First post cherry pop, Catalina 6500 for popper & stick bait + lure weight Q

[Ben Crarer]

He all,

I am just getting into GT fishing, love the forum by the way! Been reading a fair bit of some first class information posted, thanks for sharing

I recently bought a Catalina 6500 on sale for jigging etc, I was hoping to use this on a new GT stick I bought... well, until I can afford the dog fight that is (please lovely wife let me spend $1000+ on another reel, LOL)

I understand the higher retrieval is preferred for this style of fishing, is my Catalina going to cut it? I think it dose a meter per turn or close to it, give or take?

The rod I bought was the best rod I could afford (I think) to get into the game without blowing a heap of coin to find out I might not like this style of fishing, though I highly doubt that, as I have been a keen lure fisherman since I was a wee lad and I tend to become obsessed with every style of fishing I take up.

I got a jaw bone, 8ft PE8 rod from Doug Burt's tackle word in southport, this is one of his brands of tackle, Dougie has the rods built form smith blanks that come out of the smith factory in Japan, Its a nice entry level rod, light, and looks like it will do the business! one of the guys working there said he has see this rod do a 50kg GT. & again I will probably end up with several different rods for different days and conditions, wifey??? LOL

The lure weight states 150g to 250g, what do you think the ideal weight of the average lure should I look to invest in for starters (not casting the thing yet etc) can I get away with 100g to 130ish? and maybe in the middle somewhere?

Do you blokes / gals have prefered weights for casting distance and accuracy? and for different styles of popper and sticks?

Thanks in advance!

Tight lines!

Ben

PS: dose braid color matter? (will go tuff line 80lb at this stage) & is there any good DVD's you might recommend for beginners & tips etc on GT fishing?

Cheers

[Sam Loh]

Hi Ben,

I have seen people trying all ways to survive popping with low gear reel but lasted 2 trips at most. I for one stubborn ass had to experience the same pain on a long trip once to kneel down and understand why people here is advising against it for FREE

Anyway I have no experience on the rod that you mentioned but seems you are quite set for the test casting session. For that you can pick up Cubera 125g and 150g, as for popper they won't go too wrong. Thereafter you may discover further and have a feel about your setup.

Cheers
Sam

[Ben Crarer]

Cheers Sam!

[Brandon Khoo]

If the rod is built on an 8 foot Smith blank, I'd suspect it has been built on a 80P/35. I'd regard this as a light/medium GT blank. PE8 would be it's absolute limit. I think 80lb as you are proposing would be ideal. 100lb is ok provided you're sensible.

Think about an ideal casting weight of around 100 to 150g. I think whoever came up with 250g (assuming blank is a 80P/35 although I can't see how it could be anything else) is on magic mushrooms.

It's a nice blank - you will find it perfectly good if you want to cast lures like 125g Cuberas and sticks to around 150g or a little bit more.

On the reel, go with your Catalina. As Sam wrote, you'll die on a long trip but what the hell, that is what GT fishing is about. The additional purchases can always wait for later. Don't upset the missus otherwise that could be the end of your GT days before they start! You could always go second hand on a reel. We see some good bargains coming up from time to time here.

[Ben Crarer]

Hey Brandon, thanks for the reply mate    some good info!

From memory the rod was built to spec by smith for Doug, think he mention it was based on the Tokara?

I will ask him more about the rod when I pick up my new jig stick on Wednesday & post up info.

Cheers for the wise words, keep the misses happy for a while!!!

 

[Luke Wyrsta]

Hey Brandon, thanks for the reply mate    some good info!

From memory the rod was built to spec buy smith for Doug, think he mention it was based on the Tokara?

I will ask him more about the rod when I pick up my new jig stick on Wednesday & post up info.

Cheers for the wise words, keep the misses happy for a while!!!

 

I'd love to know more about the rod and the price too please.

[Ben Crarer]

Will do mate.

[Brandon Khoo]

I would sincerely doubt that but happy to be proven wrong. The Tokara is 7'6" and is regarded by Smith as up to a PE12 rod. It is not a PE8 rod nor is it 8 feet long so it cannot be based on the Tokara.

I'd just be a little bit careful here, Ben and I suggest you establish the rod's origins with certainty before committing to a buying decision. A number of people in the industry are fairly cavalier with the facts about their rods. I'm not suggesting that this is what has happened in your case but we do see this quite often.

From memory the rod was built to spec by smith for Doug, think he mention it was based on the Tokara?

[Ben Crarer]

Totally understand mate, I will get the fine details, most of the info is off the top of my head, I don't want to miss lead anyone, I just want to give you enough info to help me out with the questions I asked.

I wouldn't expect a $ $450 / $500 rod to be first class smith gear, though I do clearly remember the salesman saying the rod was built for them & come out of the smith factory, this is also one of the sales points I based my purchase decision on, buying this rod over other rods in the price range.

EDIT : I kinda read your post wrong, and yes I totally agree, some of the crew in this industry are as cunning as shit house rats! LOL

Wish I found this forum a few weeks earlier... though still happy with the purchase, though I probably would have dropped my jigging outfit or the dogfight... maybe 

Tight Lines

Cheers 

[Ben Crarer]

Picked up my new jig stick today and asked more about the rod, its NOT a smith blank, though it is Japanese Toray graphite and the rods are custom built by smith in japan for these guys.

A second opinion confirmed it is probably a L/M rod, with popper weight suited more in the 80g to 140g range, it has a softer tip and looks like it will work stick baits well, still has enough grunt in the bottom.

Cheers all,

tight lines

Ben