# New set up



## KeyLargo1 (Dec 2, 2009)

I am in the process of preparing for next seasons Kingie season by upgrading to a better setup. I will be mainly live/dead baiting with possibility of some jigging (minor). So far I found a very cheap Okuma VSystems V65a and spooled it up with Fins original PRT 50lb braid. I am happy with this and now looking at a rod to match. I have a budget of $100-200 and obviosuly 6 to 7 foot, around 15 kg. Rods I have in mind are;
Penn Spinfisher 950 (cheap and strong);
Silstar Crystal Blue Power Tips, say either a heavy boat rod CB-661/701SWH (10-15kg) or a jig rod CB-601JSM (15-20 kg);
Shimano's TCurve Revolution Offshore ie REVO762SWSP (10-15kg);
Daiwa Monster Mesh Max 250;
Wilson Live Fibre RLF Spin;

Many of these I have no experience in- Will a rod at this strength exhibit all the characteristics of a broom stick or can I expect a bit more liveliness?

My current "heavy rod" is a Kmart special Penn Ultimate 8-10 kg job so I would like some advice

The other question- should I go glass or graphite?

Thanks in advance


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## paulthetaffy (Jan 27, 2010)

Hey Josh,

I'm in the same market at the moment. I wouldn't be going too heavy for Sydney kings as we're not exactly plagued with hoodies  I also think that since we're on a yak that having a bit of extra play in the rod means you're not getting pulled in when they bolt for it. So personally I would be looking at the say the Spinfisher 850 instead of the 950, the monster mesh max 200 instead of the 250, etc. I think 10-15kg is plenty of grunt!

The Spinfisher's are great for the money 
The Silstar crystal blue 's come highly recomended for the money and super strong as you say
T-curve, I don't have any experience of.
The Monster Mesh max is a step up in class IMO. I tried one out last night and am 90% sure I'm going to buy one on Saturday 
From memory the Wilson's don't have a grip above the reel seat, which IMO is a must have if you're going to do any jigging.

I wouldn't be tempted to go too long on a heavy rod. 6'6" is as much as I'd go and to be honest all of the rods that I've been looking at were 6' and under. All of the above are fast action rods so are far from broomsticks - they have plenty of movement towards the top of the rod with the grunt coming from the lower sections as it loads up. I think it's pretty important to get one that balances well with your reel - even more so if you're going to be jigging - so I would be taking your reel along to a store and trying them and see how they feel. That's what I'm going to be spending saturday arvo doing in Fish-outta-water in manly vale if you want to come down with me! As for glass or graphite, I'd personally go graphite for weight, but would seriosuly consider glass if anyone else other than you is going to be using it (where they might be highsticking it for example - great for kids!).

Paul


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## Marty75 (Oct 23, 2007)

Hi guys,

If you don't mind a shorter rod Ray Annes sell the 5'8" PE 2-4 Monster Mesh jigging rod (original model) for $149 incl. delivery which is a pretty good price. I use mine for offshore work and it handles small kingies with ease. Haven't tested it on larger models yet...

I've also got the 6'6" Silstar Crystal Blue 10-15kg spin rod (matched to a Baitrunner 4500 and 30lb braid) very happy with this rod too, light and tough. I got mine replaced under warranty as the original one I had broke it's reel seat meaning the reel was spinning around at the butt. I have heard of other Crystal Blues with the same fate but so far so good with the replacement one I got. Expect to pay around $150.

So these rods are my heavy offshore rods - the MM for jigging/trolling/baiting and the Crystal Blue predominantly used for bait fishing, either live or dead (perfect for the Baitrunner feature of the reel) and sometimes via my downrigger.

Not sure what else is out there in this class.

Marty


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## KeyLargo1 (Dec 2, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I am looking for a rod around the 15kg mark so I was probably going on the heavier side of this mark Paul. I will downgrade to 10-15 kg line rating. I have a long happy relationship with the Penn rods (I haven't killed one yet aside from stupidity) and I might get a spinfisher 850 simply because they are cheap, solid and reliable.

I have found to date rods between 6-7 foot work well on the yak so anything between those is fine for me. Anything shorter than 6 foot I have trouble with fish running under the yak and not being able to feed the line around the front of the yak.

Unfortunuately booked in all weekend so can't do the tackle shop run.

I have plenty of time so I will keep looking around.


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## pipnosis (Aug 5, 2009)

Hi Josh,

I bought this rod. http://www.amazonoutdoors.com.au/Produc ... ndura-Rods

$30. Price was crazy but have been really impressed. 6'6" 8-10JG JIG SPIN. Very similar to the classic ugly stik fast taper. Loads of grunt. Cant believe the value. Really, in the yak you have to be realistic about how much pressure you can put on a fish. I use 8kg braid and have felt like I might get pulled in when really putting the pressure on. I use a Baitrunner 6500.

I reckon spend the money if its going to make a difference. But for this type of fishing is high end graphite required?

have fun hanging on to that big king!


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## KeyLargo1 (Dec 2, 2009)

Pipnosis,
Thanks for the response- The Endura appears identical to what I currently have a $30 8-10 kg Penn Ultimate rod which is teamed up to either a Penn 850 with 30lb mono or a daiwa sealine bull 4500 with 30 braid. The numbers of times I have had these rods locked up and losing fish is annoying so I want to go a bit bigger.

I just ordered a $30 Penn Spinfisher 850 from Motackle (10-15kg) as my base rod and still aim to research and get another rod also.

I do aim to use this rod from a boat on occasion so the drag won't go to complete waste.
Regards


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## KeyLargo1 (Dec 2, 2009)

Went to Chatswood Bait and Tackle for a testing session with the reel. Tried T Curves, Angler rods, a wilson live fibre, several Silstar (crystal blue power tips) and several ugly sticks amongst others.

All where nice rods but the gong went to a CB-701SWH, a Silstar- it was perfectly weighted to the reel and at 170 fitted pertectly with my expected budget

It is much lighter than a glass rod with a solidly stiff backbone and nice movement at first to enable a hit to be absorbed by the rod rater than me rolling the yak.

Now I need to wait for summer to come


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## paulthetaffy (Jan 27, 2010)

Sounds great Josh! Don't think you'll go wrong with that.

Why wait for summer? Get your butt up to longy mate, there's a few big fish hanging about up here at the moment!

Paul


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