New to site and in need of help

[Marko Pekic]

hey guys im new to the site so hello to all. Love my jigging/plastics fishing but am now going to be doing a couple gt popping trips to fiji, ono (with mrs) and possibly a new cal trip also. My questions are do you think i could get away with buying a 10 000 stella with a 16k som spool with pe8 or should i just buy an 18k with pe10? I only want to buy one setup as i dont really think this gear will be used too often. I dont want it to be overkill and not underkill so since never experiencing this type of fishing before i dont know what to expect.'

Next thing is rod choice. im looking for a rod that can deal with poppers and stickbaits mainly 140 to 180grams poppers and stickbaits well i dont know too much about them. Iv been looking at the jigging master gt monsters but dont know which one would suit pe to 10.
Hope you guys can help, any info be much appreciated, Marko.

[Eric Tai]

Hi Marko,

Haven't fished Fiji, but recently returned from New Cal. I'd happily recommend the time-tested combo of Carpenter coral viper 79/40 + 10k SW stella + SOM NL 16k spool + pe8, but it maybe a bit soft for poppers up to the range you've stated. I fished it mainly with Fullscale kong 180s (130g w/o hooks).

I also took along a Carpenter MH80H/18k SW stella combo for bigger lures but used it probably 5%of the trip.

There was a 2nd hand Coral Viper for sale in the forums recently. Worth considering.

-Eric

[Allan Chan Hian Lian]

Hi Marko, if I were you not doing top water much, I would go for a stella 20000swpg which I can also do deep water jigging or even baiting. Forget about stella 10k with SOM spool unless you've a 8000 or 10000pg to interchange with. Although you need to retrieve line faster on popper & stick bait, it got more cracking power if you hook up a big fish. For rod, I would pair it with a Carpenter MH80H if you intent to chug up to 180gm popper, don't go for PE10 & above broomstick as they don't work stick bait well.
Just my 2 cts.
Good luck with your trip.

[Marko Pekic]

cheers guys. iv already got a 16k som spool with my stella8000pg so i wouldnt need to buy another spool just need the 10k reel. Im not really sure how heavy the poppers should be for over there those weights were just my guess...  i just want to make sure i choose the right/most versatile setup for stickbaiting and popping because will only have the one setup. After a trip or two, if i really like it and think im going to do this fishing more often then i can upgrade to having a rod for popping and a rod for stickbaits and even a couple more new stellas

[Marko Pekic]

i cant find the for sale section? where is it? sorry for stupid question lol

[Eric Tai]

The 'for sale' section isn't available until you've made a minimum number of posts. The same rod was advertised on fishwrecked a week or two ago I believe.

The other popular all rounder is the ripplefisher 79r. Check out Brandon's guide to selecting a GT rod on the forum.

[Ben Furness]

Also keep your eyes peeled for a Carpenter DJ83MH it is fantastic for a wide range of stickbaits and will work poppers up to 150g depending on the cup size. I would rate it very close to the coral viper in terms of versatility but it has a slight advantage in the casting department due to the extra 6 inches in length.