Find us on Facebook!
While fishing the surf (from the 'rocks') I like to cast 3/4 to 1 1/2 oz as far as possible. I need to be able to lift, from heights, sea bass and such up to 4 pounds in weight. I use a 'rope gaff' for heavier fish. My preferred reel is always casting type with ABU 5500 cs mag being favorite. Casting lead head jigs, no bait, and chucking for hours at a time, so the lightest rod that can be had for the constraints listed. Like a longer rod, say 10' range. It appears the steelhead/salmon blanks are the only ones that offer the length I want while handling the casting weight range I use. So, question is ----anything wrong with using steelhead/salmon rod/blank. In the surf rod selections it appears that longer rods are reserved for heavier casting weights. Why is that? Any recommendations? I presently use a non-lami salmon rod and while it does quite well, I would like to upgrade.
jmorris
Salmon/steelhead rods are not designed to free lift a flopping 4 lb fish, or even a dead one. Far to lightly constructed for that. Fish of any size weigh nothing in the water ( they are neutrally buoyant) so you can get away with a lighter constructed rod. We use long handled nets to bring our fish in once they are close.
No one knows as much as all of us.
4 pounds is a lot to lift but that is what I'm looking for. A 10' CASTING rod, that will throw a 3/4--1 oz jig, capable of dead lifting 4 pounds, and being light enough a regular fellow can cast for hours. And while a fish weighs nothing until it is lifted, a running salmon can present a considerable load to a rod, say the rod is line-rated at 40 lbs and you set drag to 25% of that---resulting in 10 lb of load to rod before the drag slips. I know the rod angle is the difference, the 'salmon' being around 45 deg (until that fish goes under the boat), and my 'cliff fish' being at 90 deg. So, if a rod is line rated at 15-30 lbs, what can it actually lift straight up? Is there a ratio of line rating to lift ability?
Lamiglas, do you have a rod the fits that desire?
jmorris
I am also a die-hard fan of th ABU but I prefer the 6501's. If you want to pick up that much weigh you might look at the Kenia Killer. The lure weight that you throw is a bit light but the rod should handle it ok. If you want one shorter, I have a back bouncer that I dearly love for just about everything. I can effectively cast from 1/2oz-10oz with it running 65lb tuff line. I will be buying the Killer in a couple weeks and putting another 6501 on it for sturgeon.
Didn't find any info on the 'Kenia Killer' but guessing from it's name it must be designed for large kings---eh? Any specs on that rod? The shorter rod rated up to 10 oz sounds a bit heavy---as you suggested. I kind of thought a rep from Lamiglas might chime in with a suggestion--
Hard not to be fan of ABU---they build tough, simple, affordable, reels that are a joy to fish with and easy to work on.
jmorris
The KK is in the Salmon/Steelhead rods and it is a G1000.