Best Rod Blank for Ulua Shorefishing

[keneke]

BTW Bryan, I loaned my brother an exact rod with a LB 1206 Fenwick blank and an aluminum butt and he let it sit outside. He told me at the time it was outdated and that the graphites were the best things ever! I will ask him if the thing is still good or sun damaged? That and if the reel seat is still okay or corroded out? I am hoping the thing was just left out under the eaves so a little work would get it back into top shape.

[keneke]

Whoops and so sorry Bryan! My brother said the glass was peeling so it apprently was left in the sun and it got UV damaged. He dumped it. 

[Bryan Young]

Mahalo Keneke. That's a shame. That was a great rod. I haven't found anything like it.

[fishtaco]

I found an old  Abu Garcia Conolon, similar to that rod
But I don't know the model number.
It is 9 ft, Aluminium but, Extra fast and I use it to cast surface iron
Like Tady C, and 45 on braided 832 line @50#  magnet  Avet JX
And it is awesome.  I have not seen any other like it, it is one piece
And was rebuild by my buddy Walter, was found in a swap meet
And it was a spinning rod.
Eddie

[Bryan Young]

If it's anything like Fenwick's rod, that would be an awesome rod.

[Tightlines667]

Bryan...
I've actually seen several postings for Fenwicks on HI CL.


16810 13ft
http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/spo/4596688480.html

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/spo/4539526857.html

There were some others but I think they've sold already.

[ozbloke]

are we whipping or sliding Baits?

[Tightlines667]

Sliding.

[steelfish]

If you cast a mega-bait 100 yards around most of Hawaii you will feed the reef a lot of Mega-Baits.
Ron

how long do you have to cast on Hawaii to be considered as a good cast (and good oportunity to catch something)?



- Alex

[Bryan Young]

Hi Alex, if you are casting bait, 75 yards is good. Slide bait, 75 to 150 yards. But fish roam around so you never know.

[Newell Nut]

Another very important thing to know is the casting style. I have watched Hawaiian guys with budget rods make incredible cast purely on casting technique. My buddy with a 13' Nitro just amazes me with his casting ability.

[Cor]

I would be looking for a 2 piece Fast action 40lb rod of about 10"6' that can cast 3 to 4 oz plugs and pair it with a Shimano Trinidad TN16 and 0.6mm mono.

Could be a Popping rod but more likely a beach rod for the length.   Any reputable blank maker will do, but I also like the NZ CTS.

[cbar45]

If you cast a mega-bait 100 yards around most of Hawaii you will feed the reef a lot of Mega-Baits.
Ron

how long do you have to cast on Hawaii to be considered as a good cast (and good oportunity to catch something)?



- Alex

A lot depends on the island you're fishing and the spot you are at. Then, too, positioning is just as important, (if not more so), than distance.

But distance is a good weapon to have in your arsenal and use as needed.

I've caught ulua on "dump shot" casts of only 10-20 yds.--as well as the long bombs.

Here in town there is a river with a bridge positioned at an angle across both banks.

Local casters standing upriver often use it as a marker to practice their casting, as the center of the bridge is about 115 yds. from where they stand.

If you can cast over the bridge at any point--using the Big Island standard of 80-100lb. mono and a 6/0 reel--then you would be considered an extremely proficient slide-bait distance caster, easily in the top 10 percent.

Most casters (including myself) fall a bit under that mark.

P.S.
These casts are made with only a bare 9-12oz. sinker and heavy leader rigged for slide-bait fishing. As such there is no added drag as encountered when casting the same equipment rigged "8 and bait style".

[Jeri]

Hi All,

Some thoughts that come to mind about this quest for a specific rod/blank. We have similar issue here in south west Africa, not for GT's but sharks, where distance for casting, against fighting power of the blank is a factor.

The first big factor is 'which type of reel', as an optimum rod specifically designed for multipliers might well have a stiffer carbon composition than one for fixed spool reels. And as our recent change in competition styles have shown fixed spool reels and rods are more than capable of fishing the surf for big species. Though with optimum fixed spool rod blanks we are using more mixtures of carbons strengths in the make-up, rather than single high strength carbons for specifically multiplier rods.

The point being that we achieve greatest distances with longer rods – up to 14-15' or more, however that puts a huge leverage factor against the angler, even when using the rods in a reel down position and a rod belt on the angler. Then shorter rods will reduce the leverage factor, but distance will suffer, with the added problem that sliding is in the equation, and a rod/blank with a tip section 'too stiff' will suffer from continually pulling the sinker when sliding heavy baits, as historically 'sliding' rods/blanks had a slightly softer tip for that aspect.

So, in conclusion to your problem you have to find the best compromise in a scale between 11' and 15' depending on your priorities, and reel type. We have built some absolute 'stump puller' style shark rods on a special 1 piece 11' blank which will very happily cast a combined sinker and bait combinations of over 1lb, over 150 metres – high strength carbon blank for multipliers, and it really does exert huge power on the hooked up sharks, with some anglers managing to use up to 14+kgs (30lb+) of drag through their reels. A similar blank, but for the travelling angler, we have built as a 3 piece 12', though only a little down on casting weight, seems to have the edge in distances achievable. Then on a more conventional level, 13 or 14' 3 piece rods that are happiest with 12oz of payload, built for fixed spool reels with braid dropping at about 180 metres.

As one of the other posters brought up, casting technique is also a huge factor, as well as the physical strength of the angler concerned. And there lies one of the biggest issues, as 'ego' does drive a lot of anglers to buy something way too powerful, to the point that they can't actually motivate the rods during the cast – then blame the rod.

We generally have blanks built for us by a local carbon specialist, but also have a few European designs that have worked very well, with one in particular that is being used in Mozambique, specifically sliding for GTs in the 40-50kg range. That blank is 14' long, but does use a number of different carbon strength in the layup, to actually finish with a very serious rod – one that we don't take responsibility for the anglers future physiotherapy treatments = for dislocated shoulders!!

Hope that helps.

Cheers from sunny Africa


Jeri

[Cor]

Choosing a rod for a particular job is a trade off between a number of requirements.   Casting 130 meters when fishing for GT is very nice, but usually requires a longer heavier rod which becomes unwieldy when fishing with lures, often needing quick accurate casts towards where the fish were seen.   Besides being heavy on the body, a long rod like that is often not the ideal tool for pulling strong fish either, as Jeri also says.

For that reason I would take two rigs with me when presented with a situation where longer casts may be required, one shorter lighter rod that can easily cast 90mt at a rate of 100 casts per hour and one heavier for the 130 mt distances when required.    I actually fish like that, with both rods ready and rigs can be changed within seconds.