Twinpower 10000FC vs Catalina 4500H with monster mesh

[NathanMcNiece]

hey all
looking for a new medium popping outfit to run pe5 for some gts in the whitsundays this june/july. I have already got a monster mesh pe 2-4 6"3 and was looking at which reel to get for it, i will be doing alot of popping thowing poppers up to 60-100g and custing metal slugs for pelagics and a bit of everything. Which reel do you guys recommend for alround peformance? also will the 6"3 monster mesh be much to short to cast poppers? i will be by boat.

regards
Nathan

[Jon Li]

In my opinion your rod is a bit too short for popping , get an 8' rod and with TP10000 + PE5 line , you should be ready to tackle a 25 kg GT .

For popping around the reef , one should get at least a cast of 60+ m in order to reach the target , if you happen to chase schools of tuna , a longer cast may be necessary in order not to spook the tuna .

Jon .

[John Westcott]

I must reiterate Jon's point, you must have a longer rod 7ft absolute minimum but more like 8ft, as distance of cast is critical. Monster Mesh do make a good 2 piece 8.3ft PE 6-8 rod which is very good and reasonably priced.

[NathanMcNiece]

ok  thanks, yes i knew that 6"3 was far from desirab;e for popping but would it be stupid to be popping with a 6"3 rod? And which would you prefer for popping and throwing slugs for tuna, the twinpwoer 100fc or catalina 4500H?

[Jon Li]

Twinpower with the new spool lip that enhance casting distance .

Jon .

[Angus Hulme]

Hi Nathan,

I am certainly no expert when it comes to Whitsunday popper fishing, however I can say that I used an 8 ft 3 monster mesh and upgraded spheros with PE 5 last year on a trip to the Whitsundays, and got blown away by decent GT's more times than I care to remember.  Most of the fish appeared to be in the 20-30kg class, and I did not stand a chance with this outfit. The longest amount of time one of the fights lasted was about 3 min. Sure, I was land based, so maybe a boat would help a fair bit. But the take-home message for me was that in future trips, I need a better outfit capable of PE 8 and higher drag capabilities. I have now got my hands on a GT special with Stella 10000, and I am sure I will be back in the game!

Food for thought anyway.

Cheers
Angus

[paulymassy]

Nathan,
i agree with the rest, a 7ft popping rod as an absolute minumum.
i also recommend the twin power over the Catalina.

regards
paul 

[NathanMcNiece]

ok thanks guys. can you upgrade the knob on the twinpower 10000fc as it has the same size knob as a shimano 4000 size reel

[Peter Childs]

Nathan,  see my reply to your other post re rods.  The 7' foot version of the Monster Mesh is not a bad compromise outfit for lighter popping (40 - 50lb, rooster 135s etc.) and still be flexible enough to jig with etc.

[NathanMcNiece]

ok and is the 7ft long enough to get some distance out of the cast?

[Peter Childs]

Nathan, I have no problems getting 50 - 60m with the 7 footer in light winds, using a roosta 135 (in reality, thats not much shorter than I get with the saltiga 80TN which is an 8 footer suited to the same weight) .  As with any rod casting this weight, you are at the mercy of wind conditions.  Ie the lighter the popper, the more effected it will be by wind.  If distance is your primary objective, look to cast some heavier wheigts using a longer rod!