue cover.
Now waiting for the trip in november to test the beast. I'll make a report. Maybe I'll give it a try home if the blue fin tunas are ok to bite one bigger lures for once (here, most of the time we have to fish our 200 pounds BFT on lures under 12 cm...).
Thanks again for your advices.
Following, some pictures of the rod, traction on tight drag, balance with the Stella 14000.
Last Edit: September 11, 2017, 12:18:59 AM by Antoine Leuret

Brandon Khoo

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Good luck with the new rod, Antoine!
If it swims; I want to catch it!

Antoine Leuret

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Just a quick report for the rod (I will post the trip report in video)

I'm very happy with the rod, very light, good caster (way better than I was expecting it). Works very well all the poppers from 120 grams up to 200+ g. Too stiff point for most of the medium stickbaits, but still works fine with the bigger ones(180 - 250g). It's a man rod, not a super-stiff one, but is way below it's limits with a 35 kg GT and heavy drag. So very good GT rod all-in-all, super versatile for poppers and a surprisingly super-good caster. I do recommend !


Brandon Khoo

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Pleased to see you are happy with the rod, Antoine  :)
If it swims; I want to catch it!