HOTS Gipang which one 79XH or the 75XXH ?

[Mario Benedict]

Hi all,

I'm buying my first GT rod and have decided to get the HOTS Gipang series after hearing positive feedbacks about them.
I'm undecided between the 2 models above. Ideally the 77XXXH would be the one to get but the shop doesn't have it in stock.

It will be my only popping outfit for a while until I can afford another one. The rod will be used in Fiji, I was told that the GTs can go around the 40kg mark over there.

Is 4" going to make a huge difference in the casting distance ? That's my only concern
The 75XXH is rated up to 250gr and the 79XH is rated up to 230gr but I'm told that those figures are way overrated. The shorter rod would be easier to fight the fish with I assume.

The reel is the stella 18000SW which I plan to spool with 100lbs TufLine.

Has anyone here tried both rods before ?

Cheers,
Mario

[Sachin Chaudhry]

Hi Mario.
The 75XXH is a real grunt mill and I have personally seen it whip a 40kg fish to the boat in the hands of a good angler. The 77XXXH is more powerful again as I have owned one but if you are not hooking up on 30kg + fish all day it is overkill.
Any particular reason for Hots?

[Mario Benedict]

thanks for that Sachin.
That's the one that seems to fit my budget.

Is there any other rods I should consider ?

[Sachin Chaudhry]

Well there are any number of rods out there and the Hots are probably as good as any. I was just wondering if any particular feature of the Hots range made it an outright choice for you.

[Janelle O'Connell]

Hi Mario,

Fish Head has both the 75XXH and  77XXXH in stock at the moment.  I will ask the boys to take some photos and post them up for you to have a look at.

Cheers,

Janelle

[Duncan O'Connell]

Here is a pic of the 75XXH with 9.5kg of weight on it

[Duncan O'Connell]

The 77XXXH with 9.5kg and then 12kg below

Cheers

Duncan

[Mario Benedict]

Thanks for photos Duncan.
Much appreciated