Popper Size to use with JM GT Monster78

[Matt Latham]

Hi Guys,
I am fairly new to GT Popping and was hoping for some advice. I have got a Jigging Master GT Monster78 rod, rated to 180gm lures, and was looking at getting some poppers around 150gms (Cubera's, GT3's etc). Would the rod be able to work these chuggers effectively or am I better to stick with one's in the 120gm range?

Thanks for your help,

Matt

[Brandon Khoo]

The JM GT Monster is rated (if I remember correctly) to PE10. I've never fished the rod but have had a play around with on a few occasions. I can't see how it is suited to PE10. It would handle 120g poppers fine but the 150s will start to really flex that tip.

[Matt Latham]

Thanks Brandon, as you say it suggests a rating of up to PE10 but I fish it with PE8 which is more comfortable and still puts enough hurt on the fish. I will stick with the smaller poppers for the majority, maybe try out a larger one on the next trip to see how it performs.

As with all the other info on this forum your insight is much appreciated.

Matt

[Andre van Wyk]

Hi Matt,

I've fished both the 78 and 86 Monsters a fair bit, and agree with Brandon, the rods are better suited to PE 6 to PE 8, and although the ratings says to 180 grams, I feel that 125 gram lures ( especially once you add hooks etc ) are where the rod handles best... once you start gettuing up around the 150's you do get a bit too much saturation on hard casts in my opinion...

but with the 125gram lures, its magic, and a beautiful rod to fight fish with, the action makes life VERY easy on the angler, and tough on the fish...

Cheers
Dre

[William Espina]

i have the 7'8 GT MONSTER and i pair it with a stella 10ksw with pe 6 or with a dogfight with pe8.
i find it works best with 120g poppers, i have a hard time working 150g on it.


fish on!

[Vasko Dimoski]

I am also intrested in the gt monster 78 but haven't had a chance to see one i was thinking of a rod  for stick baits  for yellow fin tuna up to 60kg dose anybody think this rod would be good for that application ?
 

[Brandon Khoo]

Unfortunately, I think the ratings attributed to the rod is a reflection of how much they know about GT fishing. That said, it is quite a nice feeling rod and would make a capable PE6-8 rod. Can I suggest thought that if you want one, check the price on eBay first

[Andrew Cox]

Hi Matt

Great choice of rod for the price they are hard to beat, have used the 8'6 model a few times of the stones but haven't put it to the full test yet.
A friend of mine has been having great success on the 7'8 model landing some nice GTs up to 35kg over the last couple of months.
There has been a few of these rods sold in Australia now so I am sure a few more reports of how they preform will be available shorty.

As Brandon said Jigging Master specialize in top of the line jigging gear rather than popping, they are working harder now on popping gear with a range of popper, land based and soon pencil rods will be available, they are priced at the range where most can afford without breaking the bank.

Cheers Andrew

[Greg Burt]

Andrew, can you put up that 'hat cam' video of the JM 78 at work, I recon it's worth watching  I believed they were a stiff rod but the video shows they are fairly parabolic.

[Andrew Cox]

Greg, the link is below, a 35kg GT taken from Tweed Heads recently, there are plenty of the Jigging Master 7'8 GT Monster rods chasing the GTs on the nine mile at the moment, the boys have compared them to other high end rods and have gone the JM way and saved hundreds, might not be the rod for the experienced popper fisherman but is fine for most with a retail of $649AU.

Elite Tackle 35kg GT on Jigging Master Monster GT Rod

Cheers Andrew

[Mark Gonsalves]

Terrific video.  Nice fish.