GT Rod

[Doug Terry]

My Fishing buddy is looking for a reasonable price gt rod. as a UK based angler he doesn't want to spend a lot on a rod he will only use for 10days every couple of years. he has been recommended a Daiwa Saltiga Ulua Popper Rod.
would this fit the bill

[Dan Wulf]

Last month we tested a rod in Tanzania from SPRO - Norway Expedition Pilker Spin (2.70m, 8.86", weight 280g, 100-250g lure). Guides are much smaller than otherwise seen on rods made for popping. However, that did not appear to have a significant effect on casting. Despite the specs I will say that this rod is optimal for casting and working poppers in the range of 100-150g.  It performed very well landing YFT up to 10kg and seemed (almost?) impossible to break - unfortunately we did not have the chance to try it out on a GT.  The price is around 75 Euro.  Maybe your friend could try the rod in a local shop.

[Mike_Tan]

Several years ago, a friend of mine told me he actually liked his Europe market Shimano spin rod more than his Zenaq Fokeeto. Think it was called Aspire or something like that... Maybe you can do a search on the Europe based GT forum for it. I'm pretty sure Shimano Europe will give you good warranty coverage for their products. Oh yeah maybe you can also check out the Speedmaster Kaibutsu range of GT rods as I was told it's meant for the European market too. There's a 9'+ model in the Speedmaster range and I'm sure it'll help beginners gain the distance advantage.

[Mark Harris]

I have twice seen Speedmaster Kaibutsus broken around the female ferrule under tiny fish load and would avoid them.  The more expensive Caranx Kaibutsus are a decent option  though.

[Dan Wulf]

I have twice seen Speedmaster Kaibutsus broken around the female ferrule under tiny fish load and would avoid them.  The more expensive Caranx Kaibutsus are a decent option  though.

I've once tried the travel version of Shimano Caranx Kaibutsu Pencil Instrument (STC). After 3 or 4 smaller GTs the lower ferule left its position and moved to the female side. All ferules were carefully waxed prior to fishing. Shimano Holland asked for the rod in order to assess the damage. According to Shimano Holland it was not possible to repair the rod, since no spares were available. They mentioned that the model was out of production (Feb 2011) so a replacement was also not an option. Shimano gave me a full refund. However, the model still appears in their 2011 Europe catalogue.

The mentioned rod from SPRO is made for heavy spinning for cod and pollock, so obviously it is not build for GT popping. The rod may be an extremely cheap option for first-timers or the occasional guest. I will later do some load tests with the rod and post the photos here.
http://www.spro.nl/catalogus/UK/flash.html#/73/