Tackle for Oman

[James Wang]

I m planning a trip to Oman next year. I currently have a Coral Viper 79/40, a STL 8K HG and 10K XG. I would want to get another rod. Btw I m small build weighing 66kg and standing at 169cm. I m looking at getting one of these 2 rods. Can I get away with the La Grande Mer SP80M Pe6-8 or do I really need the Monster Hunter 80H? I cant really cast heavy lures, prolly max 140g without hooks. And PE8 line enough for most of the catch there?

Thanks

[Ricky Lim]

Hi James
 never fish Oman, but will love to one day, so  Can't really comment on that but will suggest you what I think. I myself is not a very big guy but will not go on any trip with out a heavy rod. You never know when you need one.
MH80 is a very good choice, you pretty much cover a lot of bases with these rod plus your coral viper.
You are concern with your size, you shouldn't be. Is how you use the tools that makes the difference.

I love casting lures around 150-230 gm, so my choice of weapon are Ultimo 79h perfect with poppers up to 160gm and stick bait to 200gm. The other would be hots 75xxh for poppers up to 230gm but both these rods are awesome on 180gm sinking stick baits.
If you a little concern, maybe you should op for a rod that's more forgiving like race point 250. I believe garapro shop have one on special.

Maybe you should toughen up and start doing some work out. 

[Sami Ghandour]

I m planning a trip to Oman next year. I currently have a Coral Viper 79/40, a STL 8K HG and 10K XG. I would want to get another rod. Btw I m small build weighing 66kg and standing at 169cm. I m looking at getting one of these 2 rods. Can I get away with the La Grande Mer SP80M Pe6-8 or do I really need the Monster Hunter 80H? I cant really cast heavy lures, prolly max 140g without hooks. And PE8 line enough for most of the catch there?
Thanks

Hi James,
Your Coral Viper 79/40 is adequate for Southern Oman but the only issue is the reel, i suggest you a heavier reel with Twin Drag to stop those fish from reefing you,
Stella 18000 will be the right outfit with a minimum PE8, most of the hits are close to the ledges and the drop off.
good luck

[Mark Harris]

Hi James, if you do not want to buy an 18000 size reel, I would suggest getting a 16000 aftermarket spool and using that on your 8000 or 10000.

You will never get enough PE8 onto a 10000 size spool for fishing for large GTs - recipe for disaster.

I would say that is a priority ahead of buying another rod. CV79/40 is a beautiful rod and has many 50 kg+ GTs to its name.

If you do want another rod, MH80H is probably more manageable that any other rod on the market of equivalent power.  You should not really be considering SP80M  as it will not give you anything extra vis-a-vis the CV79/40 (it is though a very nice rod!).

But as I said, I really think your priority should be sorting out your reel with a bigger spool, or by buying an 18000.

[James Wang]

Thanks for all the advise. I do have a SOM 16k spool loaded with 200m of PE8 line. If I get a monster hunter, I can only use it in places like Oman which I might only go once every 2 year. And definitely will not bring it to Maldives. If I get the SP80M, I could still use it at Maldives which I ll go once every year. But if bringing a PE8 as the heaviest gear to Oman is courting death, then no choice I ll have to invest in a PE10 set.
Does a monster hunter 80M looks funny with a 10k reel? The rod overall looks thick though.

[Mark Gwynne]

Both Berkley whiplash and daiwa tournament 8 accudepth are very thin lines for their breaking strains and you could fit 300 yard spools on a Stella 10K.
The 85lb accudepth is only 0.35 mm and the 100lb whiplash is only 0.28 mm. That's about PE 5 and 3 respectively. It seems hard to believe the whiplash is that strong but some mates and I have used the 80 lb a lot and it holds up great. It casts well too. So I reckon you can fit enough heavy line on the 10K to stop a GT especially if you are not at anchor.

[Mark Harris]

That's good James on the 16000 spool.  You ought to be able to get about 240 metres of PE8 on there without over-loading it.

If you already have CV79/40, there is little point getting SP80M as a 2nd GT rod in my opinion, as SP80M will not give you anything extra. I use SP80M mostly as a PE6 rod, although it is OK with PE8.

Also, I would say MH80H is very much a PE8-10 rod and not a specific PE10 set up.  You can definitely use it with an 10000 with 16000 spool loaded with PE8.  It pairs better with an 18000 but is perfectly OK with a 10000.

In summary, I don't think you absolutely have to buy another rod and you would be OK with CV79/40 paired with your existing reels with a 16000 spool. However, if you do want to add another rod, you will not find a more comfortable option than MH80H in its power category, and you can use that rod with your existing reels.

Thanks for all the advise. I do have a SOM 16k spool loaded with 200m of PE8 line. If I get a monster hunter, I can only use it in places like Oman which I might only go once every 2 year. And definitely will not bring it to Maldives. If I get the SP80M, I could still use it at Maldives which I ll go once every year. But if bringing a PE8 as the heaviest gear to Oman is courting death, then no choice I ll have to invest in a PE10 set.
Does a monster hunter 80M looks funny with a 10k reel? The rod overall looks thick though.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Both Berkley whiplash and daiwa tournament 8 accudepth are very thin lines for their breaking strains and you could fit 300 yard spools on a Stella 10K.
The 85lb accudepth is only 0.35 mm and the 100lb whiplash is only 0.28 mm. That's about PE 5 and 3 respectively. It seems hard to believe the whiplash is that strong but some mates and I have used the 80 lb a lot and it holds up great. It casts well too. So I reckon you can fit enough heavy line on the 10K to stop a GT especially if you are not at anchor.

Fair points, but Whiplash is so old it's not funny. Try Jerry Brown or Tuf Line XP....at least they like to keep up with the times rather than simmer in the past or redage from a factory (Daiwa included).

[Barry Kurten]

If you looking for good quality braid with a low diameter to breaking-strain ratio, look no further then PowerPro Spectra  0,43mm , 48Kg breaking strain !
Served me very well down in Southern Oman 

[Mark Harris]

If you looking for good quality braid with a low diameter to breaking-strain ratio, look no further then PowerPro Spectra  0,43mm , 48Kg breaking strain !
Served me very well down in Southern Oman 

I am wondering if PowerPro have addressed their well known problems with line explosions under load, and that the newer batches of line are better?  I say that as there have been more positive comments here about PowerPro in recent times.

[Jay Burgess]

Hi James, I am only a little bit bigger than you, 172cm and 68kg and I can handle an MH79XH without problems so I certainly wouldn't be concerned with the MH80H. It's a very forgiving rod (compared with the older style SP range) but has plenty of stopping power. While the CV79/40 is a very capable rod my only concern using one in Oman is that it doesn't quite have the stopping power that is required when you really want to go hard on a big fish hooked in shallow water... when we were in Oman we used Stella 18k's with PE10 and fully locked drags although everyone has different philosophies and would argue that this is not completely necessary.

[Sami Ghandour]

It seems hard to believe the whiplash is that strong but some mates and I have used the 80 lb a lot and it holds up great. It casts well too. So I reckon you can fit enough heavy line on the 10K to stop a GT especially if you are not at anchor.

[Mark Harris]

I don't think many folks will want to fish for large GTs with truly locked drag anywhere in the world? Even fewer are capable of doing so. 

Heavy drag, then yes, but that's a different story to locked drag.

[Jay Burgess]

I don't think many folks will want to fish for large GTs with truly locked drag anywhere in the world?

Yeah but it's a pretty fun ride 

[Mark Harris]

Fun, provided your are still on board