BLC 83/40 replacement rod for GT fishing

[Ben Yeo]

Hi Guys,

I have a BLC 83/40 which I love for working the Gamma 120 & 140, a TBL 80/40 (latest acquisition) to handle the Gamma 160 & 200 (previously tasked to my DJ 83 MH).
Although I have landed GTs up to 30+kgs on the BLC, I understand that it not really a GT rod.

So in looking for a replacement for my BLC 83/40, would the EP 83/38 be a good candidate?
It would be used only for stickbaits (namely Gammas) in the 120 - 140 gram range.

Cheers

 

[Trevor Skinner]

Ben,

Have a look at the thread I initiated on 'Carpenter: TBL vs EP' and the excellent advice that I received. It addresses similar issues to those you raise.

Regards,


Trevor

[Mark Harris]

Will you be fishing PE8 with the rod Ben?

If yes, then EP 82/38 or EP 85/36 would be good choices.  For stickbaits 120 gram and 140 gram, probably EP 85/36 would be the better choice.

All the usual caveats about personal preferences etc.

[Ben Yeo]

Ben,

Have a look at the thread I initiated on 'Carpenter: TBL vs EP' and the excellent advice that I received. It addresses similar issues to those you raise.

Regards,


Trevor

Yes Trevor, I read the thread. Did not want to hijack your post, hence ......

Mark, yes I will be fishing PE8. Will the EP 82/38 work Gamma 120/140 with as much ease as the BLC 83/40? I rather have a shorter rod than the EP85/36.

Thanks for the input, appreciate the comments. 

[Jon Li]

TBL80/40RF wud be the bet for it , still a " 40 lbs " rod in rating but meant for GT fishing .

Jon .

[Mark Harris]

Mark, yes I will be fishing PE8. Will the EP 82/38 work Gamma 120/140 with as much ease as the BLC 83/40? I rather have a shorter rod than the EP85/36.

Thanks for the input, appreciate the comments.

Ben, personally I would say EP82/38 will be no better than OK for sticks as light as 120 grams. 140 grams will be good.

I can't give a valid comparison with BLC 83/40 as I don't own one.

[Christoffer Hansen]

Hey Ben,

I have the blc83/40 also which I use only for gts. It is perfect for those weight lures n slightly below. Why replace it with something to do the exact same thing? It bends a bit more in the butt section but makes it very easy to hang on to while maintaining heavy drag and casting is even more effortless. Surely there is another rod to do something you don't already have covered you need more!
My opinion on another rod to do the same job would be tbl83/32. Very nice rod for those weight lures but I would say heavy pe6- light pe8.
Chris

[Ben Yeo]

Chris/Mark

Thanks for the comments, makes sense all round.

Guess this BLC 83/40 replacement exercise is more mental. All the literature on this rod is that its not meant to be a GT rod. And I target GTs.

I am looking at it from a positive angle here that if there is a problem, then its a good problem.

Not quite apples for apples nor claiming thats it is authoritative;
I landed 2 X 1 meter GTs back to back in similar waters/current recently. 1 on the DJ 83 MH the other BLC 83/40. Reels were identical Stella 10K with PE8 same drag setting.
The DJ boated the fish in 6 mins the BLC took 11. Both were lip hooked.

This was what set me thinking, is this the reason for the BLC not being suited for GTs?
Sure I would expect the DJ to over power the fish quicker than the BLC, but did the BLC take too long?
I am doing this in the interest of not exhausting the fish too much before release.
 
I am aware that similar size fish fight differently, some are Yugoslavs (they never know when to stop fighting) others quit after awhile.

Looking forward to more comments
Cheers

 

[Mark Harris]

There is quite a long thread  from sometime last year on the wisdom or otherwise of using Blue Chasers for GT fishing.

Coincidentally, at about the same time as that discussion, I used a friend's BLC 83/40 for GT fishing for a few casts (for the first and last time) and discussed this privately with some GTPopping members.  Hooked up a fairly small GT of about 22/23 kgs and it was not a good experience. Just as you indicate above Ben, it took me ages to get the fish to the boat. The Blue Chaser blanks are just not intended for lifting and turning fish like GTs. When this particular fish turned its head I felt helpless to get it back on course again. This resulted in a very long and unnecessary fight and a completely exhausted fish when I finally got it to the surface.

MY conclusion was why spend $1,000 on a rod for GT fishing when it is inherently not intended for that purpose!

[Neville Haglund]

I have a 83/40 and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it performs with a decent sized Kingie on it as that is the species they are designed for.I've just got this feeling that having a Stella 20K on it with it's low gearing will for once be a huge advantage because at this point I reckon it the Rod would have a problem pulling the skin off a rice pudding!!!!