Popper rod recommendations

[Doug Mac]

Hi Guys

I currently own a Ripple Fisher Ultimo 79h and am very happy with it for stick baits and light poppers , but have decided it is time the get myself a dedicated popping rod as well. I would like to use poppers up to about 200 gr and will be using PE8 to PE10 line. I fish various different locations all from a boat. I have borrowed a friends Komodo dragon on a few occasions and found it quite nice to use , the question I would like to ask is what would you recommend to look at purchasing given that I don't need this rod to be an allrounder as such, but would like it to be the closest thing to an all round popper/chugger rod if there is such an "animal"!!!

[Mark Harris]

Hi Doug, 200 grams is a big chugger and is normally the remit of specialist stiff rods rather than any type of all rounder rod.

In the current Carpenter range, MH79XH gets you to about 180/190 gram chuggers but that is stretching it and there is definitely no further to go.  MH80H will pop a 170 gram GT3 for example but that is about its top limit and it is better with slightly smaller lures.  If you can find one 2nd hand, the older Super Popping 79 XH and UHL will manage 200 gram chuggers.

Both MH79XH and MH80H are surprisingly easy rods to use given their immense power and I would put them down as all round chugger rods which is what you ask for,  but they fall a bit short of the top end of the chugger weight range you are looking at.

If 200 grams is definitely the requirement, you would probably need to be looking at the much stiffer and harder to use offerings at the heavy end of Patriot Design range or a Ripple Fisher 78XH for example. I am sure there are members here who can advise you on those type of options - just not my sort of rods and they could never be classed as all rounders .

[Dmitrii Novgorodtcev]

Hammer Head Faube 77H - very nice specialized popping rod, capable to work with big chaggers. Very light and easy to handle. It is specified as 77 in lengh, but in fact it is 78. The rod action is VERY good. Pop chuggers as if you do it by your hand.

Patriot Design Black Diamond 77 is also great, and can be found with low rider guides. Though it works chuggers fine, I think its more an allrounder than specialized popping rod.

[andy cooper]

i have a XZOGA TAKADUM TAKA Pi 7710 very happy with it maybe another one to consider
http://www.xzoga.com/taka-pi.php

it now comes with k series guides!

[Doug Mac]

Thanks for the advice Guys

Sorry my post was probably a bit misleading
200gr would definitely be the absolute upper limits to what I would use and not all that often. I don't think i am fit enough or strong enough to handle them for too long!!( if at all) , in reality I am probably looking at something that will happily pop 140-180gr  which puts both the Carpenter MH in the ball park. Is it possible to describe the difference in action of the two rods? You say they are both easy to use , do you mean working the lure, fighting the fish or both? I will definitely put the MH on the list if I can find them. Will try to find some specs on the Hammer head & Patriot

Thanks again
Doug

[Dmitrii Novgorodtcev]

As for Hammer Head you can find specs here.
http://www.hammer-head.jp/frame.page.htm
just click Product, then Rod Line up, then Faube Series, then Faube 77H

But if you want to cast 140-180g, Faube 77M+ will be better choice than 77H. It is maximum 180g, but i used it with 180g poppers + ST76 5/0 trebles and the rod did not feel oversaturated. The maker says they tested it with 220g I-cups and PE12 and it was good.

Comparing with MH80H, Faube is much more easy to pop big cup chuggers, but not so good at casting. You have to apply more power to Faube to cast it well than you do with MH80H, but when you pop the chugger it is much more easy with Faube in comparison to MH80H.

[Mark Harris]

Ah, that makes it easier Doug

Carpenter MH80H has become my single favourite popping rod and if I could own only one rod, this would be it. As Dmitiri alludes to it is a very good caster. It also has heaps of power down low, but due to the blank technology is remarkably easy on the body when you are into a big fish. I think its upper limit  is a GT3 170 gram/Cubera 180 gram chugger, and it is absolutely sweet in the 140 to 160 range.

I only recently acquired its heavier cohort, MH79XH so I can't speak from so much personal experience on the water with this one.  It is though noticeably stiffer tipped and it clearly has a sweet range that is a bit heavier than MH80H. Weight-wise it is comfortable and it casts very well for a shorter rod. I would probably class this as more of a PE10 rod and MH80H as more of a PE8 rod, although both are rated PE8-10.

On Hammerhead Faube, I have used 77M+ a bit as a friend owns one.  I even caught a good 25 kg fish with it. It was a nice rod for working 150 gram GT3 and I am sure it would go heavier.  Also light. But, and it's a big but for me, I found it hard to cast. Not just a factor of its length, it just seemed like a tough rod to cast well.  I kind of put it in the Smith Komodo Dragon bracket for that reason.

[Jon Li]

With GT fishing requires a lot casts using heavy lures nowaday , one needs to preserve stamina to subdue big GT when the strike eventually happens , a good rod should be balanced in ease of casting and at the same time has good action to counter every moves the fish make as well as giving the angler as much advantage to finish the fight in shortest possible time to ensure successfull CnR and hopefully the angler is still strong enough to do the cycle all over again until the next strike . Choose your rod carefully because once you bought a wrong one , it's not easy to get rid off at the reasonable asking price .

Jon .

 

[Doug Mac]

A very good piece of advice Jon. Unfortunately down here in Victoria we do not get to see alot of the rods spoken about on this forum so consequently I am trying to make a short list of rods that I can try to track down and make my decision from there.
Currently from what Mark has said I would definitely like to have a look at both the MH rods (not sure where i will find them?) as they sound like they have the attributes I am looking for. The Hammer Head sounds OK but seems to loose out in the casting stakes , which is an important factor especially when the fish are a bit scarce. So currently I have the Carpenter Monster Hunters on my short list if any one else has some other suggestions I would be only to glad to hear them.

Doug

[Mark Harris]

Doug forum sponsor Fishhead in Brisbane has both in stock: http://www.fishhead.com.au/store/categories/Rods/Carpenter/  . There are not too many knocking around so great that Fishhead has both.

[Barry Kurten]

Hi Doug,

Perhaps give the Saltywater tackle Racepoint 250 a look. Its a 7ft5 stick that was designed for Bluefin tuna , it has a ton of backbone and casts like a dream, and for me most importantly, it is a very light rod. It is also very well priced for what you are getting and better value for money for that kind of quality i dont think you will find. I am currently using this stick as my dedicated popping outfit and have been doing so for almost 2 years now.

I tend to think the shorter the rod the better it is for popping and the less it hurts you ! But thats just me 

This all being said ... I am awaiting my Carpenter 8ft MH  .. But thats going to be for stickbait use only. 

Check out Gara Pro shop, i think Luke has them in stock and he is based in Sydney.

Tight lines and all the best

[Dmitrii Novgorodtcev]

Doug,

By my opinion, MH80H is not a dedicated popping rod, which you required from the very beginning. Though it is an excellent rod, and sometimes it can even have adventages for poppers over popping rod (waves). I think that whatever maker we take into consideration, specialized popping rod will be worse caster than all rounder as well as long casters will be harder (i mean not so good) for poppers than shorter rods. So, you may have to reconsider your requirements or accept a compromise.

[Dmitrii Novgorodtcev]

By the way, take into consideration Ripple Fisher Final Spirit GT79H. It is a popping rod, PE10 - ok, light, powerful, and I think it is a very good caster for its lengh. I used it side by side to MH80H and the casting distance was not so considerably different under the following conditions - PE10, 200Lb shock leader, poppers in 150g-170g range with ST76 5/0 and 4/0 trebles, Decoy heavy split rings #10 and #11.

[Mark Harris]

Dmitri is certainly right - there are always compromises unless you buy a lot of rods.  That's why so many of us end up with a dozen or more popping rods, all with slightly different attributes!

If you are making casting difference comparisons, you need to make those with rods of a similar length.  Hence my comment that even taking its shorter length into account, I still thought the Faube 77M+ to be a poor caster, a bit like a Komodo Dragon.  Both nice rods, but neither cast particularly well.

Ripple Fisher FS GT79H is a good chugger rod as well and it does cast very nicely for its length. Little to choose between MH79XH and this rod on the casting front I would say.  The GT79H is also about 20 grams lighter than the Carpenter rod and probably about $100 less.  It has a noticeably much lighter maximum lure weight though which, together with the overall lower weight of the rod, implies less carbon wraps to me.  Some pros and some cons there I think.  I seriously doubt you would be dissatisfied with either - top notch rods.

[Ben Furness]

I used my MH79XH for popping 190g GT3's. It was hard work and I was using a gimbal to pop but the rod held up fine. I wouldn't use anything heavier on it. They cast like a rocket though!