Tackle reviews

[George Pang]

Just continuing on from a thread for Brock about my impressions some on tackle.

First just let me say that "My name is George Pang and I am tackleholic.."

I was testing some new gear at fraser, namely a KD and the RF GT82LC. The KD was a replacement to my tokara which met an untimely demise at shoalwater...

Firstly the KD, I love this rod. Initially I was a bit dissapaointed as to how it casts, but it more than made up for it as a fish fighting tool. I was running my stickbaits on it and found it deadly. As an all in one rod, it is as good as it gets. Its official this is now my favourite rod!

The ripplefisher - well what can I say. Light, casts like a dream, really punches the lures ot there.  I dont like the way it pops big lures though, I found it very tiring to use, and far better as a stickbait rod. You can literally get lure to dance around - amazing!

The SP78UHL - An animal . I dont think it there would be too many rods any better as
a popping rod. It makes big poppers explode on the surface, and casts very well for a 7'8". I think as fighting tool, the WV might be a little easier on the angler. Maybe Brandon might have something to add.

The ValleyHill GT83P. An under-rated rod, Not as powerful as all the previous but casts a hell of a long way, pops well. Shame I is so hard on the angler when you hook up. Overall a reliable backup.

George

PS
There some more gear I've yet to test..

I would be interested to hear from others, about their gear.

[Brandon Khoo]

George - no rod on earth could have survived what your Tokara went through!
My views on the KD have been expressed on this forum many times - no need for me to repeat them. The 82LC is a great stickbait rod but is fine on smaller poppers.
SP78UHL - bloody hell     Don't you remember what I said to you at Shoalwater when you bought it?! This rod is a as good as it gets on big poppers but if you hook a really big GT on it in relatively open water, you'll want to be good shape

[Tony Fowler]

Hi George

I'm interested to know your thoughts on the differences between the Tokara and the KD. ie casting, lure types, PE used etc.

I own a Tokara and was thinking of getting a KD but have also been advised to have a look at some specialist type rods.

Regards Tony

[George Pang]

Ha!

Brandon, if they can make it, I can break it!


Tony, I havent used the TK and the KD side by side, but I probably will get another TK just to complete the collection. IMHO the TK and KD are sort of similar, in the sense they are generalist rods, that are quite good at most things.

The TK casts better, seems a stiffer and maybe a more powerful rod - which inturn is harder on the angler.
The KD has a heavier tip, casts heavy lures, and is definitley 'softer' and more parabolic. It surprising how much hurt you can put on a fish with relatively little effort compared to SP78UHL and to lesser degree the TK. Its a joy to use and subdue big fish with.

George

[Chuen Fan]

george, brandon.. after doing quite a thorough search on the komodo dragon on this site.. it seems that most have given the rod the thumbs up, just a quick question though, what is the max drag that u guys have run through the KD?? 10kg drag is heaps but not that much when u r targeting about XOS tees..  can't wait any longer for the ripplefisher to arrive (getting itchy hands) so ordered a KD which should be arriving next week sometime..   
..

[Brandon Khoo]

I have always regarded the KD as a good all round rod in that it does just about everything reasonably well. What I will point out is that if you're not a good caster, you will struggle with this rod because at 7'6", it isn't going to do you too many favours with casting distance.

Notwithstanding the manufacturer's stated 10kgs of drag, I have fished 15kgs plus on it without any trouble and it is clear it is within the rod's capacity. It certainly does not over-saturate the rod. That said, PE10 is its limit in my opinion. I strongly recommend you do not go to PE12 and load it up to the max. I have some trouble reconciling the manufacturer's figures of a max of 10kg of drag but also a max of PE12. That doesn't add up.

It really comes down to what you're looking for in a rod. If you were looking for a Ripple GT79R and have decided to substitute the KD, I'd say that was sensible but if you were looking for a Ripple GT78H or Carpenter SP78UHL for monster chuggers, I'd say it would not be an ideal substitute.

[Les Maunder]

Yes Brandon, I have always wondered about the rod ratings of the TK vs the KD. I think Steve (Aus distributors) explained this very well in his post last Oct.


http://www.gtpopping.com/forum/index.php?topic=843.msg8649#msg8649

Given his response I always wonder how so people read the specs and then say "Oh the KD is too heavy (rod action) for me" and end up using the TK thinking it is a much lighter rod.


Cheers


Les

[Chuen Fan]

thanks brandon, not looking to substitute the Ripple 79R (its taking a while), just adding to the collection  . i couldn't get my head around the pe12 and 10kg rating of drag from the manufacturer as well. will only be fishing pe8-10 on the rod with a max drag of 14kg.

as with casting, there'll be many a day when u see a wierdo (me) in his boat fishing for snapper, whilst casting 150-200g poppers around.. have had many strange looks from passing boats down in port phillip bay thinking WTF is this guy doing.. as they say practice makes perfect, and what better way than on a rocking boat, sinking a few beers whilst still catching a feed?

maybe on day one of the manufacturers will come up with a 9foot rod that has got the first 3 feet fast detatchable when u r onto a fish somehow when u r onto a fish. so that it'll be the best of both worlds, good casting and even better fighting rod.. ??!??!??

[Brandon Khoo]

Les - thanks for that. I am familiar with Steve's post.

Can I say, notwithstanding a safety measure or margin, a 10kg drag rating really does corresponds to a PE6-8 rod, not a PE12 rod. All manufacturers build in a safety margin for obvious reasons but the safety margin built into the KD is a bit excessive in my view. Having fished the Tokara and the Komodo for an extended period, I can say that I find the difference between the rods in terms of power to be marginal. Like George, I find the KD loads and loads and there is plenty down the bottom and the Tokara is a bit faster in action. To me, the KD still feels like it has more down low.

I retired the Tokaras some time back as in terms of a stiffer and faster action blank, I prefer the heavy Carpenter SP range. I's just a personal thing but for really big poppers, I think the SPs like the EXH and UHL are hard to beat. That said, I reckon the Patriot Design Fire Vortex would pop a Hammerhead Z Cup (if they made one)!   

[Brandon Khoo]

is there anything in the area you fish that could possibly take the popper? You'll get a hell of a shock one day if a fish grabs the popper!

thanks brandon, not looking to substitute the Ripple 79R (its taking a while), just adding to the collection  . i couldn't get my head around the pe12 and 10kg rating of drag from the manufacturer as well. will only be fishing pe8-10 on the rod with a max drag of 14kg.

as with casting, there'll be many a day when u see a wierdo (me) in his boat fishing for snapper, whilst casting 150-200g poppers around.. have had many strange looks from passing boats down in port phillip bay thinking WTF is this guy doing.. as they say practice makes perfect, and what better way than on a rocking boat, sinking a few beers whilst still catching a feed?

maybe on day one of the manufacturers will come up with a 9foot rod that has got the first 3 feet fast detatchable when u r onto a fish somehow when u r onto a fish. so that it'll be the best of both worlds, good casting and even better fighting rod.. ??!??!??

[Chuen Fan]

maybe kingfish.. but it'll be a 1 in a million chance.. it'll more than likely scare the living hell out of the local aussie salmon that swim around the area.. but yes, hopefully something comes up and give me a scare.

[Andy Rowe]

Regarding the Ripple Fisher 79R, I wanted to get some clarification on the spec of this rod.

Can't load the ripple fisher site at the moment for some reason, and i seem to recall when I last looked it did not have much detail on PE rating, lure weight etc

I see some notes from the nomad site on this rod, but I wanted to see if any one has the official ripple fisher rod spec's, as sometimes they appear to conflict a little.

Thanks in advance.



 

[Chuen Fan]

andy, here's a translated script from the ripplefisher website, hope it helps.

 ? GT79 Reversal (Lure Comfort Weight 120 ~ 160g LineMax: PE10)

Length: 7ft 9inch
Rod Weight: g (EVA version)
Guide: News - PERTH - Oh - Shan guide (MNST16.MNSG16.20.25.30.40)
Specifications grip: EVA is standard.
If KORUKUGURIPPU NAMASU +5,250 yen.
Dimensions: Four: 240mm rear Overall length: 445mm (end BRC22)
Si - the: DPS20 lock down

[Andy Rowe]

Chuen Fan,

Thanks for the translation.

They don't seem to indicate rod weights anywhere?