Southern Kingfish Popping Stick?

[Peter Childs]

Hi folks,

I wonder if anyone can help me with a rod recommendation for a southern kingfish popping and stickbait rod (as well as a backup GT rod)  I am chasing kings in the 10 - 15kg range from around rocky headlands and bommies.  I would like to be able to accurately cast a long distance 100 - 125g poppers (such as haymakers and cuberas) as well as 80 - 125 gm stickbaits.  Looking to fish PE 6-8 to extract the fish before they return to the rocks - fishing from a boat.

I currently own a Carpenter SP78 EXH, lovely rod for the poppers, not so great on the stickbaits and complete overkill for the kingies - I do tend to get a lot of small by catch as well (salmon, tailor etc).

I also own a Saltiga 80TN which is great on the smaller stick baits, but really maxs out on casting at around 90g and is too soft to work the blooping poppers effectively.

I am hoping the same rod may also double as a lighter stickbait and popper rod for GT's to accompany the Carpenter on trips to the reef.

I am considering the Carpenter SP80M for this purpose or one of the new Coral Vipers (either 35 or 40), having not even picked up either rod, does anyone have any recommendations?  I looked briefly at the new Shimano GT rod, but it is rather heavy in the hands - lets face it, it's a long way between drinks when poppering for kingies down my way, I'd be happier with a lighter rod.

Any other rods come to mind?  I don't mind spending a little more for the right rod, particularly if it can be used for GTs as well.

[Jon Li]

Peter ,

Try LR88 from Carpenter , a good all purpose rod that can be used for GT , YFT and possibly big YTK .

Jon . 

[Peter Childs]

Thanks Jon, I did look briefly at the LR series, a couple of questions though;

1) I fish from quite a small boat (close to the waterline - as opposed to the deck of a larger vessel) and have strugled in the past with the use of longer rods, is there a significant difference in retrieve technique.  I tend to keep the rod tip very low, fishing it the southern states of AUS we tend to to need to combat a large swell and choppy conditions on a regular basis.

2) I note the rod weight is considerably heavy than the others mentioned (it's a foot longer of course), is this an issue during a long popping sessions, my wrists and arms aren't as strong as they used to be?

3) When I mentioned long casting, I was thinking like 100m - I know the LR are really long in the right hands - I may not posses the right hands!

[Jon Li]

Hi Peter ,

For long distance casting , nothing beat the longer rod using reasonably light lures , I use my LR using 80 gr. pencil popper for YFT and 100 gr. chugger for GT and 125 gr. stickbait for everything .

Weight of the rod is immaterial when compared with the reel , an additional 50 gr. over the SP78EX-H is nothing compared when one use a smaller reel such as STL8000FA/Z4500 instead of STL10000FA/Z6000GT which I presume you are using with the SP78EX-H .

Regarding your wrist and arm aren't as strong as it used to be , it's the same with me and I am not that young anymore and if you can handle SP78EX-H , you should be able to handle LR at ease . With a good body coordination , one can cast the right weighted lure a long way with LR .

I have yet to use my CV79/40RF SHP but swinging the rod , I still don't think it will cast as long a distance as the LR and for the record , my LR86 is the first Carpenter rod I bought way back in 2003 so I know the rod characteristic well .

Jon .

[Peter Childs]

Thanks Jon, I hear what you are saying - you are right I am looking to use a Z4500 instead of the 6000GT (which I use of the 78 EXH) particularly for stick baits where I can get away with the slightly slower retrieve. 

I notice looking around the LR88 is a little hard to come by.  The LR 89-LC pops up here and there - would this be essentially the same rod?

[Jon Li]

Hi Peter ,

You've got a p.m. on the LR88 availability .

LR89LC is an extended handle type of LR86 , LR88 is the improved version of LR86 in the ability for use with stickbait .

Jon .

[Andy Rowe]

I have yet to use my CV79/40RF SHP but swinging the rod , I still don't think it will cast as long a distance as the LR and for the record , my LR86 is the first Carpenter rod I bought way back in 2003 so I know the rod characteristic well .

Jon .

Hi Peter/Jon,

On topic of the coral viper, I also have not had a chance to cast mine.

I'd like to here any reviews on these new rods by anyone who has used them, they have been mentioned on trip reports but no description of fighting abilities.

Jon, I note you talking about longer handle versions on some carpenters, My SP78EXH handle fits onto my vipers, adding a few inches!! I was thinking of trying it on my CV35 as a back up for tuna and light popping. I this mod ok or a bad idea with respect to design tolerance etc??

Andy

[Peter Childs]

Hi Peter ,

You've got a p.m. on the LR88 availability .

LR89LC is an extended handle type of LR86 , LR88 is the improved version of LR86 in the ability for use with stickbait .

Jon .

Thanks Jon

[Jon Li]

I have yet to use my CV79/40RF SHP but swinging the rod , I still don't think it will cast as long a distance as the LR and for the record , my LR86 is the first Carpenter rod I bought way back in 2003 so I know the rod characteristic well .

Jon .

Hi Peter/Jon,

On topic of the coral viper, I also have not had a chance to cast mine.

I'd like to here any reviews on these new rods by anyone who has used them, they have been mentioned on trip reports but no description of fighting abilities.

Jon, I note you talking about longer handle versions on some carpenters, My SP78EXH handle fits onto my vipers, adding a few inches!! I was thinking of trying it on my CV35 as a back up for tuna and light popping. I this mod ok or a bad idea with respect to design tolerance etc??

Andy

Hi Peter ,

From those guys I supplied and their experiences onboard Nomad trips , their comments on CV79/40RF SHP is ; " If one only allowed to take 1 pc. of rod , this is it " but like most others , they have multiple rods . This rod can still pop a 125 gr. Cubera and at the same time work stickbaits such as Wahoo n Ulua in 150 gr. .

On the subject of SP78EX-H fitting the CV79/40RF SHP , this I am not aware but please make sure it is a perfect fit because a slightly loose fir may cause the handle to be split from inside , it's best not to swap handle if there is no need to do so . I have a few photos of this mishaps , if you want to take a look at them , please send email to my personal email address ; [email protected] .

Thanks n regards : Jon .

[Andy Rowe]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your comments, I should be happy with the Coral Viper 79/40RF then.

The butt handle is a very good fit between the SP78EXH and both the 35 and 40 versions of the Coral viper, I do recall seeing pic's of the split WV handles on the other forum.

Have you had a chance to get amongst any YFT down south lately?? It's very windy in Lombok at the moment.

Andy

[Jon Li]

Hi Andy ,

The YFTs surfaced for one day prior to the big waves , since then I heard only brief surfacing which is not worth considering . The wind is affecting Pelabuhan Ratu too , always at this time of the year due to high pressure system from the north of Australia around Cape York ( I hope I am right , geographically ) . I am heading to Bali during the middle of next week , going to pick up my refurbished rods from that shop at Sanglah market .

On fitting the handle of SP78EX-H to CVs , do so at your own risk .

Jon .

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your comments, I should be happy with the Coral Viper 79/40RF then.

The butt handle is a very good fit between the SP78EXH and both the 35 and 40 versions of the Coral viper, I do recall seeing pic's of the split WV handles on the other forum.

Have you had a chance to get amongst any YFT down south lately?? It's very windy in Lombok at the moment.

Andy

[Andy Rowe]

Jon,

The westerly is definitely more fishing friendly here, looking forward to it turning around later in the year.

I'm in Bali for a few days mid July, though I'm going to avoid the tackle shops for the time being, money burns through my pocket when I go there. I will keep him in mind for rod repairs though.

Agreed, there is no need for risks, I have the right rod for tuna now ;)HLTN87

Cheers
Andy

[Jon Li]

Agreed, there is no need for risks, I have the right rod for tuna now ;)HLTN87

Cheers
Andy

Hi Andy ,

You have rods for almost every task now . One of the repaired rod is a TN87 which has served me well since 2004 in catching YFTs and small GTs .

Jon . 

[Brandon Khoo]

Peter, a big factor for you is the casting distance you need for the headlands you fish. if distance is paramount, then the reality is you will struggle to find a compromise rod that will be good for a small boat as well as the shore.

The LR88 sorts of bridges that gap to a degree. There are a number of shore based GT rods that are available but these really are specifically shore based rod. I have a Ripple Fisher Inifnity myself which is ten feet long. There are also offerings from Medusa Custom Works, Zenaq and Fisherman which are in the ten feet to 11 feet category.

I have a LR88 myself and while it casts beautifully, there is a noticeable difference between that and what you can achieve with a genuine shore based rod. Of course, you can get away with the LR88 on a small boat whereas the shore based rods would get very unwieldy.

[Andrew Poulos]

If you are aiming at larger Kings though, 10-11ft off the rocks isnt always comfortable. In situations where there is deep water at your feet and the strikezone is in close its not that easy to control the fish and stop it burying you in the rocks. I tend to use the longer rods only when you need a large cast and that the hookup is further out.