Help choosing a rod

Started by Brute347, March 09, 2014, 10:23:35 AM

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Brute347

Hello,

I just purchased a daiwa saltist lever drag 20h reel and i need help choosing a rod for it.

I will be fishing from the pier, the rocks, the surf and the occasional boat outing.

I like to cast deep and slide down a live bait on a 3-4 foot leader.

I don't care what I catch as long as I'm fishing, I just want a good rod that can be used for all those different applications.

I currently own a torium 20 with a shimano teramar tmc 80h with 40lb braided. That setup feels a bit heavy for the pier.

I bought a quantum 7' 10-25 medium heavy action graphite rod, would that fit ok?

Thanks for the help

Newell Nut

There is no one rod does all for the situations you described. The perfect rod may not even feel good to you. A 15-40 Seeker in 7' or 8' or a 700M to 800M Calstar may work well for you which is good for 30-40 lb line and very light in weight.
The Seeker Hercules rods are also very light in weight even for the 80 lb class. Out of my entire collection my favorites are the lesser expensive Seeker Eglass/Boron blanks. I have a 15-40 and 20-50 that are light weight, soft tip for casting and still lift 15 lb weights easily.
Good Luck with your quest.

Brute347

Thank you I appreciate the reply and info

alantani

from the pacific coast sportfishing blog board.

Quote from: alantani on April 01, 2009, 04:18:39 PM
It's common on internet boards to see a guy say that he as a reel and wants to match it up to a rod.  It's difficult because rods will typically give you a line weight rating.  Just like with reels, I would rather see them list a drag range.  I believe that using a drag range is the most reliable way to establish a proper rating for a rod.  Experienced fishermen all have a "feel" for what is well balance, but have probably not thought it through in an OBJECTIVE manner.  Yeah, there's that word again!  Here's the procedure that I go through. 

Place any reel with any heavy line (it doesn't matter) on the rod.  Button down the drag.  Run the line through the guides and tie it off to a milk jug.  Place the rod in a holder of some sort so that the rod butt rests at a 45 degree angle.  Now add weight (cut a hole in the jug) until the rod bends to the desired flex that you want.  I look for the rod to bend until the tip is midway between the top of the arc and the bottom of butt of the rod.  You may desire more or less flex.  It depends upon the type of rod and your personal preferences.

Now total up the weight in the jug.  Let's say that you have a medium weight rod that flexes to a desired amount with only 10 pounds of STATIC weight.  You have now determined the proper drag setting for your rod.  Remember that guides will typically add about 10% to the DYNAMIC drag.  Remember also that I use all guides for drag settings of less than 10 pounds, a roller tip for drag settings of 10 to 15 pounds, a roller tip and roller stripper for drag settings of 15-20 pounds, and all rollers for drag settings of 20 pounds or more.  But that's just me. 

Next, choose a percentage drag setting.  Different people have different preferences.  You might typically fish as heavy a drag setting as 33% or as light as 25%.  Anything more risks line breakage (been there).  Anything less is wasted unless line abrasion resistance is a concern.  Admittedly, I fish some rigs as heavy as 40% and others as light as 12%.  Let's just say that we will stay within average parameters.  With a desired 10 pound drag setting at a 33%, you need a 30 pound mono.

Finally, decide how much line you really need.  Typically you only need 300 yards of line capacity.  What kind of fish can take a 300 yard run on you if the drags are properly set?   Fer cryin' out loud, guys!  That's the length of three football fields.  Why in the world would anyone need 1000 yards of line?  In the vast majority of cases, it's lack of confidence, low drag settings or you're fishing WAY back.  Remember out friend at the dinner party?  Yeah, very few fishermen actually check their drag settings with a scale.  I'm sorry that this is so harsh, but unless the fish is larger than 5 times the line weight, I see no excuse for getting "spooled."
Finally, select a reel. It has to have the capacity to hold the required amount of line, deliver the required amount of drag and still maintain the required amount of free spool.  Luckily, you've got just the perfect reel!

send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Brute347

Man there is so much information, I think draining the ocean and picking the fish by hand might be simpler, hehe. 

Personally, my gage at the moment or my reason for wanting a " certain" rod, is because I am looking for something that'll let me cast a 6 ounce weight at least 40 yards out. I've been reading that for piers that is a good distance for halibut and other bigger fish species.

I have already bought a quantum 7' 10-25lb graphite im8 rod that I think will have short comings based on this new information, lol. But the teramar tmc 80h that I have in my torium 20 feels too heavy. I think I weight too light with the other rod :/

Brute347

Just updating- ended up with a shimAno teramar 7'11" heavy 20-40 and 2 shimano teramar 15-30 heavy 7'4" all west coast rods they feel amazing- finally got to use two of them with 2 matching daiwa saltist lever drag 20 hyperspeed and am now waiting for a daiwa lexa 300 hyperspeed with a power handle

Should be loads of fun!

Ron Jones

Sounds great! Glad it is working out. How did the rigs you were able to use cast?
Ron
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

mackereljoe

#7
I think your quantum paired with the lexa 300 will work well.  If that's what I have, the lexa will have 150 yards #30 spectra with top shot of #12 XXX Izor mono.  It will be a plastic outfit.  From shore cast out, 2-3 turn of the handle and let it drop making it swim sideway Z pattern.  When it get close to to weedline steady medium speed.  Most newby mistake is too heavy of a jighead.  You should feel the tail beating.