Kevin,
That was bent at around 25 degrees from the horizon, which, at 20Kgs is about as high off the water you will hold one of these rods with line wailing from the spool!
For drag rating purposes, the biggest thing is keeping the rod low and slightly curved to keep the hooks in when things are at max drag.
How many people do you know who could run 20+kg of drag through a 45 degree bent rod?? Most will have it flatlined to save their backs and make the fish work against the reel.....the rod at this ridiculous end of casting gear is a delivery tool of the largest poppers. They are NEVER comfy to bend up!
The 15kg of drag that PD rates the rod at is, like all rods, not rated when the rod tip is speared to the sky. It is usually at 30-45 degrees and at 45, this is a very real 15kg rod.....there are not many around that can lay that claim, nor, that you can hold onto in a vertical, circling challenge with a big GT for long anyway.
It is a heavy popping rod, that funnily enough, is actually obtainable at fairly short notice (usually 1 1/2 to 2 months from order date), which anyone who chases GT gear can attest is NOT easy to find stuff at times, let alone have the time to dawdle before ordering. This stuff goes quickly!
Kenny,
Thank you.
I try as much as I can to bend up/cast/fish with as many different rods that I can get my mitts on to help with discussions like this.
The ammount of gear that I now have at my finger tips is terrific when doing comparisons......far better than in 1995 when I started chasing these animals!!!!!
Aaron.
