Which Popping Rod

[makaira fisher]

Hi all

Am new to site and have a mate who now lives near Komodo so am looking at annual visits to test the waters.

Anyway am experienced billfisher but have not chased GT's as am on the Australian NSW East Coast. Am 6 ft 2 and say 80 kg.

What rod should I be looking to match to my Saltiga Dogfight with 80lb Varivas Avani GT and spare spool 130 lb keeping in mind relatively NEW to Popping and do not wish to spend a fortune keeping in mind will only be periodic use.

Have been considering following rods on the basis of ease of use and reasonable stopping power given fish that may be encountered in INDO:

Daiwa Saltiga GT86
HOTS Gipang 83H or 79XH
Shimano T-Curve GT
Others such as Smith, Ripple Fisher and Carpenter but more expensive.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

[stickbom!]

I would recommend the Shimano Caranx Kaibutsu Surface Monster, Smith Komodo Dragon/Tokara 60, Daiwa Mura Mura 76 or Hot's Gipang 79. You'll need more stopping/pulling power than casting distance there so stick with a shorter stick if possible. Also, go for Avani GT PE8/10 if possible because you'll need the abrasion resistance. More fish are probably lost due to braids snapping at worn out areas upon impact of strike or casting mishaps rather than actual cut offs by fish swimming into structure. Oh change the stock drag from your DogFight to Ctex. My own DF's drag got jerky after the first day of use recently .

[makaira fisher]

Thanks Stickbom

Have looked on net for info on the Shimano Caranx and Daiwa Mura Mura and could not find much nor specs. Could you point me where to find info. As regards the Smith Tokara / Komodo understand hard to track down from AUS and probably a little bit more than what I would like to spend given amount of use.

Also thanks for tip on drag and have already upgraded to Erskines Carbontex.

Regards

[stickbom!]

Thanks Stickbom

Have looked on net for info on the Shimano Caranx and Daiwa Mura Mura and could not find much nor specs. Could you point me where to find info. As regards the Smith Tokara / Komodo understand hard to track down from AUS and probably a little bit more than what I would like to spend given amount of use.

Also thanks for tip on drag and have already upgraded to Erskines Carbontex.

Regards

Here you go MF, links to the two rods-

Surface Monster SM S7812

Caranx Kaibutsu

Saltiga Mura Mura 76

ƒ_ƒCƒ��FSG MURAMURA 76 - Web site

Since you're in Aus, these links should be pretty useful to you-

Daiwa Saltiga SG Muramura 76 : Campbells

http://www.campbellsprotackle.com/st...ct.asp?ID=4617

http://www.campbellsprotackle.com/st...ct.asp?ID=4453

[MarkR]

Carpenter 78EXH or 78UHL with PE10/12

Can't go wrong with a Carpenter!

[Ugly]

Carpenter 78EXH or 78UHL with PE10/12

Can't go wrong with a Carpenter!

Yeap, have to agree with that.

But let' say if the Carp 78EXH is not available(no stock), which rod in the SMITH range or any other brands has got similiar specs/performance as it???

[Deeper]

Yeap, have to agree with that.

But let' say if the Carp 78EXH is not available(no stock), which rod in the SMITH range or any other brands has got similiar specs/performance as it???

How about a Patriot Design World Combat GTZ Black Diamond 76? A pal in aust commented that the PD packed a little more punch since he owned and used both extensively.

Since you are based in Aust, give Fishhead in Queensland a call to know about this rod.

[slyham775]

How about a Patriot Design World Combat GTZ Black Diamond 76? A pal in aust commented that the PD packed a little more punch since he owned and used both extensively.

Since you are based in Aust, give Fishhead in Queensland a call to know about this rod.

yeah i got to argee with this .

i have brought the black diamond 76 from the fish head
try and give them a call 07 3207 9965
as i have friend who work,s there now

they will have some stock on the patriot and smith and some other,s
plus some popper and stickbait too .

i think the best price to buy in aust is hot rod


hey makaira fisher

feel free to pm me if you wish to get few more info,s

[MarkR]

which rod in the SMITH range or any other brands has got similiar specs/performance as it???

Friend tell me the new Ocean Revolutions designed by SMITH are pretty good!

[Ugly]

Friend tell me the new Ocean Revolutions designed by SMITH are pretty good!

Read alot about these OR rods from the 'Vertical Jigging forum' as well. Very Good reviews on them
Wondering if any shops will be able to get them into Singapore or they are exclusive to APS only.

[Juan]

Read alot about these OR rods from the 'Vertical Jigging forum' as well. Very Good reviews on them
Wondering if any shops will be able to get them into Singapore or they are exclusive to APS only.

is always better to get something with local support here as what mike once said

[Narc]

is always better to get something with local support here as what mike once said

I agree, except that rods warranty are as good as useless in my opinion. Even with agents here locally, they cost some 70pct of orginal price to replace with the freight cost added in, not to mention all the aggravation we have to go through before that, trying to convince them that there were no mistake by the angler.

I have tried pulling on most of the OR models and tried casting with a couple of them, these rods are relatively lighter than the Carpenters and feels great when pulled, robust backbone. The couple of them that I casted with cast well and handled poppers in their range very well. However I realised that their heaviest model is only the equivalent of maybe the SP78EXH or SP710SHP Carpenter models.

These rods are expected to be launched somewhere in June/July 2009. Dont hold me to it but I think there will be some form of representation locally. I'm waiting for news of the pricing and if it is within my wallet capacity, I'll be sure to grab one and give it a go .....

They should be a good alternative to the ever-so-hard-to-get Carpenters.
Till I fish with them, Carpenter popping rods are still my favourite.

[Narc]

Hi all

Am new to site and have a mate who now lives near Komodo so am looking at annual visits to test the waters.

Anyway am experienced billfisher but have not chased GT's as am on the Australian NSW East Coast. Am 6 ft 2 and say 80 kg.

What rod should I be looking to match to my Saltiga Dogfight with 80lb Varivas Avani GT and spare spool 130 lb keeping in mind relatively NEW to Popping and do not wish to spend a fortune keeping in mind will only be periodic use.

Have been considering following rods on the basis of ease of use and reasonable stopping power given fish that may be encountered in INDO:

Daiwa Saltiga GT86
HOTS Gipang 83H or 79XH
Shimano T-Curve GT
Others such as Smith, Ripple Fisher and Carpenter but more expensive.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Komodo Islands fishing does not require distance casting, thus in my opinion, lines of PE 8 onwards should be the call. Forget PE 6 ....

As for rods, do a transit in Singapore before your next Komodo trip and do some shopping here in Singapore, the savings price wise between Singapore and Australia could probably enable you to upgrade by an entire class.

My 5 cents worth.

[Juan]

Narc,

Agree with you on the warranty issue. The 1 year warranty is as good as nothing since I fish at most 1x or 2x a year hahaha

Good to know that OR is coming to town. Wont be surprised if AO is selling them!

Pls keep us informed!

[Ugly]

I agree, except that rods warranty are as good as useless in my opinion. Even with agents here locally, they cost some 70pct of orginal price to replace with the freight cost added in, not to mention all the aggravation we have to go through before that, trying to convince them that there were no mistake by the angler.

I have tried pulling on most of the OR models and tried casting with a couple of them, these rods are relatively lighter than the Carpenters and feels great when pulled, robust backbone. The couple of them that I casted with cast well and handled poppers in their range very well. However I realised that their heaviest model is only the equivalent of maybe the SP78EXH or SP710SHP Carpenter models.

These rods are expected to be launched somewhere in June/July 2009. Dont hold me to it but I think there will be some form of representation locally. I'm waiting for news of the pricing and if it is within my wallet capacity, I'll be sure to grab one and give it a go .....

They should be a good alternative to the ever-so-hard-to-get Carpenters.
Till I fish with them, Carpenter popping rods are still my favourite.

That is indeed great news. Crossing my fingers in hope there will be some agents to carry the OR rods in S'pore.
Now will have another option to choose or I should be getting the SP 78EXH soon(if stock available).
Btw, let's refer to the current SMITH range available here in S'pore, which rod is comparable to the Carp SP 78EXH???

rgds

[stickbom!]

I haven't fished the EXH before but I have tried several Smiths and a few Carpenters All I can say is Smiths and Carpenters are totally different in action. Smiths are for lazy blokes who dreams about catching monster GTs with heavy lines/poppers, like myself why so? because they are much more forgiving on the angler both in action and castability. If you are not properly conditioned for knock-it-down, close quarter combat style fishing then the Carpenters might be a tad too physically demanding.

One word of advice from a loser who hasn't caught any GT over 30kgs after 7yrs of trying , don't buy the biggest GT cannon you can find at the shops UNLESS you are VERY sure that the place you'll be fishing has a healthy number of really big fish swimming around. I think you'll enjoy top water plugging more with medium to moderate heavy gear and smaller plugs. I know I did

[Ugly]

Thank you very much for the valueable advice, Mikey. Have to admit I have been dreaming about those 30+ kg or more GTs ever since hooking up my very first 15+ kg last year.
My current popping setup is a Hots Gipang 83H / Saltiga DogFight wit PE6 line. Now looking for another set to handle GTs of class 30kg and above, juz in case I have a chance to meetup with them.
Was looking at the Carpenters EXH or SMITH Tokara / Komodo range for selection, but now hopefully will be able to look at the OR range as well if available in S'pore.

rgds