Shimano King Mack

[AmrK87]

Anyone own a Shimano T-Curve King Mack, what do you use it for, whats t matched to, any good?

-AK

[byron_moses]

as the name states they are a great rod for livebaiting for kings and macks both in a boat and as a begginner lbg rod. i dont own one but have used them in an overhead and found it quite nice

[AmrK87]

what size reel are they matched too best? ill be buying online... anyone else know?

[byron_moses]

what will u be using it for? maybe a saltist 50h overhead will hold plenty of line is 6.3:1 and im sure would handle anything you put it up to

[Brent_P]

Are you thinking of buying the spin model or the overhead?

I've had the spin model for 4 or 5 years, but I haven't caught anything that really tested it yet - only some 3-4kg kingies, a few mack tuna to 8kg, and some smaller stuff. I have the older model that has a graphite gimbal, and I think the grips might be thicker than the new ones - a couple of years ago, Shimano changed the fittings to reduce the rod's weight. My King Mack weighs 490g, which is quite a bit heavier than some Shimano rods with the same or greater line rating (like the Lucanus Heavy Spin 20-40lb, which weighs approx. 275g). As you might've noticed, the foregrip is extremely long, which can be a good thing if you want the extra leverage, when you're fighting a big fish. Because of the rod's weight, I personally wouldn't use a reel under about 500g on it - anything lighter would feel too light for the rod for me. I used to have it matched to an old Shimano Thunnus 6000F (the heavy aluminium ones - 720g), but today I got a Shimano Thunnus CI4 8000 for it, which weighs 550g, and the outfit feels nice and balanced.

Judging by the experience I've had with it, you could probably fish somewhere between 6 and 8kg of drag over that rod if you had to, so long as you don't high-stick it when fish are directly below the boat, so it might be a little under-rated as far the 8-12kg line recommendation goes.

If it's the overhead version you're looking at, I agree with Byron_Moses: a Saltist star drag would be a good match, if you don't want to spend too much money. If you don't need the extra capacity, a 40 or 30 (in the old silver Saltist range) or a 40H or 35H (in the new Black Gold series) are narrower-spooled versions of the same reel, so they're less prone to "wobbling" on the rod. I used an old silver Saltist 50 (low speed) for jigging for up to 13kg kingies for a couple of years, and it performed flawlessly. It did get a bit of corrosion in the handle shaft bearing (which I only noticed when doing a long overdue service), but I replaced the bearing myself for $10. If you buy a Saltist, though, you might want to oil the sideplate screws when it's new - I had a problem removing one of mine.

Sorry for the long reply,
Brent.

[AmrK87]

Mate don't say sorry! that's exactly the stuff I wanted to hear thanks so much for all the info, I just bought it as a result! Pairing with a 10k Stella sw which is shared on my other rods. Thanks allot mate.

[Brent_P]

No worries. I hope you like it. It should be a good match for your 10K Stella SW.

[Jonny Dexter]

Hey great rod. I'm working up at Gove and got a T-curve 8-12kg spin out fit matched with a Stradic 6000.
Fished off the beach and got a wopper GT on Christmas day.
Don't know how heavy it was, maybe 12kg?
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150160537024689&set=a.10150121533459689.324115.504234688&pid=8143381&id=504234688