Newby - Popping tackle advice sought

[Colin P]

[Matt Harvey]

Colin,

I had done all of that research as well today and like you say pro-shop don't have them in.

The T-Curve looks like a good bet for me now and Campbells have them but like I say I cannot get hold of them by any method to find out of they ship internationally.

Do you have any links to the other suppliers you mentioned in the other countries.

Thanks Again

[Colin P]

Sorry I can't be much help Matt. I have only bought lures off ebay - my rods come from AP (do not sell the T curve) and Fishhead (do not sell Shimano).

Can you ring Campbells - they give 08 9444 3710 on the web site? Remember the time difference if there is one for you!

[Matt Harvey]

Thanks Colin - just spoke to Nick down there at Campbells amd they are very helpful.

The gear will take a week to get to me so I can relax a bit now...   

[Colin P]

Glad to hear things are working out for you Matt. Be sure to post a report to let us all know how you get on in the Andamans. I am off to the Seychelles early December and will do likewise.

Cheers

Colin

[Mick Cunningham]

matt
if your still after smith maybe you should buy a 2nd hand rod

i think the wrc 80p/35 is too light. and not forget that it only can handle max 9kg drag .i think you should look at the tokoara 60 rod as this rod can handle 13kg of drag . and still the strongest rod for smith .
i do own one and i love it with stickbait . 

one for sale not sure if it is sold yet .
http://www.gtpopping.com/forum/index.php?topic=736.0

will be waiting on your report

[Brandon Khoo]

Mick, sorry and I hope you don't mind but I'll have to disagree with you on that one. I know quite a number of people who use the 80P/35 and for most GT applications, it's ideal. I'd suggest it'd be so for the Andamans. Notwithstanding what the manufacturer's recommendation is, I know most anglers are fishing around 15kg drag on that rod and it handles it fine. I've fished even higher on my Komodo where Smith recommend a max of 10kg. You will also find the 8 foot length better for casting.

I am very strongly of the view that you should fish a rod that is comfortable to use for long periods and which suits the general environment. There is no point carrying an ultra heavy rod in an areas where the very large majority of fish are 20kgs. I appreciate there are some locations where you are focussed on targetting monster fish or it is incredibly difficult terrain. In such areas, you have to fish heavy. I personally will fish as light as the environment will allow me to as it is just more comfortable to fish for long periods. Also, it is not as if you have no chance against a big fish on PE8 (100lb).

Also, there is little point in fishing a rod you cannot handle. For me, I'd have to admit that I am getting to the point where I question how useful the SP78UHL is to me as it feels like the fish has me caught these days. ......... btw, no, it's not for sale 

[Mick Cunningham]

Also, there is little point in fishing a rod you cannot handle. For me, I'd have to admit that I am getting to the point where I question how useful the SP78UHL is to me as it feels like the fish has me caught these days. ......... btw, no, it's not for sale 

i have give up on the carpenter rod at the moment . cos they are very hard to get jeez . so far i have 4 gt rod so that is enought for me for now . cos i do not have 8 arm to fish with 

but later on i might upgrade my rod after i use them a bit . 

[Brandon Khoo]

Mick, four is only the start of a collection!      

[Jon Li]

Hi Mick ,

Wait till the target fish expands then you will have rod for GT , Tuna , Mahi-mahi , Kingfish , etc. , etc. .

Jon .

[Mick Cunningham]

Hi Mick ,

Wait till the target fish expands then you will have rod for GT , Tuna , Mahi-mahi , Kingfish , etc. , etc. .

Jon .

yeah your right i will need some tuna rod and jigging rod and light gear pe3-5 rod . 

and some new lure,s which is on the way 

[Colin P]

Also, there is little point in fishing a rod you cannot handle.

Always seem to find myself agreeing with Brandon.

I find the Smiths rod to be as much as I want to handle for a long day's popping in very hot temperatures - but then I am nearly 60 and I may well have had a different perspective in my 20s, 30s or 40s! Having said that, Richard at Oceanactive (who is a seriously strong young guy) has proved that you cannot stop the first run of a really big Musandam GT (40kg plus) dead whatever popping rod and drag setting you use - he has broken Komodo Dragons trying to do so.

Perhaps the right rod for the job is a combination of the fisherman's strength and technique, the size of fish you are targetting, the terrain you are fishing and the size of popper you wish to use. But for me, the criteria that overrides all others is the first.

[Jon Li]

Hi Colin ,

SP78UHL SHP is not for everyone and neither WV80XH , I am nearing the magic 60 yr old too and
way overweight for my 5'8" built , my heaviest rod now is a SP710H SHP but I am most happiest with CV79/40RF SHP nowaday .

While GT fishing I use SP78H SHP for poppers exclusively and CV79/40RF SHP for multi purpose popper / stickbait / pencil . I have another rod which I use for casting long distance , it's a LR86 which is my first GT rod but nowaday I find this rod is a good tuna rod too .

In any case , my initial drag for GT fishing is 10 kg and what used to be 15 kg max. drag nowaday is unthinkable lest I want to hurt myself and not the fish .
 
Jon . 

[Colin P]

Hear what you say Jon.

I do use much heavier rods than my Smiths when targetting sturgeon in the Fraser River, BC, Canada. But this is bottom fishing with bait using maybe 14ozs of lead to hold bottom in only 20 feet of water - it's a powerful river. Aside from needing a power stick to cast such a lead, you could hook into fish weighing anything from 20kg to 400kg (my biggest is 100kg - my wife's biggest is 200kg, nine feet six inches long!). Like popping for GT, this is stand-up fishing but the big differences between this and the popping I have done are -

- you start by fishing at anchor rather than from a moving boat

- you only cast a few times a day rather than hundreds of times

- the temperature will not exceed 28 degrees rather being 40 degrees plus

- you can always follow the fish in the boat if it begins to empty your spool (not always possible when fishing for GT near reefs)

- sturgeon are spectacular in that they usually jump and a big one is very much stronger than you are - but they do not have the raw speed of GT.

Having said all this, if I ever do feel outgunned with my Smiths Popping Special, I just know I will go out and buy a Komodo Dragon!!

[Brandon Khoo]

Colin, I dream about catching one of those sturgeons. They just look unbelievable - like they're stone age!

Oceanactive has seen some of the heaviest rods in the game blow up this year from anglers who simply lock up dead on 150 to 200lb hollow braid. You've summed up big fish pretty well. I honestly do not think it is possible to stop a fish of 40kgs from going where it wants after hook-up. Trying to lock up and stop the fish from going anywhere on hook-up is a recipe for tears.

I had three bust-offs on PE10 Varivas at Shoalwater early this year where I locked up as an absolute last resort - and if you want to do this, get the rod angle way down. Even at the time I busted off, I never felt the rod was anywhere near the stage where it could go on me.

I've seen some very nice fish come on board this year on Carpenter PE8 rods like the CV79 RF40 and the SP80M and the rods never looked excessively stressed but they were in the hands of experienced and capable anglers. I fought a massive fish just very recently at Jewell for some five minutes on a TBL711 and again, the rod was handling it fine. I'm fishing around 15kgs on these PE8 rods. To give you some idea on what these rods can handle if you know how to work the right angles, Kenji Konishi uses PE6 on a TBL84 - which is a PE2-4 rod for stickbaits.

I find the rods like the SP78EXH and UHL are essential when you want to move huge cup faced poppers through the water but the thought of a long fight against a very big fish on a UHL is a very scary one.