# Heavy set up - what are you using..



## Dave73 (Dec 3, 2006)

What is everyone using as their 'heavy' outfit. What rod weight, reel size and breaking strain line? :?

Is it for live baiting, bottom fishing, trolling or jigging? 
eg, are the new generation jig rods recommended for 200g jigs (light monster mesh, TCurve 200 etc) doing the job, or are people going heavier? (TCurve400 etc)

Just wondering as I'm about to spend some money I dont have... yep, getting kingy fever again... ;-)

Cheers Dave


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## water_baby (Oct 26, 2005)

depends on what you call heavy i guess :lol:

my heavy is a Calstar GF700H (PE5-8) matched to an upgraded spheros running 50lb Tufline. this is too heavy for the yak, puts out too much drag to be of real use on the yak (on a boat, its a killer ;-) ) this is a live baiter, jigger, and bait setup for large prey.

my new heavy setup is a custom G Loomis IMX Slate MB844 (12-20lb) matched to a Certate 3500HD Custom, running 20lb TD Sensor. SiCs on both rods. this will predominantly be for casting, but also run liveys and snapper baits etc.

I have already founsd the "lighter" loomis setup to be more than adequate in terms of stopping power, and i know guys who use the same setup for large tuna and kings, so i think it will be as heavy as i ever use on the yak (except for Pt Augusta chasing XOS Kings and probably sharking in summer where i want something a bit beefier)

hope this helps.. :lol:


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## DGax65 (Jun 7, 2006)

My standard loadout includes two heavy trolling rods. Most of the time I use 7' Seeker Black Steel graphite rods (40-60lb and 20-50lb rated) with Shimano Torium 30 reels loaded with 50 or 65lb Spectra and 30 or 40lb Blackwater fluorocarbon leaders. 
In the winter I'll also take two heavy rods for vertical jigging. Seeker Black Steel 6 to 7ft length, rated for 20-50lb line, with a Torium 20 or 30 loaded with 50 or 65lb Spectra and a 40lb fluoro leader.
In the summer I'll take one rod for vertical jigging and an 8' jig stick for throwing surface iron. Seeker Black Steel 20-40lb with a Torium 20 loaded with 30 or 50lb Spectra or sometimes 30lb mono.

I prefer the heavy Spectra and a heavy graphite rod because they give me a chance to get a fish out of the kelp. The Spectra allows you to cut through the kelp stringers and drag your fish out. I also like the small diameter of the Spectra. It helps jigs sink faster and my deep-trolled baits stay down better. I just started using 65lb Power Pro on my new reels (stronger, yet still very small diameter). If I were fishing around the rocky reefs down in Mexico I'd ditch the Spectra and just go with a co-polymer line. P-Line is my favorite. The Spectra doesn't really work well around rocks - not that anything does.


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Mine is a Avet sx 5.3 lever drag with 7' Diawa grand wave and spooled with 20ld mono........and one day I'll catch something worthy of it.


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## grant ashwell (Apr 24, 2007)

Eighty percent of my fishing is live bait and the rest, butterflied or slabbed on the drift with infrequent dragging of lures. After using several rods including a very expensive import that I snapped on capsize, I have settled on T Curve 200 jig rods. I like that they are shorter, light, sic guides and fairly cheap if it all goes wrong. They have a nice action from mac tuna to large sharks. The spin job throws a Raider 85 a fair distance too.

I run a Avet LX and Accurate 665 on 2 and a Penn 8500 on a spin version. While the Penn is agricultural, it does the job because it's really hard to use tons of drag out of the yak. The Daiwa Opus Bull looks like it might also go well in the cheaper end of the market. I do not believe that the Penn is up to jigging and would go to a Saltiga if this was my bent. On the few occasions that I have jigged, I preferred the spinning reel for less twist, no over-run and auto line lay..

Line is spectra 15kilo and topshot mono about 20-30m which I exchange regularly.

Issues I have are the amount of twist I get with the spinning reel. I don't use swivels ( had biteoffs, wound them through the top guide with ring cracking results and I believe they are too visible for YF Tuna) and sometimes after a prolonged fight, the line needs to be run out the back in transit to unwind. Line also weakens when badly twisted as physopath found when he used the Penn for 1.5hrs on a tuna that eventually won its freedom. The spinning reel is great for minimising drag when the bait is taken because I troll with the bail open, holding the line which I just "drop" on contact. The overheads need a quick response when the livie is taken 'cause I run them in freespool. I have to be sharp to use a little thumb pressure to prevent over-run. Found I had more "dropped" bait when in click mode. Lever drags are good on altering the drag quickly, no line twist and having the reel closer in to the rod seat makes it all feel a little more balanced than the spinning setup.

After this ramble on, I'm not sure that I've helped much but it sure made me think about why I do what I do.

Cheers


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## Physhopath (Jun 21, 2007)

Grant your input is always helpfull ;-)


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## beefs (Jan 30, 2006)

water_baby said:


> depends on what you call heavy i guess :lol:
> ...


exactly... 

Most i've used from the yak is stella 10k on a tcurveGT special with 80lb braid and 130lb twisted leader...keep it pointed to the front with your legs over the side and no probs  . That said - you don't need to go that heavy - even from a stinker. 50lb will handle all kinds of fish - unless you need to pull them up REAL quick I wouldn't go heavier (we were fishin outer reef for GT's in 5-6m of water,...SSS.TT...OOOOO.PPPP!!! ). I'd advocate as long a rod as you feel comfortable with - that rod i mentioned is 8ft+ and was awesome from the yak.

Sure I had trouble lifting the head of the fish occasionally but you could reach around the front and back very easily and from low down to the water you could get good leverage on the fish. I think any good quality spin reel with 50lb line and a 6'6"~-7ft rod (wilson live fibre etc) would handle nearly any fish you'd encounter in a yak. Look into the new(ish) shimano saragosa reel, great quality without going to stella like prices. As for drags - i've not caught many big fish from my yak but the ones I have I think i'd be happy to go "no line out" from the yak if the situation called for it.

While this sounds a bit dramatic - it'snot really. From the yak it represents the maximum effort you can apply to a fish...and ultimately this is pretty bearable for a few minutes (from a physical strength point of view...i'm sure paulo would disagree ;-) ). Most fish - if you can''t turn them in a few minutes of locked drag - then it's fair game really, no big loss if you lose it because you have an epic story to tell...it would have been a SERIOUS fish.

It's late - i'm probably rambling and not helping at all! Good luck in the search. Beefs

EDIT: from my re-read I think DGAX has it sorted to the point I most agree with. Grant also - true blue aussie experience is hard to disagree with.


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## spooled1 (Sep 16, 2005)

Ay Dave,

#1 - Trindad TN-40N on Tcurve Deep Jig 400 50lb braid deep livey
#2 - 14000 Saragosa in Tcurve Deep Jig 400 50lb braid surface livey, bait jigger, spin, softs

The 400 is probably overkill, I'd probably go the 200 next time I snap a current rod.


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

My main rod is Saltist ST30TH, 50lb fraid on a TCurve Deep Jig 400 for lures and livies. Reaching round the front can be a problem but it holds all the line I need. I went to the heavier TLDs and Tyronos TCurve but I am going to sell it. I even find the TCurve Deep Jig 400 too heavy.
I am about to buy a second rod for spin but will scale down to the TCurve 200 and 30lb line. I had my heart set on a Saltiga dogfight 6500 but after holding one in the shop there is no way I could handle it on the yak. I am now going to the Saltiga Z4500H with 30lb braid. The big heavy gear tires YOU out too quickly and to be honest I dont think you need anymore than 10kgs drag in a yak. I personally cant apply more than 5kgs without becoming unstable.
Last weekend I lifted a big longtail on the Saltist quicker than I have with any of the other heavy gear I used before. It also required less effort on my part.

The other thing I like about the tcurves is they split and fit in the yak for re-entry thru the surf.


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## diabolical (Mar 30, 2008)

Paulo, I have two Tcurve 200 and really like them. Today if I was looking for the same rod would get a Diawa Monster Mesh, same breakdown as Tcurve and slightly longer at 6'3". PE2-4 or 3-6. I have a MM PE6-8 and love it. Dearer at $300 but would be a great match for a Saltiga Z4500H. Just thought it was worth a mention.


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## spooled1 (Sep 16, 2005)

diabolical said:


> Today if I was looking for the same rod would get a Diawa Monster Mesh, same breakdown as Tcurve and slightly longer at 6'3".


Why? Is it the added length or because you can feel the blank bend through the handle? I like the Tcurves because all the action and leverage is higher up the blank and headshakes seem sticky. Mesh and Rapala fans talk about sinking deeper into the fish under a slightly softer contact. Is this true?


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

I have a TLD15 on a Silstar Crystal Blue JOH 15-24kg with 30lb braid for downrigging and jigging but not had it loaded on a big fish. Only reason I'd go heavier in line is for abrasion resistance, but then a long heavy leader does the same


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## chrissy (Jul 7, 2007)

sorry to hijack the post,but i was thinkin of gettin a tcurve 200 and match it with a tekota 600 reel. Do any of you guys think this reel could handle 30-40lb braid?


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## diabolical (Mar 30, 2008)

The added length of the MM is a slight advantage in reach(400 is 5'8"and the MM 6'3") and suited to 30lb I think.

The action of the 200 is much more parabolic(through to the butt) than the 400. You could say they were two different types of rods.

I can only comment on the extra heavy MM and it loaded up more like the top end Saltiga rods.


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Today if I was looking for the same rod would get a Diawa Monster Mesh, same breakdown as Tcurve and slightly longer at 6'3". PE2-4 or 3-6. I have a MM PE6-8 and love it. Dearer at $300 but would be a great match for a Saltiga Z4500H.

I have the above set up........... with the Saltiga Z4000.....with 40lb Daiwa Sensor jigging braid.... I have also trolled substantial lures with this rig - CD 18s, Tremblers etc and also live baiting as well as jigging...... I can even cast the jig some distance... so quite versatile. I did snap my first MMesh on a king... which was replaced by Daiwa... they reckon the first batch of them were faulty. The reel has 10kg of drag - which is plenty.
The other outfit is a Nitro Godzilla Spin teamed with a Shimano Twinpower HG.... I use this for chucking BIG plastics for kings... this is a nice balanced outfit and quite light !!!!


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## Dave73 (Dec 3, 2006)

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all comments.. 
I'm still making up my mind how to work this.
I think I will be getting something in the Tcurve200 bracket and call it med/heavy.
Any heavier and it wouldnt get used on the kayak down here..

I think the wheels are in motion.

Cheers Dave


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