Hi I'm new to this forum. I am looking for a good quality convectional travel rod and reel . Also a good quality spin travel rod to go with my stradic 6000. My target fish will range from dophin,wahoo,kings,tarpon to 150 #,shark,groupers,sailfish,cobia e.t.c.. I am not experienced at salt water fishing but very experienced at freshwater fishing using lighter tackle for big fish and would like to try the same thing with salt water gear. In the past I have gone on charters that used gear that was too big for intended targets. Although we caught fish it was no fun. It was button down the drags and crank in. Price range on the reel 400 to 600$ and 100 to 250$ on the rods. Rod and reel size I will leave to the experienced guys on this forum. I have been researching different forums and must say I am sooooooo confused. Originally I was looking at avets but not anymore. I have never torn down a reel for servicing and am a little hesitant. I'm leaning towards buying from Mark at charkbait because of the great things I heard about his shop. I would consider other on-line shops if members are aware of some good ones. Customer service is also important. By the way I'm not able to try these reels and rods because I live in Ontario, Canada and there are none around. Thanks in advance and happy holidays.
You might want to check out the Davis rods on ebay.
The Okuma Nomads might be another option. It seems that they are built with quality components also.
Thanks for the rod info how about reels?
Wow, you just opened a big can of worms! Makaira 20, 30 or 50 with the appropriate line?
What about Makaira II 8 to small?
Never actually touched a Makaira, just read alot of good things about them here, Alan or someone else can step in here please.
Quote from: tarpon on December 28, 2011, 05:37:29 PM
Thanks for the rod info how about reels?
I looked at the list of species you are targetting. I live in S. FL and the species look all too familiar. First, the way I see it, you do not need to fish line heavier than 30#- 40# except for maybe winching up groupers off the reefs and wrecks. You might want a reel that you can cast fairly easily to cobia, dolphin or sailfish and still be able to do some light trolling. Since you wont be targeting large tuna, 2 speeds aren't required. Nice but not really needed.
I would look at a travel rod rated for 30-60# test with a Shimano Torsa 20 or 30. I think 6 1/2' travel rod would be a good compromise for casting and light trolling. Back it with 60lb hollow spectra and leave room for topshots between 30 and 50 lbs. You can easily change the topshots for the type of fishing you intend to do. You can also pick up several drag cams for the Torsa designed for the type and line size of fishing for the day.
Just a thought.
I used a "H" Escape Series G. Loomis travel rod(not the GLX, they were not out at the time)down outside Rio Colorado in Costa Rica for tarpon to 90. Very nice rod. Shimano CTE 400 filled with spectra. We did need to chase it as the tarpon was headed right at other boats. I don't know about using this rig for groupers though.
conchydong you are right! I plan on using these setups mostly on the west coast of florida out of St. Petes beach area. Will those setups work off of a boat as well as a fishing pier?
i've got several of the okuma nomad rods and they're very nice. i'd love to take them up to alaska. flying is the only way for me to get there. jim nomura broke one of the nomads and that's the only trouble i've heard. i've had good luck with them so far. the would match up well with the makaira reels!
Thanks Alan for responding. Do you think a makaira II 8 would be big enough for the type of fishing I want to do? What okuma rod to match?
I forget to mention most of my fishing will be live bait either free lining or casting.
I know I'm going to drive people crazy with these questions but what about the andros ?
Quote from: tarpon on December 29, 2011, 02:07:15 AM
conchydong you are right! I plan on using these setups mostly on the west coast of florida out of St. Petes beach area. Will those setups work off of a boat as well as a fishing pier?
Tarpon, the blue water is a long run out of St. Pete, therefore I am thinking you will be fishing mostly for nearshore species instead of Wahoo, Sailfish, Dolphin etc. Since you plan on pier fishing also, I will change the rod size to 7' (20-40#) and probably suggest one of the new Penn Torques (25 or 30). These reels will work fine on anything you will catch from a pier and have the power to stop a cobia, grouper or tarpon. These reels have lower ratio gear sets available and supposedly cast like a dream.
i'd go with a makaira 10 for 65 pound spectra and and a makaira 20 for 100 pound spectra. you can vary your topshots depending on the fishing that you are doing. the andros is fine, but stick with the makaira. it is a much tougher reel.
30-40 lb test for most of the fishing he is looking to do and 50 lb for sails and maybe the sharks, depending on their size, and people are saying he should look at Makaira's 20's, 30's and 50's? Man talk about overkill. I could see a good fit with the Makaira 10 and 50 lb toppers but the other reels are WAY to big IMO for what he is looking to do. For me 40 lb test is where I start to look at two speed reels for their versatility and for the type of fishing I do but single speeds can work well here too. Unfortunately IMO one or even two reels with the spinner you have will not cover all the bases your looking to cover but I feel the MK 10 spectra backed will cover most of them pretty well. Sorry I have input about travel rods as I have never used them.
Tarpon I saw your post on the CB boards and most likely Mark the owner of Charkbait will chime in over there soon. I saw him today as I was doing a little after Christmas shopping and they are very busy, sometimes it takes him a couple of days to respond to questions on their boards. Good luck.
Quote from: alantani on December 29, 2011, 08:28:34 AM
i've got several of the okuma nomad rods and they're very nice. i'd love to take them up to alaska. flying is the only way for me to get there. jim nomura broke one of the nomads and that's the only trouble i've heard. i've had good luck with them so far. the would match up well with the makaira reels!
That's exactly what I did last summer, the Nomad Rod held up great and with the two tips I had a heavy tip for Halibut and a lighter tip for ling cod and rockfish. It was great not to have to pack a rod tube (not to mention the $100 extra baggage fee avoided).
Thanks again Alan and socalangler for responding to my questions. I think socalangler your right about the makaira 20 being to big. Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the mak 8 have the same drag pressure as the mak 10? Also I should have said that I need the 2 speed reels because of the pain in my elbows and wrists from my assembly job. I'm leaning towards the mak 8 because of the narrow spool. IN the past on charters I've had problems with line winding and reel wobble so that's why the desire for smaller reels. Travel weight is also an issue. LAST year I visited my brother-in-law in the Cayman Islands. I was catching mutton snapper,cudas and tarpons! My sister-in-law landed a small tarpon 38 inches long. I on the other hand kept hooking into large tarpon in the 5 to 6 ft range. The gear on the island was very expensive so I bought excellent hooks and line but cheaped out on the rod and reel. The reel was a daiwa 4000 cobalt. It didn't have the drag to set the hook on those big fish. I had them on for 4 or 5 jumps but they always spit the hook out. That's why I'm bringing my 6000 stradic because I can excert more pressure on the hook set. That is why I want to buy a conventional reel also just in case that reel won't work. I may have the use of a kayak to help in the landing of the fish or else it's all from shore. I had the opportunity to watch a women catch a tarpon on the reddington pier in florida and I know it can be done! It was estimated at about 110 to 125 lbs. by a tournament official as there was a tournament going on. So that is were I'm getting my ideas from right or wrong. that's why I really appreciate your inputs. I live in Ontario Canada so I won't have any support from local tackle stores.
Elnath what line rating rod did you take?
yeah, guess we should ask what line weight, line capacity and drag setting first!
Tarpon,
The MK 8, 10 and 15 all have the same drags so it will come down to the yardage you want to get on your reels and feel you like. I also like narrower reels too but for other reasons. Any reel spectra backed with a short fluoro topper will aid in a better hook set with hard mouthed fish like tarpon because of the very low streatch rate of both og those lines.
Thanks again socalangler !!!!!. It's down to a mak 8 or 10. I've been watching youtube videos and it's amazing the different gear guys use for the species I'll be fishing for. Spinning gear for tarpon,shark,sailfish and deep water jiggging . I guess it comes down to confidence in your abilities and equipment. Wish I could get my hands on some of these reels to see how they feel. Now on to the travel rods. Alan said a friend of his broke his travel rods , didn't say how, but I've watched Canadian TV fishing hosts use Okuma fishing rods in the past [not the travel rods] and seen them break!!!!. I use light gear for some pretty big fresh water fish and have never broken a rod. Brands that include fenwick,G loomis,shimano,quantum,ugly stik and berkley. I know when Okuma first came out the products weren't that good. Heres hoping they've gotten better. Still going to research other travel rod brands. Charkbait"s sound interesting but they don't mention who made the blanks,guides and butt. Hope you have good new year and good fishing!!
If you want info of the CB travel rods call and talk to Mark or e-mail him, he is there almost every day during the office hours.
Tarpon, I can give you some first hand information about fishing the Okuma Nomad rod and the Okuma Makaira 8 ll.
If you use a back pack for a carry on you can put the reel in it and hand carry the rod. Great peace of mind. I also bought it from Chark Bait and got great service.
I live in the East cape of Baja Mexico, I also fish Panama and Christmas Island (for the offshore not the Bone Fish).
My reel is filled with 65# Spectra and will just hold a 25yd
top shot of 60# mono. For the top shot I just use a 25yd
spool of fluorocarbone. I catch just about all of the fish you have listed and have never had a problem. Nothing really big but Tuna to about 75#, Striped Marlin 120#, a lot of Dog and Mullet Snapper. For only one set-up it is great.
Jaime
Thanks Jamie, what was the line rating for the rod you were using? Also rod length? Did you fish from shore with that setup?
Thanks again socalangler , I really appreciate your responses. I'am going to give Mark a call.
Tarpon,
The Okuma travel rod is rated 30/60# line. The other rod's I have used it on are all custom made for me by me. Most are 5'6'' to 6'6". They are Phenix, Mud Hole Vertical Jigging blank,
Seeker, and Cal Star. On a couple of Panama trips I have just
taken the reel and used what was on the boat. It seems like
it is much more likely you will get a bum reel that a bad rod?
Have not fished from shore with it. However if you asked because you wondered about castabelity? I have cast with
it from a boat both live bait and big Poppers. Although not
ideal it will work in a pinch. If you just take the one travel outfit you will have a lot of "work in a pinch".
Jaime
Thanks again Jaime! Sounds like you've used what I'm looking for. I think it's time to pull the trigger and do some ordering! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D. One last question did you do a pre-use service job on your reel? Thanks again and have a good new years day!!!
Quote from: Jaime on January 01, 2012, 03:18:04 PM
I catch just about all of the fish you have listed and have never had a problem. Nothing really big but Tuna to about 75#, Striped Marlin 120#....
if that's little, i'd love to see you definition of big! ;D
Quote from: tarpon on December 30, 2011, 06:17:17 PM
Elnath what line rating rod did you take?
I have the 30-60 casting. I used it in the heavy tip configuration with an Avet JX with 80 braid/50 top shot for Halibut (this is pretty much my "normal" set up for Gulf of Maine bottom fishing), I get about 15lbs at strike and just under 20 or so max. The heavy tip was stiff enough to handle a 16oz jig.
For the rockfish/Ling Cod I used Diawa Saltist (35H) with 50 braid/30 top shot (and the lighter tip section of the Nomads). That reel gets about the same drag--and with this line set up about the same capacity. Used the heavy tip for the heavy (16oz) jig heads.
For King Salmon, I used the light tip section with an Avet MX rigged with straight 30 mono--drag at 12.
Overall the combination worked out great...I wouldn't have know it was a multiple piece rod. My only issue was that most of my rods are acid/spiral wrapped and the Nomad is conventional. I haven't seen the components that would allow a similar custom build (at least not in my price range).
Tarpon...Yes I did service my reel before I used it. One thing
I forgot to mention. If you get one of the Okuma travel rods.
You might think about getting the spinning set up. That way
all you have to do is turn it over and it works just fine with an
conventional reel. Rods don't know the difference.
Jaime
Alan... Well last year there were I think three 'super cow's'
taken at the Gorda Banks. I was fishing there in November
and the day after we left a Cow of somewhare around 365#
was taken. That's what I call big.
Thanks again elnath and jaime! Nice fish!!! The kind you dream of and fear when you actually hook into 1 ;D